Swissie scandal engulfs governor January 4, 2012 SWISS National Bank governor Philipp Hildebrand will today break his silence on controversial currency trades made by his wife. Hildebrand has come under increasing pressure to clarify events, after details of foreign exchange transactions made from his personal accounts at Swiss private bank Sarasin were leaked by one of its employees to lawyers for the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 4, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES SPANISH BANKS FACE EXTRA HIT OF €50BN Spain says it expects its banks to set aside up to €50bn in further provisions on their bad property assets as part of a new round of reforms for the country’s financial sector. Luis de Guindos, economy minister in the centre-right government that took office two [...]
Retailers tumble as Next warns of anaemic growth January 4, 2012 CLOTHING retailer Next admitted to “disappointing” sales at its high street stores and warned yesterday that growth this year would be modest, citing concerns over the Eurozone debt crisis and rising unemployment. Its shares fell by four per cent yesterday after chief executive Lord Simon Wolfson said it was on track to meet profit forecasts for [...]
Festive cheer at John Lewis as sales jump January 4, 2012 HIGH street bellwether retailer John Lewis has hailed “outstanding” sales in the run-up to Christmas but warned of a challenging year ahead as economic conditions remain volatile. Total sales in the five weeks to 31 December surged to almost £596m, up 9.3 per cent compared with last year, while like-for-like sales were up 6.2 per [...]
FTSE FIRM IN RACE FOR 2012 GAMES DELIVERY January 4, 2012 ANDREW Tinkler, the boss of the FTSE 250 haulage empire Stobart Group, spent a quiet Christmas at his home in Cumbria. But now he is “raring to go” in 2012, he tells The Capitalist, focusing on the £100m development of the Stobart-owned London Southend Airport, which will turn what was once Britain’s third-busiest airport – [...]
Catastrophes cause record losses in 2011 January 4, 2012 EARTHQUAKES, storms and floods that battered the world in 2011 caused an unprecedented level of economic damage and insured losses, a leading insurance group said yesterday. Natural catastrophes set a new record of $380bn (£244bn) of economic losses last year, two and a half times higher than in 2010 and $160bn higher than the previous [...]
Perfect the art of networking with these simple tips January 4, 2012 CAREER DEVELOPMENT EXPERT ONE of the first things to greet executives on their return to the office in the new year should be the fruit of attending all those pre-Christmas hospitality events – a neat stack of business cards promising new business leads. But perhaps not. Many people will be lucky to have amassed a [...]
How to dress after weeks of festive excess January 4, 2012 The accrual of festive flab is unpleasant on several scores: one, none of your clothes fit properly, leaving you obsessively watching the clock until you can go home and sprawl in pyjamas on the sofa. Two: weight gain inevitably dents self-esteem. Walking around with a spare tire peeking over your slim-fit Armani trousers or a [...]
John Lewis toasts “outstanding” Christmas sales January 4, 2012 High Street bellwether retailer John Lewis has said its sales throughout the Christmas period were “outstanding” at almost £600m. Sales rose 9.3 per cent to £596m in the five weeks to the end of December, compared with the same period in 2010, the owner of Peter Jones and Waitrose said. Like for like sales were [...]
Next Christmas shop sales disappoint but online thrives January 4, 2012 Next has reported a 3.1 per cent rise in total sales between August and Christmas Eve as online sales offset “disappointing” sales at its High Street stores. The company, which did not discount any goods in the run up to Christmas, expects full-year pretax profits to be £7m either side of £565m – up four [...]