FTSE 100 flirts with bear market July 9, 2008 London’s leading blue chip share index lurched into official bear market territory yesterday before recovering to end the day lower, but temporarily out of the danger zone. The FTSE 100 index fell below 5,385 points in early trading, 20 per cent below its June 2007 peak of 6,732, putting it in official bear territory, defined [...]
Russia’s Sibir Energy races towards FTSE July 8, 2008 London-listed mid-sized Russian oil company Sibir Energy said yesterday its full-year pre-tax profit trebled to $344m (£172m) due to higher output at its Siberian unit and strong margins from refining and retail. Sibir said its crude oil production rose 80 per cent in the year to 17.8 million barrels. Most of the output, 15.3 million [...]
Rose’s future on the line as sales decline July 3, 2008 Marks & Spencer boss Sir Stuart Rose faces the battle of his life next week as he explains to shareholders, already angry about his cavalier approach to corporate governance, the reasons for its rapid sales decline. M&S shares crashed more than 24 per cent as stunned City analysts slashed their forecasts after the retailer said [...]
French jeweller who loves the Queen sees fine times ahead for Cartier July 2, 2008 Luxury goods maker’s man in London says that the market is doing just fine, writes Zoe Strimpel Arnuad Bamberger, the head of Cartier UK, is not your typical Frenchman. He loves the Queen, has more British than European friends, and loves nothing better than a good polo match well attended by tweedy toffs. Indeed, under [...]
BAA jobs to go despite profit rise November 2, 2005 Airports operator BAA said it will axe 700 jobs, almost 6 per cent of its workforce, despite posting a 5 per cent increase in half-year pre-tax profits. The business, which operates seven of Britain’s airports, posted pre-tax profit up 5.2 per cent to £366m, on sharply increased sales, up 6.4 per cent, of £1.2bn. It [...]
Dalgleish set to pocket £20m from CBRE deal October 31, 2005 Malcolm Dalgleish is not yet as wealthy as Philip Green, but he has just become almost £20m richer. In property circles Dalgleish is known as Green’s right-hand man, and he has just sold his business for around £30m to the world’s largest real estate advisory firm. He stands to make up to £20m from the [...]
Record profit warnings October 21, 2005 The number of British companies issuing profit warnings in September surged to a four-year record due to difficult market and trading conditions. According to research by Ernst & Young, 103 firms listed on the London Stock Exchange issued a warning in the three months to 30 September. This represents a rise of 39 per cent [...]
On top of the world October 21, 2005 Retail may be struggling, but Philip Green has just taken a £1bn dividend. Is he embarrassed? Not much. Displaying the timing for which he has become famous, retail entrepreneur Philip Green paid himself a whopping £1.2bn dividend from his retail chain Arcadia. At a time when retailers nationwide are struggling, Arcadia announced a 10.1 per [...]
Theft costs shopkeepers £2.13bn October 19, 2005 Shoplifting and violence against shop workers reached new heights last year as store chiefs picked up a £2.13bn bill for retail crime. According to the British Retail Consortium’s annual crime survey, customer theft alone cost the retail sector £589m, a staggering 44 per cent increase from 2003. The value of losses blamed on staff also [...]
Violet Hue October 18, 2005 Tchenguiz is the last man standing in the race for Somerfield. Another one bites the dust. Amid talk of a high-street bloodbath in the run-up to Christmas, Somerfield has joined the lengthening list of retailers opting to leave the glare of the stock market. Of course, the announcement surprised no one. Somerfield has been on [...]