M&S bonus spree for shop staff April 7, 2010 Marks & Spencer is to resume bonus payments to around 77,000 workers after sales continued to improve in the first three months of the year. Shop staff will receive between £500 and £1,000 each as analysts expect M&S to deliver a 1.7 per cent rise in earnings for the 13 weeks to 27 March. The [...]
Top bosses hit out at Labour over jobs tax April 7, 2010 THERE was anger among business leaders yesterday, after the Prime Minister said they had been “deceived” into supporting Tory plans to scrap the hike in National Insurance. A further 30 business leaders added their name to a letter supporting the Conservative position on the “tax on jobs” yesterday, taking the total number of signatories to [...]
Lloyds throws weight behind Daniels amid succession talk March 29, 2010 LLOYDS Banking Group last night moved to quash speculation that chief executive Eric Daniels is about to be replaced. Talks of Lloyds hiring City head hunter JCA Group to draw up a short list of potential candidates was dismissed by the banking giant, which threw its weight behind Daniels. A spokesperson said: “Eric Daniels is [...]
McCall leaves the Guardian March 23, 2010 EASYJET last night unveiled Carolyn McCall as its new chief executive, replacing Andy Harrison who stands down in June. The decision by McCall, currently head of Guardian Media Group (GMG), shocked the media world. Her move comes after GMG posted pre-tax losses of £90m in the year to March 2009, compared with a profit of [...]
M&S pay deal irks investors March 21, 2010 DISGRUNTLED investors in Marks & Spencer are agitating for an overhaul of the company’s board after details of Sir Stuart Rose’s pay sparked a fresh row over corporate governance. Rose will draw an £875,000 salary, plus a bonus, when he moves to the post of non-executive chairman in the summer to make way for incoming [...]
M&S chairman Sir Stuart Rose sets departure date as he takes a pay cut March 18, 2010 Marks & Spencer chairman Sir Stuart Rose is to give up his executive duties and take a 25 per cent pay cut in July with a view to stepping down by March 2011, the company announced yesterday. Under fire since taking on the dual roles of chief executive and chairman two years ago, Rose had [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 17, 2010 ASTRAZENECA Panmure reiterates its “buy” stance on AstraZeneca saying the company’s emerging markets review was comprehensive and makes Panmure more comfortable in its investment thesis. It highlights the key guidance as AstraZeneca’s assertion that it would attain some 25 per cent of its revenues from emerging markets by 2014. This calculation alone justifies a “buy” rating [...]
Morrisons in bid to expand March 11, 2010 SUPERMARKET chain WM Morrison yesterday pledged to open more smaller stores after new openings last year helped it to record a 30 per cent rise in full-year pre-tax profit. In 2009, pre-tax profits surged to £858m as turnover rose by six per cent to £15.4bn. The company, Britain’s fourth largest supermarket, raised its annual dividend [...]
Morrisons raises dividend after profits surge March 11, 2010 SUPERMARKET chain Morrisons saw a 21 per cent surge in profits last year to £767m. The company, Britain’s fourth largest grocer, raised its full year dividend 41 per cent to 8.2 pence a share on the strength of the results. Morrisons new chief executive Dalton Philips starts later this month. Former chief executive, Marc Bolland, [...]
Cracking eggs for Easter March 10, 2010 FLORAL EGG, COCOMAYA The chic Mayfair chocolate shop has come up with a rather eccentric egg, with a glittery surface decorated with a chocolate medallion embossed with the face of a Roman emperor and three little white marzipan rosettes, all nestled in a straw nest. The milk chocolate is rich and silky with a bit [...]