Fed expected to hold on interest rates as committee members meet for the first time this year in Washington DC January 26, 2016 The US Federal Reserve is meeting today to decide whether to change the rate of interest from the 0.5 per cent rate it chose at its last meeting in December. The Fed is widely expected to leave rates unchanged when it releases statement at 7pm GMT tomorrow. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted unanimously to [...]
These are the worst examples of how Tesco mistreated suppliers January 26, 2016 THE Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) has released a scathing report today into Tesco's treatment of suppliers, concluding that the supermarket "seriously" breached the industry's code of practice by prioritising its own finances at suppliers' expense. Below are some examples of how Tesco mistreated its suppliers. "Aspirational" Margin Targets The supermarket watchdog found that suppliers were often forced to pay [...]
Carphone Warehouse to close 134 stores as Dixons Carphone merger success continues January 26, 2016 More than 130 standalone Carphone Warehouse stores are to be closed, as the business continues to merge its retail arms. Parent company Dixons Carphone said it had decided to roll its three-in-one store format, which includes PC World and Currys alongside the phone specialist, out across the whole UK and Ireland market having received a big thumbs up from customers [...]
Luxury homes are filling in the gaps on a WWII bomb site in Fitzrovia January 25, 2016 Tucked away on a corner off of Tottenham Court Road, sits a jumble of mismatched buildings. One of them is the epitome of modern urban living – all dark brick boxes and sharp angles – while its neighbours sport austere Georgian facades and regal ribbons of Portland stone. Originally, these were six individual plots, including [...]
Tesco share price falls as Serious Fraud Office’s investigation is set to conclude January 25, 2016 A criminal investigation into Tesco, the UK's biggest retailer, by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is set to come to a conclusion after more than a year, according to Cantor Fitzgerald analysts. The investigation, launched in October 2014 after a multi-million pound profit black hole was uncovered at the supermarket, had been due to be resolved by the end of last year. [...]
Funds under management reach a record high of £871 billion despite the commodity rout and uncertainty over China’s economy January 25, 2016 Funds under management reached a record £871bn in 2015, up from £835bn the year before, according to the latest data from the Investment Association, the investment managers trade body. Equities were the best-selling asset class for the second consecutive year, with sales to retail investors of £8.4bn. UK equities did particularly well, with net retail sales worth £4.3bn. Property was the [...]
High street retailers steal share of physical entertainment market from Amazon January 25, 2016 Sales of physical DVDs, CDs and video games may be dropping but bricks and mortar stores are still holding their own after taking market share from the likes of Amazon in the quarter. According to Kantar Worldpanel figures, high street retailers took 68 per cent of spend on physical entertainment in the 12 weeks to 20 [...]
Falling demand for diamonds and the weak South African rand weigh on Petra Diamonds’ revenues January 25, 2016 Petra Diamonds, the FTSE listed miner, announced revenues for the last six months fell 28 per cent, as a result of falling diamond prices, and a weak South African rand. The figures Revenue fell 28 per cent to $154m (£108m) in the six months ending December, down from $214.8m the year before. This includes the $10.5m sale of a 23.16 [...]
Outdoor retailer Mountain Warehouse eyes £200m IPO after hiring Rothschild January 24, 2016 Mountain Warehouse is eyeing a £200m stock market debut after hiring investment bank Rothschild to explore options for the business. The outdoor clothing and equipment retailer was founded by former management consultant and Oxford physics graduate Mark Neale, who opened his first shop in Swindon in the late 1990s. It now operates 191 stores in [...]
UK public borrowing figures for December mean Chancellor George Osborne is unlikely to meet his fiscal target January 22, 2016 Economists have warned UK public sector finances aren't improving quickly enough for the government to meet its deficit-reduction target laid out in the Autumn Statement. Public borrowing, excluding state-controlled banks, fell to £7.47bn in December from £11.7bn a year earlier, figures from Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown. This also beat economists' expectations for a decline to [...]