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 [...]
The four most shocking things that happened in 2014 December 23, 2014 1. THE RUSSIA SAGA (Source: Getty) Russia flexed its muscles at the beginning of the year, taking the opportunity during the uprising in Ukraine to plant pro-Putin flags in the Crimea region, triggering a string of catastrophic events to unfold. And it’s likely we’re far from seeing the final act of this epic Russian novel play [...]
Tesco profit overstatement: PwC faces double investigation by accountancy watchdog FRC December 22, 2014 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the regulator for the UK’s accountancy industry, yesterday announced it was launching two separate investigations into the activities of professional services giant PwC. The probes will look into the book-keeping role played by the Big Four accountant in recent scandals involving UK supermarket chain Tesco and banking monolith Barclays. In [...]
FTSE closes up for a fifth day in spite of volatility in oil firms – London Report December 22, 2014 THE FTSE 100 yesterday held on to gains as its pre-Christmas rally continued for a fifth consecutive trading session. However, oil-related stocks went from being among the best performers in morning trade to among the worst by the close as the oil price again failed to hold on to an early rise. In low trading [...]
Which were the best and worst investments of 2014? December 22, 2014 This year low interest rates have seen investors who bet on traditional investments receive returns tantamount to chickenfeed. Perhaps we should have given up before we'd all even started? Perhaps not. Investors who plumped for chocolate, property, the US dollar and Aim-listed company Fitbug would have watched as their money practically grew on trees. Conversely, [...]