Supermarkets hold talks with government on Sunday trading August 19, 2012 RETAILERS have been holding discussions with the government and trade bodies over the permanent relaxation of Sunday trading rules, it was revealed yesterday. Current rules limit large shops to six hours of trading between 10am and 6pm on a Sunday. This has been temporarily relaxed during the Olympics and it is thought communities secretary Eric [...]
What the other papers say this morning August 19, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Call to limit China’s UK nuclear stake Chinese companies competing for one of the UK’s biggest nuclear projects are unlikely to end up with a majority stake in any winning consortium in an attempt to allay concerns about Beijing gaining control of the Horizon reactor programme. Olympics effect on Scottish vote in debate [...]
Asda boss says yes to relaxing Sunday trading August 16, 2012 THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE of Asda yesterday came out in support of Sunday opening hours being extended on a permanent basis, as the debate over Sunday trading continues to divide retailers. Andy Clark said it was too early to say what the impact of the extra trading hours has had on sales but shoppers had welcomed [...]
Walmart shares fall as the US retailer sees slowdown in sales August 16, 2012 WALMART, the American retail giant and owner of Asda, reported a six per cent rise in profits to $3.8bn in the second quarter of the year, despite grappling with tough economic conditions in its home market and overseas. The company said like-for-like sales at US stores rose 2.2 per cent in the three months to [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 7, 2012 RBS John Owen has been appointed chief executive of the bank’s international banking business. He assumes the position following Scott Barton’s decision to leave RBS at the end of August. Owen joined the bank in 2011, and has also previously held senior management roles at Credit Suisse, UBS and Bank of America. Katten Muchin Rosenman [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 5, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Greek bank head sent savings abroad A political row has erupted in Athens after the former head of a big Greek state bank admitted to transferring €8m (£6.4m) of personal savings abroad to buy a London property months before his Agricultural Bank headed towards insolvency. Theodoros Pantalakis, former chief executive of Greece’s Agricultural [...]
Weak rise in retail sales in July disappoints stores July 30, 2012 British retail sales rose in July more slowly than stores had expected, dented by unusually rainy weather, a survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has showed. The CBI distributive trades survey’s July sales balance fell to +11 from an 18-month high of +42 in June. Analysts had forecast a fall to +15. Economists [...]
Amazon keeps lion’s share of UK market July 23, 2012 ONLINE retail giant Amazon has built up its spot at the top of the UK entertainment market, largely at the expense of supermarket rivals and specialists like HMV, according to research published yesterday. Kantar Worldpanel figures for the 12 weeks to 10 June show that Amazon strengthened its market share by 3.2 percentage points, boosted [...]
Budget grocers up market slice July 17, 2012 BUDGET supermarket chains Aldi and Lidl have raised their market share again, new figures showed yesterday. The latest Kantar Worldpanel survey revealed that Lidl and Aldi have 2.9 per cent each of the UK market, a record for the budget chains, which have been catching their rivals as austerity bites. Among the big four grocers, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 8, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Call for French business boost French business urgently requires shock treatment to cut labour costs and boost its flagging ability to compete on international markets, top economists and business leaders have warned Francois Hollande. ArcelorMittal refuses to rule out EU steel closures as demand falls ArcelorMittal has refused to rule out further site [...]