Online sales boost for House of Fraser January 9, 2011 UK department store House of Fraser saw same store sales jump 8.5 per cent in the five weeks to 8 January, reinforcing the success of multi-brand retailers over the Christmas period. It follows similar results last week from the John Lewis Partnership, which saw sales up 8.9 per cent compared to last year. But House [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD January 9, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● WM Morrison release its Christmas trading update today. ● Tomorrow the US National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon incident release their final report on the causes of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. ● Marks & Spencer, the iconic British department store, will publish its third quarter interim management statement tomorrow. ● Supermarket [...]
Cost of snow hitting home January 6, 2011 BRITAIN’S economy took a hammering from the winter freeze, with the service sector contracting in December and retailers being hit, it was revealed yesterday. The country’s largest sector experienced its first decline for 20 months, stalling the recovery. The business activity index, compiled by Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS), dropped [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 6, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES GOLDMAN TEES UP SALE OF JAPAN GOLF COURSE Goldman Sachs is ending its long love affair with golf in Japan. The US investment bank is seeking buyers for its remaining stake in Accordia Golf, the country’s largest golf course operator. The proposed sale comes as Japan’s enthusiasm for golf is also cooling – [...]
Carlo: Angry Blues will put things right January 6, 2011 CHELSEA manager Carlo Ancelotti claims his players have been left furious by a run of form which has seen them drop out of the title race. The Italian is understood to be safe from the ignominy of being sacked eight months on from leading the club to a historic double, despite presiding over a run [...]
Arm surges on Microsoft partnership January 6, 2011 ARM Holdings was the stand out winner at the Consumer Electronics Show yesterday, after Microsoft announced its processors would be used in a new, low-powered version of the Windows operating system. Microsoft signalled it will work with UK-based ARM on the next version of its platform in a bid to gain traction in the next [...]
Majestic sees wine sales up in festive lift January 6, 2011 MAJESTIC Wine has bucked the trend of retailers turning in poor results figures over the snow-hit Christmas period with a 6.4 per cent sales rise. Chief executive Steve Lewis said the weather had initially put customers off venturing out but then there had been a rush. The figures for the nine weeks to 3 January [...]
Mothercare sales hit by bad weather January 6, 2011 MOTHERCARE has issued a profit warning after the winter weather dented its performance over the Christmas period. Like-for-like sales in the last three months of 2010 fell 5.8 per cent at the mother and baby retailer as the snow and ice took its toll, it said in a trading statement yesterday. Toy sales were hardest [...]
Goldman: ECB has bought up a fifth of Eurozone bonds January 6, 2011 THE European Central Bank’s intervention in Eurozone sovereign bond markets means that the central bank amounts to 20 per cent of marketable stock, according to analysis by Goldman Sachs. The note, released yesterday, says: “The ECB remains the main buyer of Portuguese government securities.” It adds: “The ECB has effectively removed from the private markets [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS January 6, 2011 RATE WAR ON £7,500 LOANS The average interest rate charged on unsecured personal loans of £7,500 has dropped to 7.89 per cent, the lowest level since November 2008, according to a survey by moneysupermarket.com. The fall in rates is thanks to a price war between providers. Tim Moss, head of loans and debts at moneysupermarket.com, [...]