Petrol price of £1 a litre comes one step closer as big four supermarkets cut prices January 5, 2015 The good news for drivers just keeps on rolling. Britain's so-called "big four" supermarkets have announced a 2p cut to the price of petrol, with Tesco's reduction coming into effect immediately. The rest, which include Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury's, will cut their prices tomorrow. The reductions bring the prospect of £1 per litre petrol tantalisingly [...]
Cork blimey! Christmas champagne outsells semi-skimmed milk at Lidl January 4, 2015 Shoppers at budget supermarket chain Lidl bought more champagne than semi-skimmed milk this Christmas, the retailer has revealed. Figures show that savvy customers snapped up so many bottles of Lidl’s £11.99 Comte De Senneval champagne that it knocked the store’s usual bestseller, semi-skimmed milk, off the top spot for the festive season. The champagne has [...]
Tesco braces for era of pain as Dave Lewis restructures group January 4, 2015 Troubled retail giant Tesco is preparing to give investors a poor set of financial results this Thursday – which is likely to include losses in its core supermarket operations. New boss Dave Lewis has warned shareholders that he is willing to take short-term pain for long-term gain. He is not going to reveal any comprehensive [...]
Who’s lining up in the CEO sack race? Ladbrokes’ odds on Standard Chartered’s Peter Sands January 4, 2015 There were a lot of interesting moves at the top in 2014, with chiefs taking P45s left right and centre – Harriet Green at Thomas Cook, Simon Calder at Mothercare and Tesco’s Philip Clarke to name but a few. But who will be saying sayonara in 2015? Well, sadly we don’t have a crystal ball [...]
Retailers’ woes in focus after a festive slump – London week ahead January 4, 2015 RETAILERS’ woes will be centre stage this week as J Sainsbury, Tesco, WM Morrison and Marks & Spencer update the market after what is expected to have been a relative slump in trading over the festive season. Tesco’s trading announcement on Thursday will be of particular interest, as new chief executive Dave Lewis will outline [...]
Tesco to reveal new supplier payment system as fears of second-half loss grows January 4, 2015 In the wake of a terrible 2014 for the retail giant, Tesco is preparing itself to overhaul the way it organises its supply chain. According to the Sunday Times, which quotes senior sources, Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis plans to unpick the complex system of rebates and penalties used to extract money from suppliers, [...]
Where to buy the cheapest petrol: Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco cut prices December 31, 2014 Three of the UK's largest supermarkets have cut the price of petrol and diesel, drawing the battle lines for a New Year war at the pumps. Sainsbury's, Tesco and Asda all cut their prices by 2p per litre. It's the 13th time Asda has lowered its price since September. Traditionally the lowest-priced petrol retailers, supermarkets' [...]
Apps to improve your work-life balance in 2015 December 31, 2014 A 24/7 business cycle coupled with the smartphone invasion can create a seemingly insurmountable workload making it increasingly impossible to achieve the ideal work-life balance. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and for the tech-savvy there's a myriad of apps to help fight back against the increasingly blurred lines between work and play. Rescue [...]
The year at City A.M.: Our most popular stories of 2014 December 31, 2014 With everything that has gone on in the last 12 months you might be forgiven the odd memory lapse. Here's our round-up of the stories that got you clicking in 2014. January It's hard to believe it was less than a year ago that French President Hollande was caught having a moped-based affair with actress [...]
City A.M.’s Quiz of the Year – how well do you remember 2014? December 24, 2014 Did Russell Brand (and/or Nigel Farage) really say that? Was Tesco's profit overstatement really that big? Did North Korea actually start dictating the films that Hollywood releases? Surely the Scottish referendum wasn't that close… It's been quite a year and, after all the highs and lows, we're about ready for some festive fun. But before you [...]