CAR TALK November 30, 2010 SNOW SOCKS FOR YOUR CAR Ok so the big freeze is here. And the British don’t generally take much of a Scandinavian approach to fitting snow chains to their cars, mainly because we just can’t be arsed. Luckily Vauxhall is selling Snow Socks for cars – a kind of motoring equivalent of non-slip socks – [...]
Cabin crew in threat to strike again as Unite ballots members November 29, 2010 THE UNITE union is getting ready to ballot 11,000 British Airways cabin crew on further strikes, it announced yesterday after the merger with Iberia was passed by shareholders. The industrial action is over staff travel concessions and disciplinary action linked to previous strikes. Unite joint general secretary Tony Woodley said yesterday BA’s “vicious war against [...]
Tax protestors target Topshop November 29, 2010 Topshop owner and government efficiency adviser Sir Philip Green has been named as a target by anti-tax avoidance protesters. Activists linked to UK Uncut have scheduled protests at Topshop branches in Birmingham and Manchester this Saturday, with more expected to follow in the run-up to Christmas, while a group protesting against education cuts and tax [...]
THE TIPSTER November 29, 2010 THE US car giant Ford is due to give a trading update tomorrow. Its stock has rallied over 50 per cent in 2010 thanks to optimism that quantitative easing will prevent a double dip and people will keep buying cars. It was only two years ago since the stock was trading at $3 and looking [...]
Demand for homes falling, finds survey November 28, 2010 DEMAND for homes fell at the fastest rate for nearly two years last month as buyer confidence dipped, industry figures showed. The number of new buyers registering with agents fell by 4.3 per cent in November, according to the monthly national housing survey from property website Hometrack. The monthly fall was the fifth in a row [...]
SHOPPING ON WEB HITS £3K A SECOND November 28, 2010 ONLINE sales of £3,000 per second will be made on Visa cards today, totalling £265m, according to the company. Visa has coined today Mega Monday, as internet shoppers click through their Christmas shopping lists. Many will have received their November pay packages and be looking for cheap deals online. Sales are expected to peak at [...]
Traffic free day earns London shops £250m November 28, 2010 OVER £250m was spent in West End shops this weekend, as consumers took advantage of the sixth annual traffic-free “VIP Day” in Oxford Street and Regent Street. And retailers are delighted with a reported boom in sales of “big ticket” items, after recent data pointed to a slump in people’s willingness to splash out on [...]
John Lewis stores defy cold snap November 28, 2010 SNOWSTORMS could not stop the boom in John Lewis sales, the department store announced yesterday. Sales last week were just short of £100m, up 8.7 per cent on the same time last year. And the Oxford Street branch recorded its best ever November week. Children’s toys are predictably selling well in the run up to [...]
When the torrent turns into a trickle November 28, 2010 THANKSGIVING might not make much of an impact on most British households, but for those trading on the financial markets, it will certainly have been noticeable. As millions of Americans take leave from work to eat turkey, drink, shop and nurse their hangovers, the number actually still trading shares drops off heavily. But it isn’t [...]
SPREAD BET GURU November 28, 2010 MARKET STRATEGIST josh@cityindex.com Q.Dear Josh, is the Christmas rally a myth? A.Historically at least, a Christmas rally is by no means a myth. The last 10 years have seen the FTSE 100 rally nine times in the month of December, with an average rally of 3 per cent. The only year where the index actually [...]