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, [...]
Snow to blame as top US retail results miss targets January 6, 2011 A FLURRY of US retail results released yesterday failed to meet market projections, despite gains in same-store sales for several companies. After heavy snowfall hit the Eastern seaboard just after Christmas, some companies blamed the blizzard for their shortfall, with retailers ranging from department store operator Macy’s and discounter Target to teen clothing store American [...]
Business sentiment boost for Eurozone driven by Germany January 6, 2011 CONFIDENCE in the Eurozone economy shot up to a 38-month high in December, official figures revealed yesterday. The European Commission’s economic sentiment index rose from November’s 105.1 to record 106.2 last month – its highest level since October 2007. The results were driven by strong increases in industrial and retail confidence, a relief for European [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 6, 2011 TRAVIS PERKINS RBS rates the building materials firm “buy” with a raised target price of £12.95. The broker sees the firm’s purchase of BSS Group last month as an attractive earnings driver over the next two years until the underlying market recovery takes over in 2013. It adds that the acquisition gives the company significant [...]
Mothercare issues profit warning January 6, 2011 Mothercare has issued a profit warning after the snow hit its UK business. Like-for-like sales in the last three months of 2010 dropped four per cent as the freezing conditions caused “widespread disruption”. Toy sales were hardest hit after the firm cut off Christmas online orders early to ensure delivery. Chief executive Ben Gordon said: [...]
Grant remaining positive despite Toon horror show January 5, 2011 NEWCASTLE 5 vs WESTHAM 0 BELEAGUERED West Ham manager Avram Grant blamed a “bad day at the office” after a debut hat-trick from Leon Best plunged the Israeli’s tenure to a new low. Grant (right) looks destined to be sacked after the Hammers sank back to the foot of the Premier League table, thanks to [...]
HMV shares dive as profit warning hits January 5, 2011 SHARES in HMV Group plunged by more than a fifth at one stage yesterday as it issued a profit warning while admitting that it was struggling to meet the terms of a loan covenant. The music and DVD retailer – which also owns Waterstone’s bookshops and a string of live venues – plans to close [...]