Bottom Line: Internet of things has no room for tradition May 15, 2014 LAST month, my aunt and uncle upgraded their Aga. The new model fits perfectly into their country kitchen – a tasteful pastel exterior and exposed, rustic hob – but there’s one big difference: this is an iAga, which can be controlled remotely by text or from a laptop (it even replies to tell you it’s [...]
Best of the Brokers for 16 May 2014 May 15, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com VODAFONE UBS keeps its “buy” rating on the telecoms group but trims its target from 275p to 255p ahead of the firm’s fourth-quarter results next Tuesday. The broker expects revenues of £43.9bn and adjusted operating profits of £4.9bn, both higher than consensus estimates. [...]
Carney: No rate hike to cool house prices May 14, 2014 INTEREST rates will not be hiked to slow London’s housing boom, Mark Carney said yesterday, arguing there are limits to the Bank of England’s powers when the crisis is caused by a crippling shortage of home building. Instead, Carney said he could make it more expensive for banks to give out mortgages, taking some of [...]
Marks and Spencer unveils new collection May 14, 2014 HIGH street giant Marks and Spencer has revealed its 2014 autumn/winter collection of womenswear, in a bid to bolster a small upturn in fashion sales. In figures released last month, the retailer saw a 0.6 per cent rise for the first three months of the year, against 10 quarters of decline.
What the other papers say this morning – 02 May 2014 May 1, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Ebay settles DoJ ‘no poach’ probe Ebay is the latest Silicon Valley company to settle with US authorities over allegations it struck illegal agreements with rivals to not hire their employees. The ecommerce company will pay California $3.75m, some of which will go to compensating employees affected by a so-called “no poach” agreement [...]
Fat Face unveils London listing to pay off debt May 1, 2014 FAMILY friendly retailer Fat Face yesterday became the latest private equity-backed retailer to tee up a listing on the London stock market, after announcing plans to raise £110m to cut debt. The business, which has about 200 stores across the UK, will offer shares to City fund managers after private equity backer Bridgepoint moved to [...]
Marks & Spencer recruits Silicon Roundabout entrepreneurs for new website May 1, 2014 MARKS & Spencer has been recruiting Silicon roundabout’s finest to help develop its new website and to help lure the 19m customers a year who shop in its stores but do not use its website. The 130 year-old high street retailer broke away from its technology supplier Amazon and launched its own custom-built £150m [...]
Property firms circle Lend Lease’s £550m Bluewater stake April 28, 2014 Some of the UK property industry’s biggest players are circling Lendlease’s £550m cent stake in Bluewater shopping centre in what could become a heated battle for the prized site. British Land, Land Securities, Hammerson, Westfield, Intu and M&G Real Estate are reported to have all lodged initial expression of interest in the Kent shopping centre, [...]
Primark set to launch its first stores in the US April 23, 2014 ASSOCIATED British Foods (ABF) is taking Primark to the US, the FTSE 100 conglomerate announced yesterday, as it reported a 26 per cent leap in the budget clothing chain’s profits. Primark is set to open a 70,000 square foot store in Boston in 2015 and it is also in talks to open a further eight [...]
SSP wins £35m Athens airport contract April 23, 2014 SSP, the food services group run by former WH Smith chief executive Kate Swann, has won a seven-year contract worth €42m (£34.6m) to run nine outlets at Athens’ international airport Eleftherios Venizelos. The restaurants inside a 500 square metre food court opened last month and include Le Grand Comptoir and bakery brand Panopolis. The group, [...]