Food will help Marks & Spencer post fourth quarter sales rise April 15, 2012 MARKS & SPENCER is expected to post a modest rise in fourth quarter sales tomorrow, as strong food sales help to offset more subdued growth at its general merchandising division. Analysts predict Britain’s biggest clothing retailer, whose clothes are modelled by the ‘60s supermodel Twiggy, to reveal a 1.6 per cent lift in like-for-like food [...]
Publishing’s future hangs in the balance: This is no time to pick winners April 12, 2012 IN THE tradition of digital success leading to massive antitrust lawsuits, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) this week filed a suit against Apple and five publishers for allegedly conspiring to keep ebook prices artificially high. Apple’s epublishing rival Amazon rubbed salt on the wound by promptly cutting its Kindle ebook prices even further. But [...]
Bleu is the National colour April 12, 2012 SYNCHRONISED, last month’s Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, heads the weights and the betting for tomorrow’s John Smith’s Grand National (4.15pm) and will bid to become only the second horse to win both races in the same season. He will be the 17th to line up at Aintree and only Golden Miller, way back in 1934, [...]
Goldman Sachs more than doubles its UK charity spend April 11, 2012 Goldman Sachs has been in the wars of late, reputationally at least, what with former employer Greg Smith claiming that his bosses sometimes described their clients as muppets. Smith also argued that the firm had been losing its moral compass. So it is good to see in the investment bank’s latest accounts that it is [...]
Flybe cutting costs to get back on track after profit warnings April 10, 2012 REGIONAL airline Flybe remains on course in spite of market turbulence, it said in a trading update yesterday. The firm, which made its third profit warning of the financial year in January, said moves to cut costs and boost revenues per seat have helped it steady its position in the first quarter of 2012. It [...]
Halfords customers cut back on accessories April 5, 2012 Halfords said it expected to post 2012 pre-tax profit broadly in line with revised forecasts but well down on previous years as consumers cut back on non-essential services. It said it also expected the consumer environment to remain challenging in 2013, especially for the motorist. In the last 13 weeks, stores in Britain and Ireland [...]
Twilight firm eyes premium listing on LSE March 28, 2012 ENTERTAINMENT One, the film and TV content company, said yesterday that it is looking to promote its stock to a premium listing after a particularly strong fourth quarter. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, the group moved from AIM to the main market in July 2010 and said it hopes to upgrade its shares in the coming [...]
FA cooling on Redknapp as door opens for Hoddle return March 28, 2012 FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION chiefs are cooling on appointing Tottenham’s Harry Redknapp as England manager, with West Brom’s Roy Hodgson and former national boss Glenn Hoddle considered increasingly credible alternatives, City A.M. understands. Redknapp has been the overwhelming favourite for the top job since last month, when he was acquitted of tax evasion on the same day [...]
Odeon sees losses widen March 25, 2012 ODEON, Europe’s largest cinema chain, has seen its losses widen to £70m last year, up from £44m in 2010, according to the latest accounts published on Companies House. The group, which runs 2,153 screens in 231 cinemas in Europe, reported a 12 per cent rise in group turnover to £725m last year. The £70m loss [...]
CHANGING OF THE GUARD AT BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH March 22, 2012 ANDREA ORCEL Andrea Orcel’s departure will leave a big gap at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. In a world where contacts and relationships matter so much, the suave late 40s banker had it all. His contacts include Santander, Danske Bank, Unicredit (where he helped BoAML take a lead role in the rights issue earlier this [...]