Miners push FTSE higher but M&S weighs on retail shares January 7, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares added 0.1 percent yesterday as a rally by heavyweight miners, in tandem with stronger metal prices, offset weakness in energy issues, with retailers upset by a disappointing update from M&S. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was 7.54 points higher at 5,530.04, another 16-month closing high. “It looks like the big [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 7, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES INEOS PUTS IPO ON BACK BURNER Ineos, the world’s third-largest chemicals producer, has put on ice exploratory work for an initial public offering, according to people close to the situation. A listing, which would have been among the largest by a UK company, was one of a range of options that had been [...]
LINKS OF LONDON FORECASTS FURTHER GROWTH THIS YEAR January 5, 2010 STRONG Christmas trading helped luxury jeweller Links of London enjoy a record year despite the recession. The company yesterday said it expected sales for 2009 to be up at least 28 per cent on the previous year’s figure in excess of £60m. Sales for 2007 were just over £45m. Links, known for its popular “sweetie [...]
Why the UK’s factories are back to 1973 January 4, 2010 EVERYBODY knows that financial services have been the hardest hit sector during the recession, right? Wrong. Manufacturing has been by far a greater drag on UK plc than services, including finance; factories have suffered more than offices, including trading floors. Virtually all our beliefs about the slump turn out, on closer scrutiny, to be incorrect. [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 4, 2010 Coutts & Co The private bank has appointed Maggie Bradley as a client partner for its Oxford office, focusing on the local entrepreneur, professional and executive markets. Bradley joins from Coutts’ head office in London, where she has worked for the past five years, latterly as a business partner for international clients. Prior to that, [...]
Mining and oil stocks drive London to a 16-month high January 4, 2010 Strength in commodity stocks and banks drove Britain’s leading share index to a 16-month closing high yesterday, the first session of 2010, outweighing falls from real estate firms and life insurers. The FTSE 100 closed up 87.46 points, or 1.6 per cent, at 5,500.34, its highest close since Sept. 2, 2008 – the month when [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS January 4, 2010 PARADISE PUB’S BOOT CAMP Every Sunday morning throughout January, devotees of West London’s plushest boho gastropub, Paradise By Way of Kensal Green, can work off their Christmas roasts with a training session organised by the pub. A personal trainer will host workouts in Queen’s Park, and rather than paying to join in, the Paradise will [...]
It’s still possible to build a business in a recession December 21, 2009 THOSE of us who were there in the early part of this century when Alastair Lukies was walking the streets of the City of London with his vision for Mobile Money can remember the days before the banks adopted the Monilink platform. Last Thursday, the Aim-listed firm announced a new joint venture (JV) deal with [...]
Shoppers defy cold to set Christmas record December 21, 2009 SHOPPERS are coming out in force in the run up to Christmas, setting records in the capital and throughout the country. The New West End Company, representing more than 600 traders in central London, declared sales have been even higher than expected. Jace Tyrrell, head of communications, said: “We have had a good weekend. We [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 21, 2009 THE SUNDAY The Sunday Telegraph TEST FOR DEFENCE SPENDING PLEDGE The government’s pledge to direct £900m of defence spending into better equipment for Afghanistan will be tested next month when it announces the replacement for the controversial Snatch Land Rover. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is understood to be choosing between four vehicles, and industry experts say the [...]