Christmas will come early to the high street October 6, 2010 HIGH-STREET retailers have every reason to be cautious right now. If it isn’t the government squeezing households’ disposable incomes with one hand and hiking VAT with the other, then surges in the prices of commodities such as cotton, which is at a 15-year high, are threatening margins. Only last month Next chief executive Simon Wolfson [...]
Restructuring cuts Northern Foods’ costs October 5, 2010 food manufacturer Northern Foods saw sales growth accelerate in its second-quarter and said it was changing the structure of its business to save money as it braces for a possible double-dip recession. “We don’t know whether there’s going to be a double-dip or not but we are planning for it and keeping a weather eye [...]
NatGrid hires finance boss from Cadbury October 4, 2010 National Grid said yesterday it had hired Andrew Bonfield, who was Cadbury’s chief financial officer during its takeover by Kraft, as new finance director at its energy transmission business. Bonfield will take over the post from current finance director Steve Lucas at the start of next month as Lucas prepares to retire. Lucas will leave [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 3, 2010 THE SUNDAYS The Sunday Telegraph EURO MAY NOT SURVIVE, CAUTIONS STIGLITZ One of the world’s leading economists has warned that the future of the euro is “looking bleak” and the fragile European economic recovery could be irreparably damaged by a “wave of austerity” sweeping the continent. Joseph Stiglitz, the former chief economist of the World [...]
HEDGIE IAN WACE TAKES CHAIRMAN JOB AT ARK October 3, 2010 THE GLAMOROUS world of hedge fund philanthropy had a shuffle at the top over the weekend, as Ian Wace – co-founder of Marshall Wace – took over from hedgie “godfather” Stanley Fink as chairman of Arki Busson’s charity, Absolute Return for Kids (ARK). Wace will now be tasked with the dual responsibilities of overseeing ARK’s [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 22, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES SIEMENS PROMISES WORKERS JOBS FOR LIFE Siemens’ German workers have struck a deal that will see their jobs secured indefinitely, in an arresting move that highlights how the financial crisis has triggered a fresh consensus between labour and management in corporate Germany. The engineering group said it had sealed an agreement with its [...]
FTSE weighed down by banks and UK economic data, despite energy surge September 16, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares closed lower yesterday, weighed by banks which slipped after recent strength, while retailers fell on downbeat UK economic data, countering gains in energy stocks. The FTSE 100 closed down 15.42 points or 0.3 per cent, at 5,540.14, having fallen 0.2 per cent in the previous session. That was its first daily decline [...]
Stuart Rose set to join Bridgepoint September 13, 2010 OUTGOING Marks & Spencer boss Sir Stuart Rose will join private equity group Bridgepoint as an adviser, the firm will announce today. The controversial M&S chairman will take a place on the Bridgepoint advisory committee, which is chaired by former chief secretary to the treasury Alan Milburn. A Bridgepoint spokesman told City A.M. Rose is [...]
Good trading helps Punch cut net debt August 24, 2010 Punch Taverns, the country’s largest pubs group, said yesterday it expected full-year earnings to be slightly ahead of its previous expectations – reflecting a pub improvement programme, a good World Cup and sunny summer weather. The company, which runs more than 7,100 pubs, said sales at pubs it directly manages, which have been open for [...]
Swannell is the right man for M&S August 23, 2010 WHEN I had breakfast with Robert Swannell, the newly appointed chairman of Marks & Spencer recently, it was clear that the former investment banker was in anything but wind down mode. After three decades of working on mergers and acquisitions, sometimes over seven-day weeks involving late nights, Swannell could have been forgiven for putting his [...]