Hornby trains slowed by snow January 25, 2011 MODEL train maker Hornby, which also owns Scalextric and Airfix, has warned its profits will be below forecasts after sub zero temperatures hit Christmas sales. It said that the lower-than-expected sales in the festive season meant stores were unlikely to order as much fresh stock in the next few weeks. The company expects its pre-tax [...]
BA’s brand can only stand strikes for so long January 25, 2011 WITH BA cabin crew once again voting to support industrial action, we’ve had a look at the impact that the strikes have had on public perceptions of the airline, now part of International Airlines Group (IAG). Back in the autumn of 2009 BA had an impressions score in the high 20s. Then came the announcement [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 23, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES AUDITORS SEEK TO EASE FEARS The four biggest auditors have denied that their dominance of the market for large companies had created a systemic risk akin to that posed by the leading banks. Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PwC have told the European Commission that they are willing to help draw up [...]
Tax officials’ bonuses to be curbed after bumper 2010 January 23, 2011 BONUSES received by tax officials will be curbed in line with the rest of the public sector, following revelations that top HMRC staff received a bumper £13m bonus payment between them last year. The Revenue paid out almost £800,000 more on staff bonuses last year than it did in 2009, despite a blunder in the [...]
Growth to slip after record winter freeze January 23, 2011 THE coldest winter in 100 years may have contributed to a slowdown in economic growth in the three months to December, economists said ahead of official GDP figures released tomorrow. Experts have forecast an average 0.4 per cent GDP growth for the quarter, down from 0.7 per cent in the previous quarter. Heavy winter snow [...]
S&P 500 is on the edge of a painful correction January 23, 2011 THE SCOTTISH journalist Bertie Charles Forbes once said: “Optimism is the stuff of which American business success is fashioned”. He would have seen much to be happy about in the USA now. Though unemployment remains stubbornly high, American investors at least are seeing the bright side. The S&P 500 index of stocks has rallied by [...]
Nintendo leaps ahead with 3DS January 23, 2011 AFTER being surrounded by the latest in 3D technology for a week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the sight of two-dimensional images – a video of a puppy playing, for example, or a photograph of a friend’s newborn baby – now makes me uncontrollably and violently sick. Watching standard 2D TV is [...]
John Lewis in sharp sales rise January 21, 2011 Sales growth at department store chain John Lewis slowed dramatically last week as consumers tightened their belts after spending freely in the post-Christmas sales. The employee-owned retailer, which also runs upmarket grocery chain Waitrose, said on Friday department store sales increased 4.1 per cent to £55.8m in the week to January 15. Sales in the [...]
AB Foods set to hike prices as costs surge January 20, 2011 AB Foods warned yesterday that the spiralling price of wheat, cotton, and other commodities means that shoppers could face price hikes on basic shopping basket goods. The firm, which has brands including twinings Tea, Kingsmill bread and Silver Spoon sugar, said customers had already seen some rises and more were looming. Cost increases have also [...]
Enterprise sales hit by snow January 20, 2011 ENTERPRISE Inns said snow kept drinkers at home in December wiping up to £2m off its first-quarter profit. The group, which has around 6,800 pubs across Britain, said a cold snap of snow and ice leading up to Christmas caused a loss of earnings for many of its pub landlords. Net income at pubs where [...]