M&S LEADS HIGH STREET RECOVERY January 4, 2010 HIGH street bellwether Marks & Spencer is this week expected to report its first sales growth in two years, boosting hopes that British consumers have cast aside their gloom and started spending again. The retail giant will update the market on Wednesday on how it fared over Christmas, with analysts expecting M&S to post like-for-like [...]
Omega board faces coup January 3, 2010 OMEGA Insurance is under increasing pressure to replace the directors of its board after Invesco Perpetual, its largest shareholder, secured the backing of other investors to request a special general meeting. Neil Woodford, Invesco’s star fund manager, wants to oust Walter Fiederowicz and replace him with former Benfield man John Coldman as chairman of the [...]
HELL ON HIGH WATER January 3, 2010 Everyone’s favourite daredevil chief executive, Helical Bar boss Mike Slade, has been up to his old tricks again over the Christmas period in his ICAP Leopard super-maxi racing yacht. Slade, who’s broken a whole haul of records with the yacht since launching it on the race circuit, was unable to take line honours in the [...]
UK and US shut up embassies in Yemen January 3, 2010 THE United States and Britain closed their embassies in Yemen yesterday over security concerns about possible militant attacks after the failed bombing of a US-bound plane on Christmas Day. The US embassy cited threats by al Qaeda, which US intelligence agencies believe has a growing presence in Yemen. A British Foreign Office spokeswoman cited security [...]
London must not be sacrificed in age of austerity January 3, 2010 As was recently reported, I am taking a hands-on approach to the Mayoralty – from basting the family Christmas Turkey down in the kitchens of Mansion House to defending the City’s interests against Nicholas Sarkozy’s plans for European domination, I am not afraid to get my hands dirty! That is why, if I were to [...]
Seasonal trends can hurt FTSE100 January 3, 2010 IT’S worth remembering that seasonal trends can cause some unexpected moves in the financial markets. So far this decade January has been a bad month for the equity markets. The FTSE 100 has declined seven times out of the last 10 Januarys and lost on average more than 5 per cent during this seasonal trend. [...]
Bankers must get act together December 21, 2009 IT SEEMS an age away now but back in July, on one of those long summer evenings that makes London such a marvellous place to live in, a group of the country’s foremost politicians, business leaders and bankers gathered at the home of Roland Rudd. Rudd, the founder of the City’s foremost public relations firm [...]
Eurostar launches probe as limited services resume today December 21, 2009 EUROSTAR yesterday launched an independent investigation into the problems which forced it to cancel all train services for three days in a row. The review will be led by Christopher Garnett, former chief executive of GNER and the former commercial director of Eurotunnel, and Claude Gressier, the French inspector general of bridges and roads. Eurostar [...]
SALES CHILLED December 21, 2009 HEAVY snow and freezing temperatures have deterred Christmas shoppers from hitting the High Street for some last minute purchases. According to data firm Experian, the number of shoppers on 19 on 20 December was 6.9 per cent lower than for the same weekend last year. Central London was one hot spot, with the West End [...]
House prices to rise in 2010 December 21, 2009 HOUSE prices will continue to creep up in the New Year but end next year just one to two per cent higher than where they are now, according to new research published today. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) predicts that the housing market will revive, with transactions rising to a monthly average of [...]