Clinton Cards facing tough times November 28, 2011 Struggling British cards and gifts retailer Clinton Cards has said sales are falling at a worsening rate as it battles tough trading conditions. The firm, also facing intense competition from supermarkets and the internet, said yesterday that sales at stores open over a year fell 2.4 per cent in the 16 weeks to 20 November. [...]
Shops cutting jobs as retail sales fall November 28, 2011 RETAILERS are taking a beating as consumers tighten their belts, according to the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) distributive trades survey, published yesterday, and the GfK consumer products study, out today. Almost half of retailers saw sales fall in the year to November, compared with 29 per cent who experienced an increase – a far [...]
Sainsbury’s stays neutral in supermarket price war November 28, 2011 J SAINSBURY says it will not join the wave of discounting sweeping the retail sector, believing shoppers will splash out on Christmas despite a gloomy economic backdrop. Commercial director Mike Coupe made the vow as Britain’s third-biggest supermarket group unveiled its biggest ever Christmas range, including around 500 groceries and 700 non-food items. “The evidence [...]
Dreaming big in Malawi November 28, 2011 OFFERING people financial services as simple as a bank account or affordable business loan for the first time can be life-changing. Take Precious Bambala, a small-time hairdresser based in the village of Limbuli in southern Malawi, where all the money raised in City A.M.’s Christmas charity appeal will be used. In her remote rural area, [...]
£110,000 raised so far November 28, 2011 DONATIONS to City A.M.’s Christmas appeal are still pouring in, and we are delighted that only two weeks into our campaign we have raised more than £110,000 from our generous readers. More than £12,000 has been gifted to our appeal by phone, by text and through our website in the past four days alone, including [...]
LUKE JOHNSON ENDORSES LAUNCH FOR THE CITY’S BEST-CONNECTED November 28, 2011 ARE YOU fed up with receiving endless invitations to “connect” with people you have never met on digitally promiscuous social networking sites? Then Ndoorse, the new network for high-quality professionals founded by ex-Deloitte strategy consultant Jeremy Weil and JC Rathbone director Kristian Rathbone is perhaps for you. The only problem is that the City-meets-entrepreneurs network, [...]
London house prices join fall in rest of UK November 28, 2011 LONDON’S house prices slid in the month to the end of October, at last joining the falling trend across the rest of England and Wales, figures out yesterday from the Land Registry revealed. Average prices in the capital fell 1.6 per cent from £345,870 to £340,308 in the month to October, up just 0.3 per [...]
HOPING FOR A CHANGE IN ECB POLICIES November 28, 2011 EQUITY markets bounced back yesterday, but last week was another grim period. Anyone hoping for an equity market rally into Thanksgiving will have been severely disappointed. The major stock indices across Europe, the US and Asian Pacific countries all fell sharply, with many breaking below significant support levels. From a technical perspective, last week’s sell-off [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 27, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES PLEA TO BRUSSELS OVER AUDIT SHAKE-UP The heads of several midsized audit networks have issued a last-ditch appeal to the European Commssion not to dilute sweeping proposals aimed at reducing the dominance of the four biggest accountants and improving audit quality. In a joint interview with the Financial Times, the chief executives called [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK November 27, 2011 TWO things are in plentiful supply at the 1980s-themed club Maggies in West London: bad taste and Russian Standard vodka. Combine the two, as one City boy did when he turned up to “start Christmas early” with seven friends, and you find yourself wearing the Miner’s Cap – a hat adorned with the Iron Lady’s [...]