City types head out for a slippery slurp November 26, 2009 IT WAS off to Mansion House for many in the City yesterday for the annual Guinness and Oyster Lunch, which has been a tradition in the Square Mile for nigh on half a century. New Lord Mayor Nick Anstee kicked off the proceedings with a rousing speech, swiftly followed by the face of Guinness maker [...]
M&B toasts a dining uplift November 26, 2009 PUBS group Mitchells & Butlers yesterday said it was optimistic about Christmas trading as it switched to a food focus to compensate for slower drinks revenue. The group said that it has recently introduced its “winter menu” to take advantage of the rise in consumer confidence, which has sparked people to splash out on good [...]
Tesco is serious about building a profitable telco November 26, 2009 It’s hard to think of two brands more different than Apple and Tesco. One is famed for its sleek gadgets, while the other piles high and sells cheap the kind of electronic goods that wouldn’t look out of place in a Latvian discount store. A Lodus television and a Technika DVD player might be cheap, [...]
Advertising and distribution setbacks drag on US profits at publisher Future November 26, 2009 NICHE publisher Future saw profits plunge over the past year after it was plagued by distribution problems in the US and freefalling advertising revenues. Future, whose magazines and websites range from computer gaming to cycling, said yesterday that adjusted pre-tax profit fell 41 per cent to £7.6m over the year to September, down from £12.9m [...]
Boost for Clinton Cards from Halloween sales phenomenon November 26, 2009 GREETING cards retailer Clinton Cards yesterday reported that its like -for-like sales for the 16 weeks to 22 November have jumped by 3.9 per cent, aided by a solid performance across all product categories and exceptional Halloween sales. Clinton Cards – which sells flowers, gifts and Halloween outfits in addition to its card selection – [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS November 25, 2009 PERFECT THOSE CARVING SKILLS Roast turkey may be a central part of the Christmas experience, but it can be ruined by bad carving. Just in time, Sloane Square’s historic department store, Peter Jones, is coming to the aid of inexperienced carvers with a couple of carving tutorial sessions next month. Head Chef Chris Mclean will [...]
F&C DITCHES THE DORCHESTER FOR A LEANER SHOWING AT PING PONG November 25, 2009 THINGS may be looking up in terms of the economy, but the corporate Christmas goose is looking just as lean as it was in the depths of the financial crisis last year – and a little bird tells me that asset management firm F&C Investments is among the companies trimming its budget. Usually, F&C staffers [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 25, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES INVESTORS TO SIGN AVTOVAZ AID DEALShareholders in Russian car maker Avtovaz will sign a rescue deal for the near-bankrupt firm at a meeting near Paris this week, Yuri Ushakov, the Russian Prime Minister’s deputy chief of staff, said yesterday. SATYAM SHARES TUMBLE OVER FRESH CHARGESShares in Mahindra Satyam, the fraud-hit IT services group, [...]
Vodafone to close final salary scheme November 25, 2009 VODAFONE is set to shut its £755m final salary pension scheme to 4,000 staff, in a fresh round of cost-cutting by chief executive Vittorio Colao. Colao is aiming to offset plummeting revenue at the mobile phone operator. The firm is following the lead of Barclays, Whitbread and Fujitsu, who are also blocking current workers from [...]
CITY VIEWS: WHEN DO YOU THINK THE ECONOMY WILL COME OUT OF RECESSION? November 25, 2009 SIMON DUKE LLOYD’S OF LONDON“I expect that by the end of next year we will see signs that the recession has ended, particularly because we’ve already hit bottom. It will take time for new jobs to surface and previous jobs to return, but I think the recovery process is underway.” MARK STOOP BEAZLEY“I think the [...]