Debt repayments ruffle feathers at Peacocks November 16, 2009 PEACOCKS, the budget clothing chain that made history with the first hedge fund-backed private buyout, sank further into the red last year. The firm, which also operates the Bonmarché and Fragrance Shop businesses, made a post-tax loss of £7.3m in the 12 months to March. It made a £5.2m loss in 2008. Peacocks took the [...]
Debenhams kicks off retail price war November 16, 2009 Debenhams yesterday announced it will be slashing £250m off prices in a four-day sale this week, in a move which it predicts will spark a price war similar to the frenzied discounting seen last Christmas. Rival Marks & Spencer’s executive chairman Sir Stuart Rose, said earlier this month he did not expect a repeat of [...]
CITY VIEWS: CHRISTMAS SHOPPING ONLINE OR HIGH ST? November 16, 2009 HOCINE YAICHE MOODYS“I am always a last minute shopper, so I have never actually done my Christmas shopping online. It is also a bit a problem doing it online as you then have to get it delivered, and are at work most of the time. But I do think the trend is probably more towards [...]
BA PENSIONS CHIEF IS URGED TO RESIGN November 16, 2009 THE row over British Airways’ retirement scheme intensified yesterday as an independent group of pensioners called for the urgent removal of Roger Maynard as chairman of the trustees. Anger is building over the perceived conflict of interests in Maynard’s chairmanship of both BA’s pension funds – whose huge deficits are potential stumbling blocks in its [...]
THE TIPSTER CHRISTMAS HAS ARRIVED EARLY IN THE MARKETS November 16, 2009 THE FTSE 100 smashed through 5,300 yesterday, rising 86 points to close at 5,382.67. For weeks the blue-chip index had been struggling to get through this resistance level but yesterday, it was firmly back on the upward trend. Has the traditional Santa rally started early? If so, the next target level would be the 5,500 [...]
M&S offers penny delivery November 15, 2009 Marks & Spencer kick-started its Christmas online sales campaign today by offering shoppers delivery for a penny. The penny delivery deal, which only lasts until Saturday, is part of the retailer’s 125th birthday celebrations but is also likely to boost online sales. M&S usually charges £3.50 for UK standard delivery.
House prices fall in run up to Christmas November 15, 2009 ASKING prices for homes in England and Wales are expected to see three months of price falls as sellers postpone moving until after the Christmas period, property website Rightmove will say today. The 1.6 per cent monthly fall in November marks an end to the buoyancy that has characterised the property market during the autumn [...]
John Lewis sales boost shows confidence is back November 15, 2009 Bellwether retailer John Lewis provided fresh signs of confidence seeping back into the high street by reporting a 17.1 per cent rise in sales last week compared to last year. And the group said that the past week’s trading is also £500,000 up on 2007, pre-credit crunch, when shoppers spent £71.98 on average each. John [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPER SAY THIS MORNING November 15, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday TelegraphUK FACES MAJOR OBSTACLES IN BID TO BE A LOW-CARBON LEADERThe UK risks missing out on its slice of the £4.5 trillion low-carbon industry, the manufacturers’ trade body has warned. The EEF said the country faces major obstacles to becoming a leading centre for so-called “cleantech” products and services, “most notably question [...]
O2 tops rivals and grows in third quarter November 12, 2009 Mobile operator O2 said yesterday that it was the only UK network to grow its revenues in the third quarter, as it benefited from its since-expired deal to be the exclusive seller of Apple’s iPhone. The UK arm of Spain’s Telefonica said that it saw demand for its mobile data services – customers accessing the [...]