Case against Farepak directors and parent company collapses June 20, 2012 A GOVERNMENT companies watchdog yesterday abandoned its bid to penalise directors of a Christmas saving scheme which collapsed in 2006 leaving tens out of thousands of savers out of pocket. The Insolvency Service, part of business secretary Vince Cable’s department for business, innovation and skills, said it was discontinuing High Court action against both former [...]
RAPID responses June 20, 2012 Corporate charity [Re: Government should stop meddling and leave pay decisions to shareholders, yesterday] Elaine Sternberg is right to criticise government for trying to force companies to act in the interests of society rather than shareholders. But aren’t many firms doing exactly this of their own account? It’s fine for companies to conduct corporate philanthropy [...]
Majestic Wine finds reason to celebrate with record profits June 18, 2012 THE BOSS of Majestic Wine said the UK public was as much in love with food and wine as ever, after consumers spending on special occasions helped to drive record full-year profits. The wine retailer posted pre-tax profits of £23.2m, up 14.5 per cent in the year to 2 April, helped in part by growing [...]
Recipe for success is a special blend June 17, 2012 Q Three years in the City – how has it been? A Considering we opened High Timber just as the recession kicked in, overall it has been fabulous. There are so many big characters in the City; the restaurant always seems to have a buzzing and fun atmosphere. Q What’s been great and what’s been [...]
Redknapp had bluff called by Spurs hierarchy June 14, 2012 OPINION may be divided over whether Harry Redknapp deserved to be cut adrift by Tottenham on Wednesday night, but ultimately his strong-arm bargaining tactics left the club with few options. When Redknapp went public last week with his frustration at not being given a new contract, arguing that the uncertainty over his future would destabilise [...]
Sainsbury says it beat rivals but shares fall June 13, 2012 J SAINSBURY crowned itself “a Jubilee winner” after chief executive Justin King said the Queen’s celebrations helped the retailer continue to beat its rivals in the first quarter of 2012. Like-for-like sales rose 1.4 per cent in the 12 weeks to 9 June, while total sales rose 3.8 per cent excluding fuel, with savvy shoppers [...]
Tesco recovery fails to ignite growth in sales June 11, 2012 TESCO reported its fourth consecutive quarter of falling sales yesterday as the grocer’s £1bn recovery plan following its shock profit warning in January struggled to gain pace. Britain’s largest retailer said UK like-for-like sales excluding VAT and fuel fell 1.5 per cent in the 13 weeks to 26 May, only slightly up on a 1.6 [...]
Waitrose feasts on record sales in Jubilee week June 6, 2012 DEMAND for British favourites such as scotch eggs, sausage rolls and ales to wash down street party festivities helped Waitrose serve up record-breaking sales in the run-up to the Diamond Jubilee. Sales surged 19.8 per cent in the week to Saturday 2 June to a total of £123m, Waitrose’s highest ever trading week with the [...]
Nintendo’s Wii U is an E3 hit June 6, 2012 The world’s biggest gaming event, E3, is well underway in LA – and it is Nintendo that has everyone talking. It showed off, for the first time, a working version of its new Wii U, a baffling tablet/console hybrid that promises to put a new spin on gaming. And it needs to: the Japanese company [...]
England pair best in world, says Pietersen May 22, 2012 ENGLAND batsman Kevin Pietersen has hailed team-mates Stuart Broad and James Anderson as the most devastating new-ball pairing in world cricket. Broad and Anderson took 14 scalps between them as England beat West Indies by five wickets in the first Test at Lord’s, which ended on Monday. “Our bowlers are a fantastic unit. To get [...]