Sports retailer defies odds to increase sales July 16, 2015 SPORTS Direct managed to shrug off a year of bad press surrounding its use of zero-hours contracts, as well as England’s early exit from the World Cup, to increase revenue and profit in the 12 months to April 2015. Group revenue rose by 4.7 per cent to £2.83bn, from £2.71bn in 2014, helped by its [...]
FTSE edges up but can not beat rise in Eurozone – London Report July 16, 2015 BRITAIN’S top share index edged higher yesterday, though without matching the gains seen across the Eurozone after Greece’s parliament approved austerity measures, with US-exposed stocks getting a lift. The FTSE 100 index closed up 0.6 per cent, at 6,796.45 points, lagging a 1.5 per cent rise for the Euro STOXX 50, with peripheral Eurozone markets [...]
Sports Direct share price falls despite revenue rising 4.7 per cent July 16, 2015 The figures Shares in Sports Direct fell 0.48 per cent to 731p per share in early morning trade. The company said group revenue rose 4.7 per cent to £2.83bn in the year to April 2015, from £2.71bn in 2014. It was helped by its "sports retail" and "brands" sectors, which rose 5.5 per cent and [...]
Amazon Prime Day is not the new Black Friday as British retailers have little appetite for mega sales… yet July 15, 2015 Not content with helping bring the horror of shoppingeddon to the UK in the form of Black Friday, Amazon is now attempting to create its own, even bigger version, with Prime Day. Last year Black Friday went from being a US tradition us Brits mocked as the embodiment of America's tendency to take things to [...]
Retail sales and jobs data expected to prove positive – The week ahead July 12, 2015 RETAIL sales data and employment figures due out this week are expected to show improvement, while some of the UK’s biggest brands will update the market over the next five days. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) retail sales monitor for June, out tomorrow, is expected to show healthy year-on-year retail sales growth in June. Data [...]
City plays down living wage cost fears but hospitality industry could struggle July 9, 2015 Analysts predicted yesterday that UK retailers would largely dodge the effects of the new national living wage but warned the leisure and hospitality industry would face tough times. In a surprise move on Wednesday George Osborne announced a new minimum wage of £7.20 per hour from April next year for workers over the age of [...]
Car review: Mercedes-AMG puts the OMG into the GLE Coupé July 6, 2015 Shy and retiring types need not apply. The Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S Coupé is not a car for those who put discretion and subtlety high on their list of priorities when looking for a new car. Almost everything about this SUV coupé reeks of vulgarity and excess. At first glance the SUV coupé looks [...]
7/7 London bombings 10th anniversary – Tessa Jowell: “We defied the odds to win the Olympics. Just 24 hours later, euphoria gave way to disaster and despair” July 3, 2015 On the morning of Thursday 7 July 2005 three bombs were activated at around 8:50 a.m. on underground trains just outside Liverpool Street and Edgware Road stations, and on another travelling between King's Cross and Russell Square. An hour later, there was a fourth explosion on a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square. In total [...]
Wimbledon warm-up at Lou Casteou: Learn to play tennis like a pro at a French luxury retreat June 28, 2015 Retreats are normally for things like meditation and yoga, where tranquil settings are required for creating internal harmony. So a new five-day residential tennis course, set in a historic chateau in the hills of the Cote d’Azur, was an intriguing concept. Tennis is such a psychological sport: the chance to focus on my game – [...]
Sky requests competition inquiry into BT’s broadband dominance June 28, 2015 Sky has submitted a formal request to telecoms regulator Ofcom for a competition inquiry into BT. Read more: BT dismisses Sky claims with Champions League launch and big name signings The broadcasting company accuses its rival of making a series of errors in its Openreach division, which operates the national broadband network. It [...]