Rivals set to gain as Comet nears collapse November 1, 2012 THE FUTURE of Comet is hanging by a thread after the troubled retailer called in administrators yesterday, sending its website crashing and shares in rival electricals retailers soaring. OpCapita, the private equity firm which acquired Comet for £2 less than a year ago, confirmed it has filed its intention to appoint administrators with the view [...]
Credit Insurance Explained November 1, 2012 JULIE PALMER BEGBIES TRAYNOR The Christmas trading period is a “Russian Roulette” quarter for retailers, Julie Palmer, a partner at law firm Begbies Traynor explains. “The retailer has to decide to what level they are going to stock their stores, which places heavy demand on their cash flows to fully stock if the suppliers won’t [...]
US gets employment boost as consumer confidence rockets November 1, 2012 US EMPLOYERS added a slew of employees to their payrolls between September and October, data revealed yesterday. And America also received a boost from a key measure of consumer confidence, which rose to a four year high. The Conference Board’s index of morale rose to 72.2, up from 68.4 in September. Meanwhile total US non-farm private employment [...]
Wenger tells Arsenal supporters to lay off RVP November 1, 2012 ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger has urged fans not to vent their anger at Robin van Persie when they face him in tomorrow’s Premier League visit to Manchester United. Van Persie was accused of treachery when he refused to sign a new contract and demanded a transfer over the summer, paving the way for the former [...]
Best of the Brokers November 1, 2012 BARRATT Goldman Sachs has cut its recommendation on the homebuilder to “neutral” from “buy” following recent rises in its share price. It moved its target price to 235p from 210p. N BROWN Peel Hunt has raised its target price for the fashion and homewear retailer to 375p from 340p, maintaining its “buy” recommendation. It cites [...]
Comet’s star goes out as the retailer nears administration October 31, 2012 HIGH STREET stalwart Comet is preparing to bring in administrators, as increasingly tough conditions for its consumers and suppliers have made trading almost impossible. Electricals retailer Comet, which was bought by private investment firm OpCapita for just £2 earlier this year, has recently struggled to secure the credit insurance needed to buy supplies. The pre-Christmas [...]
Wolfson’s winter jumpers keep Next hot as M&S plays catch-up October 31, 2012 MY mum used to buy me a jumper from M&S for Christmas every year. Now she goes to Next.” My colleague’s admission may have raised a laugh yesterday, but it’s a telling sign of the changing times on the UK high street. Looking at Next’s upbeat statement – predicting a £15m increase in profit for [...]
Digital economy jobs leap as clamour for engineers grows October 30, 2012 DEMAND for IT jobs leapt by more than a fifth in the last few months, as firms increasingly invested in app and website development, and internet retail and advertising picked up. Figures from online job website Freelancer.co.uk showed that adverts for the world’s 50 most popular digital jobs grew from 230,614 in the third quarter [...]
All fireworked out? October 30, 2012 Seize the Day at the Wellcome Trust Friday 2 November The Wellcome trust is hosting a macabre night looking at our experiences and relationships with death. Activities will include coffin decorating and a near-death experience. There will also be talks on throughout the four hour event. Doors 7pm. The event is free but some talks [...]
Google and Microsoft unveil Nexus and Windows Phone 8 October 29, 2012 GOOGLE and Microsoft both unveiled challengers to the iPhone yesterday ahead of the crucial Christmas shopping period. Although Google’s proposed New York launch event was blown off course by Hurricane Sandy, it still announced a new smartphone and 10-inch tablet to its Nexus range yesterday, adding to the seven-inch device it unveiled earlier in the [...]