Royal Mail hit by broker note January 7, 2014 CANTOR Fitzgerald looks set to be left off Royal Mail’s Christmas card list this year after slapping a sell rating on the postal service’s shares. Cantor analyst Robin Byde said that “following its spectacular post-IPO performance, [Royal Mail]’s valuation and dividend yield are no longer compelling”. While he said the firm was doing well with [...]
Tablets the top pick for iPlayer Xmas viewing January 7, 2014 THE BBC’S iPlayer service saw more viewers tune in on tablets than computers over Christmas for the first time ever. In comparison, last year tablets made up just 21 per cent of iPlayer’s Boxing Day viewers. “2013 truly proved to be the year of the tablet and after they were all unwrapped, Boxing Day saw [...]
Rise in traffic gives Christmas cheer to EasyJet January 7, 2014 EASYJET carried 3.6 per cent more passengers than it did a year ago in 2013, helping narrow the gap between the budget carrier and its larger rival Ryanair. The orange-liveried airline booked in 61.3m customers in 2013, it said yesterday. Traffic in December was up 3.5 per cent at 4.5m, giving FTSE 100-listed EasyJet a [...]
Gatwick says sorry for chaos after biblical Christmas floods January 7, 2014 GATWICK has made a fresh apology to passengers left stranded on Christmas Eve, after it emerged that the airport’s chief executive was on holiday in Newcastle as staff struggled to find enough bus drivers to move passengers. Chief executive Stewart Wingate said the airport had just half an hour’s warning of the “biblical” flooding that [...]
Politicians concerned that spending cuts could jeopardise Environment Agency’s flood work January 7, 2014 POLITICIANS warned yesterday that budget cuts at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs could endanger the country’s efforts to deal with flooding and other extreme weather. Defra’s budget will be cut from £3bn in 2010-11 to £2.2bn by 2015-16, meaning it faces some of the most stark spending reductions of any government [...]
White Company founder and top bosses awarded bumper bonus January 7, 2014 CHRISSIE Rucker, founder of the White Company, took home £4.5m last year after the home furnishings and fashion retailer reported a rise in sales and profits. Accounts filed this week at Companies House also show that £2.9m was set aside to pay out a long-term incentive scheme for the group’s top managers. The nightwear and [...]
Physical retailers see no boon from seasonal card spending January 7, 2014 CARD spending in brick-and-mortar shops over the last year dropped, despite the onset of an early economy recovery. Data from credit and debit cards released by Visa Europe yesterday suggest that while spending at physical retail stores dropped by 1.9 per cent between December 2012 and last month, despite a 6.8 per cent bump in [...]
The Original Bowling Company scores perfect Christmas game January 7, 2014 BRITONS celebrated over the Christmas holidays by putting on their bowling shoes, according to the Original Bowling Company, which posted strong results over the festive period. The company, which runs 44 bowling centres known as AMF and Hollywood Bowl, said like-for-like sales in the five weeks to 5 January were up 8.4 per cent on [...]
Deflation grips shops through Christmas sales January 7, 2014 SHOP prices dropped at the fastest pace for at least seven years this Christmas, as retailers struggled to capitalise on 2013’s increasing consumer confidence. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Nielsen, shop prices slipped by 0.8 per cent during December, driven by a 2.3 per cent drop in non-food prices. Retailers have now [...]
Topps Tiles’ fortunes follow housing market January 7, 2014 Topps Tiles, the UK's largest tile and wood floorings specialist, saw a 9.3 per cent jump in like-for-like revenues over the run up to Christmas – in the 13 weeks ending 28 December. For a company that helps people refurbish their homes, how well Topps does is closely linked to the housing market (people do [...]