Get into casuals with the latest menswear trends September 22, 2011 SO it’s goodbye London Fashion Week until next year, as the sartorial bonanza drew to a close with menswear day on Wednesday. Highlights included a spot of celebrity bingo with Topshop’s front row (Jamie Hince, Mr Kate Moss to you, and Sir Philip Green were all to be seen) and Oliver Spencer’s shortened trousers. Also [...]
PUBS WAR CAN WAIT AS JOE LEWIS EXPECTS NEW GREAT-GRANDCHILD September 14, 2011 ALL EYES remain on financier Joe Lewis, whose surprise appearance in London on his superyacht Aviva ten days ago has been satisfactorily explained by this week’s hostile move to take control of pub chain Mitchells & Butlers. Case closed. Or is it? As ever with the enigmatic Bahamas-based billionaire, the truth is rather more surprising [...]
FTSE closes higher after Euro chiefs reassure on debt crisis September 14, 2011 BRITAIN’S leading shares closed higher yesterday after Europe’s top bureaucrat said plans for a common euro bond, seen by many as a key tool to help end the regional debt crisis, would be presented shortly. A common bond would give the weaker peripheral countries access to cheaper funds, backed by core Europe, although regional paymaster [...]
Next raises profit guidance September 14, 2011 Next raised its full-year profit guidance after posting an 8.5 per cent rise in half-year profit, driven by a strong performance from its Directory home shopping business. The firm, which runs over 500 stores in Britain and Ireland, said it made a pre-tax profit of £228m in the six months to 30 RETAILJuly. That compares [...]
Look East to the new destination for pilgrims who shop September 13, 2011 BORIS Johnson reached for the cultural high notes at the opening of Westfield Stratford City: boasting that the new shopping centre would trigger regeneration not seen in East London since the Middle Ages, he quoted Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, in which Madam Eglantine the Prioress spoke French “after the school of Stratford-at-Bow, for French of Paris [...]
M&S unveils £600m store revamp as Bolland looks to put his stamp on retailer after Rose September 12, 2011 MARKS & Spencer boss Marc Bolland yesterday laid out detailed plans for a £600m stores revamp. Bolland said at a presentation at the retailer’s High Street Kensington branch that M&S will open 14 pilot stores in October incorporating refurbished designs and new store layouts with deli and bakery counters for its food section. M&S today [...]
No QE just yet as Bank holds rates at 0.5pc September 8, 2011 THE BANK of England kept interest rates on hold at 0.5 per cent yesterday, for the 30th straight month — with analysts not predicting an increase any time soon. Not since 1950 have interest rates remained at the same level for so long. And despite rumours that the Bank is moving in a dovish direction, it [...]
A rally in commodities gives a rare fillip to the FTSE 100 September 6, 2011 A RALLY by hard-pressed commodity issues hauled Britain’s top share index higher yesterday as investors fished choppy waters for bargains after sharp falls in the past two sessions. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was up 54.26 points, or 1.1 per cent, at 5,156.84, having hit a peak of 5,190.2 in the morning and [...]
FTSE sees modest rise on solid company news September 6, 2011 Stocks have moved higher this morning following heavy selling in the US and Asia overnight, but markets remain under pressure over fears of a global recession. Positive trading updates from a number of companies have given UK shares a modest lift this morning after yesterday’s 189-point slump. But in a warning sign that investor sentiment [...]
QE is back on Bank’s agenda September 4, 2011 LOW confidence, high inflation and continuing fears for the Eurozone are giving the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) a headache for Thursday’s interest rate decision. Last month the MPC’s two most hawkish members, Spencer Dale and Martin Weale, voted to keep rates on hold at 0.5 per cent. That marked a change from [...]