Amazon smashes expectations with sales of $51bn for the first quarter April 26, 2018 Amazon smashed analyst expectations tonight with stellar revenue and profit figures for the first quarter. The online retailer’s shares jumped more than seven per cent in after hours trading following the announcement. Amazon’s sales increased by 43 per cent to $51bn (£36.7bn), from $35.7bn last year. Read more: Top retailers pull ahead of other business [...]
“Very strange bedfellows”: Why Waterstones thinks there’s a happy ending in its sale to activist Elliott April 26, 2018 Waterstones’ boss is relishing the “extra energy” and “certain vigour” brought about by today’s curious sale to US hedge fund goliath Elliott Advisors. Elliott, best known for buying stakes in some of the world’s biggest companies and agitating for change, today snapped up the UK high street darling from Lynwood Investments. The Paul Singer founded [...]
Argos adds 150 new tech roles in London and Milton Keynes April 26, 2018 Argos is on the hunt for 150 new employees for its technology division, as it bolsters its digital shopping operations. The retailer, which is owned by Sainsbury’s, will enlarge its tech team by 25 per cent, with most of the roles based in its London Victoria tech hub. A handful of jobs will also be [...]
Letting agents are facing an epidemic of their own making April 25, 2018 If you’ve ever had to deal with a letting agent, you may be so traumatised from the experience that you’ve resolved never to move house ever again. You tiptoe around the property, praying that the ceiling doesn’t cave in – just so you won’t have to dial that dreaded number. If you’re under 40, you’ll [...]
Apple posted second quarter results on May 1 but have smartphone sales peaked and what impact will this have on iPhone X? April 24, 2018 Apple releases its latest set of quarterly results next Tuesday and Wall Street is fretting about the figures. People are hanging onto their smartphones for longer, prompting concerns about growth. Second-quarter results from US technology major Apple, which will be released on Tuesday 1 May, are arguably one of the most important set of results [...]
Hot stuff: How to trade on good weather without getting burnt April 24, 2018 Using data on 13.82m cab rides from January to October 2009 in New York City, combined with statistics on hourly levels of solar radiation, a recent study entitled “Taxicab tipping and sunlight” found a significant positive relationship between sunlight and tipping. The study, by Srikant Devaraj and Pankaj Patel from the Miller College of Business [...]
Fashion retailer East to cease trading in May with loss of nearly 300 jobs April 23, 2018 High Street retailer East is due to cease trading next week after administrators failed to find a buyer, City A.M. can reveal. Almost 300 employees will be made redundant when the chain stops trading on 4 May. This follows the redundancies of 27 staff after the company fell into administration in January. Administrators at FRP [...]
Markets are expecting 84% UK interest rate rise in May, BofE Governor Mark Carney threw spanner in the works suggesting they won’t rise after all April 23, 2018 The Bank of England’s long-running “will they, won’t they” saga took an interesting and somewhat unexpected turn last week. With markets pencilling in an 84 per cent likelihood of a UK interest rate hike in May, the Bank’s Governor Mark Carney decided to throw a spanner in the works by suggesting that rates may not [...]
Consumer confidence improved at the end of last year but spending is still cautious April 23, 2018 Consumer confidence ticked up at the beginning of 2018, but non-essential spending was flat. The agreement of a Brexit transition deal boosted overall confidence during the first three months of the year, according to Deloitte. But spending was still heavily weighted towards utilities bills, transport and food and drink. Discretionary spending meanwhile was flat compared [...]
UK top pubs, restaurants and cafes ranked: Costa, Greggs and Wetherspoon top consumer opinion poll of high street brands with the best reputation April 20, 2018 Public perception is rising for a clutch of major high street food and drink brands, a new report has revealed. Costa, Greggs and JD Wetherspoon have gained the most momentum when it comes to consumer attitudes, data research company CGA said. The report ranks operators by how fast they are building their brand awareness, positive [...]