WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 14, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BOSCH WARNS JAPAN CRISIS WILL SLOW GLOBAL GROWTH The impact of last month’s Japanese earthquake will cut global economic growth by a quarter of a percentage point and could put a big dent in planed increase in car production this year, the head of the world’s largest car parts supplier warned. Franz Fehrenbach, [...]
Goldman calls top of rally in commodities April 12, 2011 COMMODITY prices dipped yesterday after long-term bull Goldman Sachs advised clients to close their long positions on a basket of commodities including copper, platinum, soy beans and crude oil. Goldman’s “CCCP basket” has made a 25 per cent gain over the last four months, but the bank warned clients to take profits before an expected [...]
€14M WAR CHEST FOR WIGLEY’S FILM PLOT April 6, 2011 EACH year, the Big Curry Lunch hosted by Lord Mayor Michael Bear gets “bigger and better” according to Bear, with 800 guests from the City, Parliament and Livery Companies sitting down to three servings yesterday at the Guildhall. The annual banquet is held in aid of ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, and this year’s event raised [...]
M&S to add to retail gloom April 3, 2011 MARKS and Spencer, the retail bellwether, is likely to add to the sense of impending doom on the High Street when it reports a sharp drop in sales later this week. Analysts expect like-for-like sales of general merchandise – which exclude food – to have fallen by a “grisly” six per cent in the fourth [...]
Dixons warns on profits for second time March 30, 2011 DIXONS Retail, the owner of Currys and PC World, yesterday said it would slash costs as it issued its second profit warning in three months. The firm said consumer confidence had deteriorated since the start of the year, especially in the UK and Ireland, hitting sales of big ticket electrical items such as flat screen [...]
Dixons warns on profit as UK trade worsens March 30, 2011 The UK’s No.1 electricals retailer Dixons has issued a profit warning, becoming the latest store group to report worsening trade as shoppers are hit by rising prices and government spending cuts. Dixons, which runs the Currys and PC World chains, said profit before tax and one-off items for the year ending April 30 was likely [...]
Ireland aims to woo Europe with a pledge to stick to its budget targets March 6, 2011 IRELAND’S new government will stick to the budget targets laid down in an €85bn (£73bn pound) EU/IMF rescue package as it seeks to win European partners round to giving it easier terms on the loans. Ireland’s prime minister in-waiting Enda Kenny is under huge pressure to persuade Europe’s paymaster Germany to cut the interest rate [...]
Greencore to fight rival bid January 23, 2011 GREENCORE is expected to sweeten its merger deal with Northern Foods this week in an attempt to best Boparan’s £342m cash takeover offer. Dublin-based Greencore is considering adding a cash sweetener on top of its all-share merger with Northern, according to people familiar with the companies. Northern’s board has dropped its support for the Greencore [...]
Snow losers for traders looking for volatility January 16, 2011 THE Christmas trading results branded companies as either winners or “snow losers” last week. Tesco shocked the market by offering figures that analysts felt paled in comparison to Sainsbury’s. Thanks to 12,000 tonnes of grit, the supermarket deserved to take the title of winner of the festive race. Toy, clothing and leisure retailers also offered [...]
Intelligent luxury under a hot blue sky January 16, 2011 ABU Dhabi sounds like a heady jumble of car, construction and human. In the daytime, the air is thick with noise as it is thick with the pervading haze of dust blown in from the sandlands to the south and thrown up by the never-ending construction. It softens the otherwise relentless sunshine, rendering everything (including [...]