‘Tis the season November 29, 2012 ROASTED CHESTNUT DELUXE CANDLE Jo Malone, £80 www.jomalone.co.uk CRANBERRY WREATH Selfridges, £69.95 www.selfridges.com VINTAGE ROSE NAPKIN RINGS (SET OF 4) Walton & Co, £12 www.selfridges.com CHRISTMAS CARD HOLDER Selfridges, £34.95 www.selfridges.com SNOWFLAKE FELT COASTERS (SET OF 4) John Lewis, £15 www.johnlewis.com TARTAN CHRISTMAS STOCKING Gisela Graham, £15.95 www.selfridges.com LARGE TABLE RUNNER Walton & Co, £32 [...]
Pension deficits cost investors November 28, 2012 MARKS and Spencer has done an impressive job of cleaning up its pension deficit, knocking off £1bn over the last three years. It has now agreed a ten-year plan to deal with the remaining £290m. That saw a bump in the share price, which some attribute to the greater attractiveness of Marks and Spencer as [...]
M&S cuts pension funding costs after narrowing deficit by 80pc November 28, 2012 SHARES in Marks and Spencer were given a boost yesterday after the retailer announced yesterday it had agreed on a cheaper funding plan after slashing its pension deficit by nearly 80 per cent since 2009. The group said the latest actuarial valuation of its UK defined benefit pension scheme, which takes place every three years, [...]
Megafon drafts in Lord Myners to bolster its UK flotation plans November 18, 2012 MEGAFON, the Russian telecoms group controlled by Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov, yesterday bolstered its corporate governance ahead of a London flotation with the appointment of former City minister Paul Myners as an independent director. The appointment of such a well regarded City figure, who was chief executive of Gartmore Group and chairman of Marks and [...]
Entrepreneurialawards aplenty November 14, 2012 MORE entrepreneurial talent was being celebrated over on Park Lane on Tuesday evening, at the 2012 National Business Awards. The 11th annual ceremony at the Grosvenor hotel was opened with a video message from Prime Minister David Cameron, and followed by a speech from Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury. Motivational speaking, not that [...]
Best of the Brokers November 7, 2012 ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT UBS has maintained its “buy” rating on the firm and upped its target price to 370p from340p, after raising multiples to reflect good relative flow prospects for 2013. BLINKX Numis has initiated cover of the video search engine with a “buy” rating and a target price of 104p. The broker sees scope [...]
M&S boss fights back after half year improves November 6, 2012 MARKS & SPENCER chief executive Marc Bolland yesterday asked for “a little patience” before seeing a turnaround in its troubled womenswear division and defended his strategy as the group revealed a 10 per cent fall in half year profits to £289.5m. The Dutchman, who is 18 months into a five-year plan to revive the group’s [...]
FTSE 100 lifted by strong results from Marks & Spencer and G4S November 6, 2012 BRITAIN’S blue-chip stock index rose yesterday, buoyed by some encouraging earnings reports in light trade ahead of what is expected to be a close US presidential election result. The FTSE 100 was up 45.84 points, or 0.8 per cent, at 5,884.90 by the close, remaining within the tight 200-point range it has held since September. [...]
After its profits once again disappoint, can Marks & Spencer return to its former glory? November 6, 2012 YES Rafael Gilston Marks & Spencer sits squarely in the mid-market. Because of this, it’s under constant attack from more specialist brands like Next (for families), John Lewis (for labels), Zara (for the career woman) and even New Look (for teenagers and young adults). The historical legacy of the Marks & Spencer brand is that, by [...]
Rapid responses November 6, 2012 Minimum wage [Re: As the mayor announces a rise in London’s Living Wage, does it make economic sense? Yesterday] Sam Bowman is right that low paid workers should be taxed less. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has shown that, if firms paid the Living Wage, the government would knock £1,000 per worker off of the [...]