Amazon takes one in every four pounds spent on physical music, film and games January 26, 2015 One in every four pounds spent in Britain on physical music, games and videos in the run-up to Christmas went to Amazon, figures out this morning show. For the 12 weeks to December 21, Amazon dominated the world of entertainment, with 39 per cent of all the sector's purchases being made with the etailer [...]
Consumer confidence dented in December by Christmas splurge January 26, 2015 CONSUMER confidence fell in December from its record high the previous month as Christmas spending put pressure on household budgets. The Lloyds Bank spending power report for December showed a reading of 150 points for consumer confidence, down from 154 in November but consistent with the previous year’s drop for December. “As with previous years, [...]
Premier League bids heat up as TV broadcast deadline nears January 26, 2015 WITH a fortnight remaining until bids are due in the multi-billion pound auction for the TV broadcast rights of three seasons of the most-watched football league in the world, BT, Sky and Discovery are preparing for battle. Before Christmas the Premier League said it had opened up bidding for seven packages of live broadcasting rights [...]
Amazon steals entertainment spend from UK supermarkets January 26, 2015 ONLINE retail giant Amazon took a larger slice of the UK entertainment market over the Christmas period, largely at the expense of the major supermarkets, according to research published today. Kantar Worldpanel figures show that Amazon took one in every four pounds (25.6 per cent) spent on physical music, games and video in the 12 [...]
Wells Fargo analyst James Spicer will survive oil price drop with help from Gloria Gaynor January 23, 2015 With oil still under $50 a barrel, it may be hard to garner much sympathy for the oligarchs and barons who’ve been hit, but what about the real people affected? Despite lost profits, bonuses and even jobs, some are saying they aren’t victims, but survivors. Well, James Spicer is anyway. Just prior to Christmas [...]
Telefónica to sell O2 to Hutchison Whampoa for £10bn January 23, 2015 Telefónica has confirmed it is in exclusive talks with Chinese company Hutchison Whampoa to sell O2 for £10bn, a deal which would revolutionise the landscape of the UK's mobile market. In a statement this morning, Telefónica said the deal would take the form of an initial payment of £9.25bn, followed by deferred payment of £1bn, to [...]
Firing the bazooka down the road – Editor’s Letter January 22, 2015 Mario Draghi got stuck waiting for a lift on his way to announce the ECB’s bond-buying programme yesterday, which feels like a metaphor for something. Still, when he shouldered his bazooka at least its long-delayed bang did manage to be bigger than expected. But with European government bond yields already at historic lows, a grand [...]
Fever-Tree shareholders raise glasses after strong second half January 22, 2015 Shareholders in upmarket tonic water maker Fever-Tree were celebrating yesterday as the British company revealed its recent strong performance had continued through the second half of the year. In a pre-close trading update for the year ended 31 December, Fever-Tree’s board said it expected sales in the second half to be up 43 per cent [...]
Christmas boost helps Royal Mail continue growth January 22, 2015 A MERRY return on Christmas parcels has allowed Royal Mail to report a one per cent growth in revenues for the first nine months of the year, the company revealed in a trading update yesterday. Parcel volumes for the nine months were up three per cent, compared to two per cent in the first half. [...]
ECB bond-buying programme sends indices soaring up – London Report January 22, 2015 THE EUROPEAN Central Bank’s €1.14 trillion bond-buying programme sent UK shares to their highest level for four months yesterday. The FTSE 100 finished up 68.59 points, or 1.02 per cent, at 6,796.63, its highest since 19 September last year. Among the risers Royal Mail gained 3.55 per cent to 445.80p after a good Christmas performance [...]