Don’t worry, be happy: FTSE 100 shakes off its ECB woes to open higher, pushed up by Aviva March 11, 2016 The FTSE 100 stormed back into positive territory this morning, after a miserable finish to yesterday's trading. The market was up 1.5 per cent at 6,131.6 points, after it edged perilously close to the 6,000 mark yesterday, when comments by European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi hinted rates are unlikely to be cut any further. [...]
Euro rebounds: Mario Draghi warns euro inflation will stay negative for “several months” and European Central Bank cuts deposit rate and expands quantitative easing March 10, 2016 European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi has suggested inflation in the Eurozone will stay negative for "several months" – but added that the bank is "not short of ammunition" to bring it back up to target. At a press conference after the bank announced it was slashing key rates, Draghi said he expected inflation to pick up to 0.1 per cent in [...]
Waitrose is “well set up” to face arrival of Amazon, says outgoing boss Mark Price March 10, 2016 Waitrose's outgoing boss Lord Price played down the threat of Amazon's entry in the UK, insisting it was strong enough to fend off competition and would continue to be “one of the few” retailers to increase profitability this year. Price, who was made a peer last week ahead of his new role as trade minister [...]
Morrisons’ share price falls 2.5 per cent as dividend is cut on sales and profits decline March 10, 2016 Sales and profits at Morrisons have fallen again – but the supermarket management is talking confidently about progress made so far, and guided on future dividends in an effort to woo shareholders. Morrisons' share price was down 2.5 per cent in mid-morning trading, however, as investors digested the news that this year's dividend was being slashed [...]
Amazon is going to lease Boeing planes in move to set up air delivery network March 9, 2016 Amazon.com is going to lease 20 Boeing aircraft as the online retailer makes a move toward setting up its own air delivery service. The online giant is going to lease Boeing 767 freighter aircraft, according to Air Transport Services Group (ATSG), and comes as the company has been testing drone deliveries. Amazon currently relies on [...]
Aldi, Ocado, Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury’s are all making moves to win market share, but Asda’s next step is unclear March 9, 2016 The latest supermarket sales data has painted a slightly less gloomy picture than has become customary for Britain's big four grocers, hinting that the billions poured into lowering prices and luring back customers might finally be paying off. Despite a brutal price war that has savaged Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, data from Kantar has shown [...]
Supermarkets abandon more schemes as pressure mounts on Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda and Tesco March 8, 2016 The number of developments ditched by Britain's supermarket titans has jumped since the first half of the year, with construction and planning applications also in decline, new research shows. Property advisory firm CBRE's latest analysis of the grocery property market shows that the number of abandoned schemes rose by 13.3 per cent in the second half of 2015. Proposed projects [...]
Tesco’s share price climbs as it stems declines but Asda and Morrisons crowned worst performing supermarkets in the UK March 8, 2016 Tesco has continued to stem its declines, but Asda and Morrisons have tumbled further, according to Kantar Worldpanel's latest figures for the supermarket sector. Sales at Tesco fell 0.8 per cent – meaning its performance is still well below the sector average of 0.5 per cent growth – but a relative improvement on last month's decline of [...]
Korn Ferry: Retail sector shake-up drives 40 per cent rise in new chief executive appointments in 2015 March 7, 2016 Retailers made a wave of chief executive officer (CEO) appointments last year as businesses came under pressure to improve their performance and battle declining footfall. Executive search firm Korn Ferry’s latest retail CEO tracker released today shows that there were 45 hires across the sector last year, an increase of 41 per cent on the [...]
US non-farm payrolls smash it again – but wages fall March 4, 2016 US job openings leaped again in February, way above analyst expectations. Official figures from the US' statistics bureau showed openings rose to 242,000, against expectations of 195,000. That left unemployment at 4.9 per cent, a post-recession low. However, average hourly earnings fell by 0.1 per cent during the month, from a 0.2 per cent rise the month before. “Fed [...]