A failed merger that puts a defence giant at America’s mercy October 10, 2012 THE merger of BAE and EADS should always have been seen as a long shot. The two firms may have agreed on the commercial logic of tying the knot, but they should have recognised it would never be simple to get the German, French and British governments to sign off on the marriage. As such, [...]
Asda boss says yes to relaxing Sunday trading August 16, 2012 THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE of Asda yesterday came out in support of Sunday opening hours being extended on a permanent basis, as the debate over Sunday trading continues to divide retailers. Andy Clark said it was too early to say what the impact of the extra trading hours has had on sales but shoppers had welcomed [...]
The new top brass at HM’s Revenue has a taxing task August 15, 2012 THE top rank of HMRC is changing. Edward Troup has taken up his new post as tax assurance commissioner, responsible for advising Treasury ministers on shaping UK tax policy. He has considerable tax experience, both in the public and private sectors. But the job has never been more challenging. The UK faces pressure to improve [...]
Economic confidence seems to be improving July 17, 2012 GOOD economic news may not be that easy to come by, but following on the back of yesterday’s inflation news the July numbers from YouGov HEAT (Household Economic Activity Tracker) give some cause for optimism, with the steady decline in economic confidence of the past few months at last reversing. The Index score, which takes [...]
Holidays help bring sales joy to Debenhams June 28, 2012 DEBENHAMS posted better-than-expected sales yesterday after events such as the Diamond Jubilee and the Easter bank holiday helped lure shoppers through its doors despite the wet spring weather. Britain’s second-largest department store group after John Lewis said that sales at stores open more than a year rose 3.1 per cent, excluding VAT, in the 16 [...]
John Lewis sales rise May 11, 2012 Department store chain John Lewis posted another double-digit rise in sales last week as the nation’s wet weather proved favourable for its key household goods business. The employee-owned retailer said on Friday its sales increased 18.3 percent year-on-year to £64.3m in the week to May 5. April was Britain’s wettest since records began and the [...]
IMF chief begs for more cash to help Europe April 19, 2012 GEORGE Osborne last night was refusing to meet International Monetary Fund (IMF) demands to commit more money to bailing out troubled countries, including those in the Eurozone. IMF chief Christine Lagarde began the group’s spring conference with an appeal for cash, warning finance ministers that the Eurozone crisis is still very much a threat to [...]
Give your finances a spring clean: A guide to tidying up all the mess April 1, 2012 SAVINGS Tom Stevenson, investment director, Fidelity WITH a new tax year approaching, the sun shining and a string of bank holidays ahead, spring is certainly in the air. Now is the perfect time for you to take control of your savings. The first step of any spring clean should be ensuring that your money is [...]
Political risk is a global threat to recovery March 25, 2012 IN a tentative recovery, everyone always looks for the next nasty shock that could spring up and derail growth. The answer this time is political risk – all over the world. We all know about the geo-political tensions in the Middle East that sent Brent over $126 earlier this month. But in a year heavy [...]
Economic confidence improving again March 19, 2012 DON’T say it too loudly – but the economy appears to have gained traction again. An interesting new gauge suggests that confidence and activity are making a strong recovery. Coming a day before George Osborne delivers his Budget, this is decent news for the chancellor, though any rebound in GDP will most likely be modest. [...]