Family time or fun in the sun for Xmas? November 10, 2009 VEXED IN THE CITYSOLVING YOUR RECESSION PROBLEMS DEAR VEXED: I’ve been with my new girlfriend for six months and I’m absolutely mad about her. I planned to take her away for a surprise blast of Caribbean sun over Christmas – I’ve even put down a deposit on a room in a gorgeous hotel in Turks [...]
Clubcard lifts Tesco’s share of customers November 10, 2009 SUPERMARKET giant Tesco is growing market share for the first time in two years as it fights back at its rivals, industry figures show. Tesco’s double Clubcard points promotion – which cost the group around £5m a week – helped its share of the grocery market climb to 30.7 per cent in the 12 weeks [...]
Euro expected to stay painfully strong in run-up to Christmas November 10, 2009 AFTER only a few weeks of respite for European policymakers, the euro is once again edging back up to test the critical $1.50 level against the US dollar. So far, at least, momentum has been unable to carry the pair through this psychological resistance level for an extended period of time. Officials in the Eurozone [...]
Northern Foods reports modest profit rise while it plans job cuts November 10, 2009 FOOD manufacturer Northern Foods said it was on track to meet market expectations for the full-year and will invest £26.5m in its Fox’s biscuits brand over the next 18 months. The group, which makes Goodfella’s pizza and is Britain’s biggest maker of Christmas puddings, reported a pre-tax profit of £12.9m for the six months to [...]
Vodafone to step up cost cutting plans November 10, 2009 Telecoms giant Vodafone yesterday posted a 73 per cent jump in first-half pre-tax profit and doubled its cost-cutting target to £2bn. The world’s largest mobile operator, which saw revenues increase on sales of data services, had already said it would reach its £1bn cost cutting target by March 2010, a year ahead of schedule. But [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 10, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES GM CHIEF PROMISES CASH FOR NEW-LOOK OPELGeneral Motors yesterday promised a more independent Opel and vowed to support its European unit with fresh money as the US carmaker tried to calm the fury sparked by last week’s decision to keep the unit. Fritz Henderson, head of GM, spoke after a series of meetings [...]
Remember, remember, to buy in November November 9, 2009 NOVEMBER is often considered one of the worst months of the year: the days are getting shorter, the holidays are still at least six weeks away and it is markedly colder and wetter. In short, not a month to get that excited about. That is, unless you are an investor. Forget the dismal weather and [...]
Men: soothe and protect your skin too November 9, 2009 ONCE the summer sun disappears, it’s easy for men to forget to take care of their skin. However, the winter can be just as problematic to a gent’s appearance as the sunnier months – the cold will dry out your skin and cause chapped lips, and overheating at home can make things even worse. And [...]
EX-BANKER TRIES HIS LUCK WITH SEX TOYS November 9, 2009 OF ALL the career paths followed by former City types who have lost jobs in the recession, this one really does take the biscuit. Matt Thomas, a former manager in corporate finance at Seymour Pierce, decided to make the most of the opportunity when he was made redundant last November by setting up a joint [...]
Strong retail sales growth but 2010 outlook uncertain November 9, 2009 RETAIL sales enjoyed their strongest October growth for seven years with retail sales values rising 3.8 per cent on a like-for-like basis, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). But the BRC warned that last month’s strong performance was compared to October 2008, when sales fell 2.2 per cent due to turmoil in the financial [...]