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 [...]
Next sees snow knock £22m off Xmas sales January 5, 2011 NEXT posted a slightly-worse-than-expected fall in underlying store sales at Christmas, blaming the hit to trade from snow in December. It said that even though it lost an estimated £22m of sales because of the snow it was still in line to hit forecasts. The group, which runs over 500 stores in Britain and Ireland, [...]
John Lewis boosted by Christmas sales surge January 5, 2011 JOHN Lewis Partnership reported bumper Christmas sales, despite the snowy conditions that robbed other retailers of a seasonal boost. Sales at its John Lewis department stores in the five weeks to 1 January were £545m, up 8.9 per cent from a year before. The strong performance was driven by its electrical and home technology department, [...]
CITY VIEWS: CAN YOU SEE YOURSELF BUYING GOODS OR SERVICES THROUGH YOUR SMARTPHONE? January 5, 2011 ADRIAN MILNE | ACCENTURE “Yes. I really like the idea of purchasing food – and especially pizza – through my smartphone” ANDREW HIBBARD | TRANSATLANTIC REINSURANCE I’m on the fence. I could see myself buying from Amazon but with items like clothes, I’d much rather try them on” KEIR MCCARTHY | BULLHORN “Definitely. In fact, [...]
FTSE 100 rebounds as banks rally and miners pare losses January 5, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares rallied yesterday after employment data from the US showed the economic recovery was picking up steam, which helped miners and oil stocks pare losses and banks rally. The FTSE 100 closed up 29.99 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 6,043.86, bouncing off a session low of 5,964.43. Miners pared losses and oil [...]
THE TIPSTER January 5, 2011 After hitting 28-month highs earlier this week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell back slightly on Tuesday to lows of 11,636.88 in intra-day trading. However, yesterday’s rally showed traders are positive about the index, which has rallied hard since trading below 10,000 as recently as 31 August. With analysts predicting a positive year ahead, traders [...]
Tips to survive the snow this winter January 5, 2011 THE country seems to have just about recovered following the pre-Christmas snow which brought trains and airports to a standstill. But with more snow certain this winter, it’s time to ask just how prepared your own business is for the next “snow down”. Staff stuck at the airport, kids at home from school, customers unable [...]
US jobs data leads FTSE to a strong close January 5, 2011 THE FTSE continued its strong start to 2011 as a late afternoon rally enabled it to stick at levels not seen since 2008. The FTSE 100 closed 29.99 points or 0.5 per cent higher to close at 6,043.86, still ahead of the important 6,000 mark and far above levels seen in the recession. Impressive US [...]