Radamel Falcao transfer may mean Manchester United switch for Robin Van Persie or Wayne Rooney September 1, 2014 Towards the end of my career Walter Smith, the Rangers manager, would sometimes ask me to play as a wing-back. I didn’t enjoy it one little bit – at an age when running was getting harder I was being asked to do more of it – but I did it. Now it looks like one [...]
HMV bounds back and finds its voice on the high street – Brand Index August 26, 2014 Are we witnessing a comeback from traditional high street retailer HMV? Recent figures suggest so, with announcements highlighting stronger sales and consumer perception. There was much public hand-wringing when HMV were placed into administration, leading to the closure of a number of stores following competition from online retailers such as Amazon. Since then, the brand [...]
Keep burglars at bay with this home security tech August 13, 2014 Thousands of us are preparing to head for the hills for the last few weeks of summer, squeezing in a few precious days of R&R before the long slog towards Christmas. But leaving a home full of laptops and expensive jewellery can be a persistant niggle – and replacing them in the event of a [...]
Saxo boss Lars Seier Christensen opens Pandora’s box with jewellery startup investment August 12, 2014 Saxo Bank’s chief exec Lars Seier Christensen has got chins wagging in the Danish press. The banking boss has made a personal investment into jewellery startup Endless Jewelry – a company run by well-known Danish entrepreneur Jesper Nielsen. Nielsen made his name as a reseller of jewellery brand Pandora. He sold his Pandora distributorship for [...]
Dixons Carphone share price falls on first day of trading after £3.6bn merger August 8, 2014 Shares in Dixons Carphone rose yesterday morning only to close down 1.8 per cent in their first formal day of trading since Carphone Warehouse and Dixons Retail merged to create a £3.6bn consumer electronics empire. The FTSE 250 company aims to exploit the ever-growing presence of consumer electronics in people’s lives and the so-called [...]
Taking the Harlequins to new heights with launch at Shard July 30, 2014 The mighty Harlequins may be based out in Twickenham but its stars schlepped across to the Shard for an 8am launch to their season yesterday, with sponsors DHL Express and Adidas joining along for the ride. With the ‘Quins often referred to as the City Slickers, chief exec David Ellis thought the view was fitting. [...]
Winter storm power cut compensation payouts cost UK energy companies an extra £3.3m July 24, 2014 Energy regulator Ofgem has announced it has secured an additional £3.3m from SSE and UKPN following its investigation into the companies' performance during the dramatic storms seen last Christmas. The regulator has now landed a total of £8m from the two energy firms, which had to payout to the 1m households that suffered power cuts at [...]
BSkyB built its empire on live football – ignoring that could cost it dear July 23, 2014 WHEN BSkyB reports its results tomorrow, most expect them to be well received. The fast-moving satellite group will likely report strong profits and growth prospects, and will have much to say about innovative new products like Sky Go, Sky Store and Now TV, all intended to make it easier to consume its broadening content. However, [...]
Parcel woes hit shares in Royal Mail before AGM July 22, 2014 AN UNEXPECTED drop in Royal Mail parcel revenues announced yesterday is likely to build more pressure on the company ahead of its annual general meeting tomorrow. Royal Mail saw a one per cent decline in parcel revenues in the first three months of the financial year to 29 June, and it expected full-year parcel revenues [...]
Risk savvy: Why simple rules of thumb are best July 22, 2014 A new book lays bare the pitfalls of complex decision-making. Imagine you’re a turkey – one that understands basic probability theory. Each day, a farmer brings you a bucket of corn, and any initial wariness over the human’s presence turns into an expectation that you’re about to be fed. This confidence increases week by week, [...]