Inside Track: The EU’s rules to cap bankers’ bonuses aren’t working January 15, 2014 CREATE a loophole and bankers will leap through it quicker than you can say “deferred compensation”: that seems to be one of the axioms of the aftermath of the financial crisis. Examine the consequences of the European Commission’s cap on the multiple of salaries that banks can dish out in variable pay, though, and the [...]
Laura Ashley raises £8m after selling entire stake in Moss Bros January 15, 2014 LAURA Ashley parted ways with suit-maker Moss Bros yesterday after selling its entire holding in the company and raising £8m. The womenswear and home furnishings store started building up its stake in 2008, which sparked talks of a possible takeover, but a bid never came to fruition. Laura Ashley is taking advantage of Moss Bros’ [...]
H&M reports good Christmas as starts making clothes in Africa January 15, 2014 SWEDISH budget fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) said yesterday its total sales rose 10 per cent in December, right in line with market expectations. H&M said it would no longer report comparable sales for stores open at least a year, saying total sales were more relevant. December is the first month of H&M’s fiscal [...]
Late dash for online gifts over Christmas gives UK Mail a boost January 15, 2014 LAST-MINUTE online shopping over Christmas helped boost revenues at delivery company UK Mail, the firm said yesterday. Parcel volumes were up 15 per cent in the final three months of the year, and mail volumes also rose from last year’s levels. “It is clear from weekly volume patterns that shoppers were, more than ever before, [...]
London Report: Upbeat investors help drive FTSE to eight-month high January 15, 2014 THE UK’S top equity index rose yesterday to set its highest closing level in eight months, as the World Bank’s upward revision of global growth forecasts buoyed the market. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index finished up by 0.8 per cent, or 53 points, at 6,819.86 points – marking its highest closing level since late May [...]
The ultimate post-Christmas regime January 15, 2014 City A.M. journalist Alex Dymoke tries out a ten week body transformation regime WHEN I was 16, I swapped tennis and football for something altogether less taxing – drinking. Since then, the closest I’ve got to doing any kind of sport was a game of pub golf during freshers’ week. Occasionally I was enlisted as [...]
Shoppers set to spend 17 per cent more in 2014 January 15, 2014 Online retail sales for 2013 have thumped expectations – as spending jumped by 16 per cent to £91bn compared with the previous year and now accounting for almost a quarter (21 per cent) of the total retail market. Those are from the latest online retail findings ofIMRG and Capgemini, which were revealed today at a [...]
2013 Royal Family gift list revealed January 15, 2014 It might not come as too much of a surprise that, for the Royal Family, a gift is not just for Christmas – they receive them all year round. And today, Buckingham Palace has released a list of what was received in 2013. Below are the items the Queen alone received last year. Highlights for [...]
Laura Ashley and Moss Bros go their separate ways January 15, 2014 Laura Ashley has said goodbye to Moss Bros, disposing of its entire holding in the suit sellers and raising £8m. The womenswear and home furnishings store started building up its stake in 2008, which sparked talks of a possible takeover, but a bid never came to fruition. Laura Ashley is taking advantage of Moss Bros' [...]
Burberry flags currency headwinds as sales jump 12pc January 15, 2014 Burberry has said that, despite a reasonably strong festive season, it expects exchange headwinds to affect its second half results. The high-end fashion store has posted a 12 per cent rise in comparable sales for the last three months of 2013, with retail revenue up 14 per cent to £528m. Nomura analysts had expected sales [...]