Quercus boosted by ebook sales January 30, 2012 Quercus, publisher of Stieg Larsson’s popular Millennium trilogy of books, said yesterday that its sales of ebooks almost quadrupled in the run up to Christmas compared to a year ago. Ebook sales rose from three per cent to 11 per cent of the company’s total revenues in 2011, with the film version of The Girl [...]
Morale boost among British consumers January 30, 2012 JANUARY is often considered the most depressing time of the year, yet a leading index of consumer morale has surprised economists by reaching a seven-month high during the opening weeks of 2012. Softening inflation and lower energy prices could be behind Brits reporting a less negative evaluation of their economic wellbeing, according to GfK NOP, [...]
THE TIPSTER OMAHA’S ORACLE FEASTS AT THE BARGAIN BUFFET January 30, 2012 THE shares of Tesco plunged in mid-January after the retail giant announced an unexpected fall in Christmas sales. The sell-off took the price down through support at 350p and also broke the long-term up-trend. News that Warren Buffett increased his holding to 5 per cent from 3.2 per cent helped to lift the shares, but [...]
FIT IN THE CITY January 30, 2012 FITNESS & DIET EXPERT So as Britain’s running stars head off to Kenyan training camps ahead of the London Marathon and 2012, tedious stints on the treadmill seem even more unappealing than usual. But with more and more training add-ons available to compliment your running, there’s no need to go it alone this spring. THE [...]
Hildebrand’s farewell dinner January 29, 2012 AT A discreet farewell dinner in Davos for Swiss National Bank chief Philipp Hildebrand, a handful of guests including central bankers past and present were handed blank sheets of paper. Before they began eating they were asked to write down the probability, in their view, that the euro would collapse in the next five years, [...]
This former general says the real essence of strategy has been forgotten by business January 29, 2012 THE British government can’t do strategy. Who says so? The British government, that’s who. Or more precisely, that’s what the House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee concluded after an inquiry last year. To the historian, this looks like a loss of national vocation. In the great wars of the twentieth century, the British often [...]
Hornby issues profit warning January 27, 2012 Toy maker Hornby, renowned for its train sets, has issued a profits warning after disappointing Christmas sales. The company said “fragile consumer confidence” had taken its toll. Sales growth for the financial year has been lower than hoped and, as a result, full-year profits are now likely to miss expectations. But Hornby said its new [...]
Starbucks enjoys a bumper Christmas January 26, 2012 STARBUCKS last night reported a quarterly profit that topped Wall Street’s forecasts, after global economic worries failed to weaken demand for drinks and snacks from the world’s biggest coffee chain. The firm continued its global expansion in the quarter, opening a net 241 new outlets and moving into two new countries, helping to push its [...]
Sales plunge as shoppers’ gloom grows January 26, 2012 SHOPPERS cut back in January and are expected to slash spending further, retailers told the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) distributive trades survey, published yesterday. Twice as many retailers reported that sales were down on January 2011 than reported a rise, with a net balance of 22 suffering a decline – the gloomiest position since [...]
Investors give M&B a bloody nose on execs January 26, 2012 MANY shareholders in Mitchells & Butlers yesterday rebelled against the dominance of the company’s largest investor Piedmont by voting against the re-election of its representatives Ron Robson and Douglas McMahon to the board. Although all five directors were voted back onto the board at the company’s AGM, about one in five investors either voted against [...]