UK retailers are serving up higher high street prices May 16, 2011 ACCORDING to a report issued by economic forecasting group Ernst and Young ITEM Club yesterday, UK retailers are in for a difficult time in the years ahead. The report points to rising inflation and energy bills – without corresponding wage increases – leaving households with less disposable income. “World prices for food, fuel and fibres [...]
MEET: TEAM CITY A.M. NEW YORK May 12, 2011 City A.M. is proud to once again sponsor the New York team at MINT Polo in the Park. Victorious in last year’s event after a thrilling final against IG Index – Paris, team captain Jack Kidd will be hoping that he can lead it to victory again this year. NAME : Jack Kidd POSITION : [...]
Oil price fall fuels hopes of cheaper petrol May 11, 2011 CRUDE oil prices dropped below $100 a barrel and US petrol futures slumped yesterday, fuelling hopes that UK forecourt prices may fall substantially soon. Crude futures plunged more than five per cent in the week’s second major oil price fall, with light sweet crude for June hitting a low of $97.50 (£59.55). Brent crude traded [...]
Sainsbury’s shifts focus to non-food May 11, 2011 SAINSBURY’S yesterday said 40 per cent of its sales would be “non-food” by 2020 as it increasingly relies on clothing and other products for growth. The supermarket chain is in the middle of huge expansion with clothing and general merchandise being given more space. Sainsbury’s reported a 12.8 per cent jump in annual pre-tax profits [...]
RADIO SILENCE BY SKY BOSS ON MURDOCH BID May 11, 2011 INNOVATION was the theme for BSkyB chief executive Jeremy Darroch at the Institute of Directors’ convention yesterday, where fellow speakers included McDonald’s chief executive Jill McDonald, chancellor George Osborne and shadow chancellor Ed Balls. “The most successful businesses are those that constantly seek to adapt and renew themselves,” said Darroch, as he charted the broadcaster’s [...]
Morrisons FD gets £1.25m bonus May 11, 2011 Supermarket chain Morrisons gave finance director Richard Pennycook a £1.25m bonus in shares last year according to its annual report. Pennycook was one of the contenders for the chief executive job when Marc Bolland left the company for Marks & Spencer, but he lost out to Dalton Philips. He was paid £981,000 for 2010 before [...]
FTSE 100 sinks below 6,000 as banks and miners tumble May 11, 2011 COMMODITY and banking stocks dragged the FTSE 100 back below the 6,000 level yesterday, with these sectors pressured by Greece’s debt problems and uncertainty over global economic growth. London’s blue chip index closed down 42.89 points, or 0.7 per cent, at 5,976.00, having hit a one-week closing high on Tuesday. Atif Latif, director of trading [...]
HSBC drags FTSE back as investors eye inflation forecasts May 11, 2011 Banking giant HSBC sapped some of the confidence from the blue chip index today as it announced that it was aiming to slash costs by £2.1bn. The news followed a bruising start to the week for banks who have already earmarked billions for potential payouts over dubious insurance protection sales. HSBC fell 1.3 per cent [...]
MORRISONS’ FINANCE CONTROLLER COOKS UP WINNING WEB STRATEGY May 10, 2011 WITH a name like Richard Pennycook, there was only ever one possible vocation for Morrisons’ group finance director (FD), who proved he is worthy of the title by restoring the grocer’s profits after the slump when it bought Safeway in 2005. So keep those “cooking the books” jokes to yourself, because Pennycook last night received [...]
Milton Friedman was wrong: There is such a thing as a free breakfast May 9, 2011 IN ASSOCIATION with GFT, next Thursday City A.M. is hosting a free workshop on contracts for difference (CFD) and currency trading. The speakers will be the regular City A.M. columnists David Morrison, GFT’s market strategist, and Boris Schlossberg, GFT’s director of currency research. It is taking place on Thursday 19 May at The Grange St [...]