Eagle Eye wins contract with Canadian supermarket giant Loblaw February 3, 2016 Eagle Eye Solutions, an Aim-listed retail and hospitality voucher firm backed by Sir Terry Leahy, has won a significant contract with Canadian supermarket chain Loblaw to assist it with its digital promotions. Eagle Eye, whose clients also include Sainsbury's and Asda, said that Loblaw represented its first major international client and would contribute material revenue over [...]
FTSE 100 index opens lower as oil prices continue to drag on investor sentiment February 3, 2016 The FTSE 100 index opened lower this morning as oil prices dragged down investor sentiment (again). The UK's blue-chip index opened 0.57 per cent down at 5,889 points, led lower by Hargreaves Lansdown and Barclays. "This fresh bout of oil price weakness appears to have been driven by the very same concerns that drove the decline in [...]
Tesco announces pay rise for staff, taking salaries (slightly) above National Living Wage February 2, 2016 Tesco is raising its hourly pay above the Living Wage threshold to £7.62, the supermarket announced this afternoon. The supermarket, which has just dropped its Bogof policy and is winding down the number of stores that operate for 24-hours, said the 3.1 per cent pay rise would come into effect across the UK "for all established colleagues". [...]
UK farmers plan London march after world commodity crisis slashes incomes February 2, 2016 British farmers are reacting to the world commodity crisis in an unusual way – by planning a march on London. Lobby group Farmers For Action has received thousands of pledges of support for a demonstration on Wednesday 23 March. Coachloads of countryfolk will descend on London to highlight the sharp drop in food producers’ incomes over [...]
Bye-bye BOGOF? Tesco finally winds down promotions in favour of simpler pricing strategy February 2, 2016 Tesco is winding down its focus on promotions such as the famous BOGOF – buy one get one free offers – instead offering customers clearer prices in the long term. It's the latest supermarket to follow in the footsteps of discounters Aldi and Lidl with low prices overall rather than deals which have been criticised as [...]
UK Pensions: FTSE 100 companies slice over £20bn off defined benefit (DB) pensions deficit but overall funding level in private sector remains bleak February 1, 2016 The total deficit for defined benefit (DB) pensions schemes for FTSE 100 companies has been slashed by £21bn over the course of a year. According to figures released today by JLT Employee Benefits, the total deficit across FTSE 100 companies stood at £77bn at 31 January 2016, down from £98bn at the same time the year [...]
Private jet membership set to take off in 2016 January 31, 2016 Private jet usage is set to take off in London, following the roll out of membership schemes that allow people to make use of jets without owning them. A survey carried out by industry magazine Corporate Jet Investor found that nearly one in four (23 per cent) said that the growth of membership schemes and online [...]
From Tesco and the death of the Defender to MBAs and Donald Trump: Here’s what got us talking this week January 29, 2016 HSBC celebrated the first pay day since Christmas by going offline (again). We learned that there are just 12 special words in every job interview. And everyone who wasn't 29 years old questioned this study. Here's what got us talking 1) You're not imagining it Yes, it's true: those commuting into London really do have it the [...]
Sam Smith, chief executive of FinnCap: This is why I believe in the AIM market January 29, 2016 The AIM market gets a hard rap. Commentators are often harsh with their criticism of the junior market, and prefer to highlight the disasters rather than the successes. Admittedly, AIM has not been without its problem children, but it would certainly be unfair to judge a whole market by the likes of Globo and Quindell, to name but [...]
Tesco is ending its 24-hour opening hours at 76 stores to make supermarket more efficient January 29, 2016 Tesco is ending its 24-hour opening hours at 76 stores across the UK as the company looks to be more "responsive to the way customers want to shop". Affected stores will shut between midnight and 6am, with the change being rolled out between 14 March and 11 April 2016. The supermarket, which is part-way through a turnaround plan under chief executive [...]