RENT June 2, 2011 Q&A Q.We are looking into purchasing a buy to let investment. Is there a better time of year to do this? A.The central London lettings market is seasonal to an extent. Traditionally the busiest months of the year are January, June, September and October. The months to avoid if possible are December, April and August. [...]
INTEL UNVEILS ULTRA-THIN NOTEBOOK May 31, 2011 INTEL yesterday invented a category of ultra-thin, affordable notebooks. They will be powered by its second generation Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge processors, as the firm looks to take on Apple chipmaker ARM in the portable computing stakes. Intel plans to price the devices – which it is calling the Ultrabook – at under $1,000 [...]
CITY BIRDS SWOOP ON GULLS’ EGGS LUNCHEON May 17, 2011 THE City’s summer season is officially underway, marked by yesterday’s Macmillan Gulls’ Eggs City Luncheon at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall. The quirky institution serves guests green speckled gulls’ eggs – which are only in season for four weeks of the year – as they get stuck into some serious networking. “It is like Linked In [...]
Tesco to appeal to “aspirational” shoppers May 10, 2011 Tesco plans to create new brands to spruce up its product ranges and appeal to increasingly aspirational shoppers across the world, its new chief executive said. Phil Clarke, outlining his strategy for the supermarket group, also said Tesco would be online in all 15 of its markets this decade and, while it would continue to [...]
IT’S BACK: APPRENTICE RETURNS WITH FRESH BAIT FOR LORD SUGAR May 3, 2011 THE STAKES are higher than ever on series seven of The Apprentice with more pressure, more risk and even more difficult challenges for the 16 hard-nosed contestants. Gripping viewing – but no-one will be watching the opening episode of this year’s series (next Tuesday) with more interest than the employees of Scottish & Southern Energy [...]
Pimm’s and trifle give Royal Wedding boost to Waitrose May 2, 2011 THE extra Royal Wedding bank holiday pushed Waitrose sales up 23.1 per cent compared to last year’s Easter break, the supermarket said yesterday. Total branch sales for the week to Saturday 30 April jumped as revellers stocked up for barbecues and street parties. Popular items included trifle, with sponge sales rising 370 per cent on [...]
AB Foods hit as costs take toll on profit April 27, 2011 PRIMARK owner AB Foods yesterday saw its shares tumble as it warned that its full-year profit would be dented by soaring costs. The company said it expected full-year profits to be similar to those last year, as it announced its half-year results. It had previously expected annual earnings to rise. Profit for the six months [...]
When times are hard it’s easy to impress April 20, 2011 SHAREHOLDERS may have been handed a carrot today in the form of a reinstated dividend, but long-term a return to the stick is looking more and more likely. Argos has been underperforming for Home Retail Group since Christmas 2008, and unless Terry Duddy really throws his weight behind it that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. [...]
DON’T BANK ON HOLIDAY GROWTH April 17, 2011 ENTREPRENEUR AND INVESTOR AT THE end of April, as you are more than likely aware by now, there will be just three working days out of a run of 11. Employees may be rejoicing at the thought of this break from the office, but I have mixed feelings about this enforced holiday period. The challenge [...]
Werewolf tale lacks bite April 14, 2011 Film RED RIDING HOOD Cert: 12A TEENAGERS, werewolves and a classic love triangle. Sound familiar? Well, this is the latest offering from director Catherine Hardwicke who brought the first Twilight film to our screens – and Red Riding Hood has Twilight written all over it, with panning overhead forest shots, speeded-up chases and a ravenous [...]