Bidders for RBS branches battle to stay in race September 17, 2013 THE BID headed by ex-Tesco Bank executive Andy Higginson is believed have a tougher challenge than its rivals to prove to RBS its offer represents a better deal for the bank than a straight initial public offering. The race to buy the 316 RBS branches is nearing its end, and the W&G Investments consortium is [...]
Tesco tipped to unveil budget tablet device September 17, 2013 TESCO, the UK’s largest grocer, is expected to unveil a tablet next Monday – its first foray into the consumer electronics space – which could be aimed at cementing customer loyalty as the retail giant moves sales online. The device is expected to be a 16GB tablet device with a seven inch screen. It is [...]
Bottom Line: Not much room at the bottom September 17, 2013 IF APPLE doesn’t want to chase the low end of the market, there are others who do. In America, Intel has announced its chips will be inside US tablets selling below $99 by Christmas. In the UK, step forward Tesco. Next Monday’s launch is widely anticipated to reveal a Tesco tablet cheap enough to consider [...]
Mortgage rates could be on the rise September 17, 2013 With rising costs and house price highs spooking homebuyers, shop around for a good deal NEWS that house prices in England have hit record highs – now 0.9 per cent higher than their previous peak in January 2008 – has heightened fears that the government’s Help to Buy subsidised mortgage scheme is fuelling a housing [...]
Gather round for the Hudl – Tesco’s tablet launch event on the horizon September 17, 2013 On Monday 23 September, Tesco is holding a press event, with speculation that it's the unveiling of a new tablet, the Hudl. The Hudl arrives on the market with a rumoured price tag of £99, taking on Amazon's Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus, and the tagline 'We've got something to show you.' Analysts anticipate a 16GB, [...]
Higginson still in the running for RBS branches despite reports of bid rejection September 17, 2013 Reports that Andy Higginson's bid for RBS branches had been rejected have been denied by his consortium W&G Investments. A spokesperson said: We remain in constructive discussions with RBS about our bid. Our proposal remains the only true offer for Williams and Glyns, and offers full and certain value to RBS and its shareholders, whilst [...]
Clegg slammed for slapping 5p tax on supermarket plastic bags September 15, 2013 NICK Clegg’s plan for a 5p charge on plastic bags was yesterday branded unworkable, as critics said the plan was a distraction that would be difficult to enforce. The Deputy Prime Minister announced on Saturday that the policy had won coalition backing to introduce the charge in England from 2015, in an attempt to cut [...]
Inside Track: Tesco executives ponder a spin-off for Asian business September 11, 2013 IT’S hardly on the scale of Royal Bank of Scotland, but Tesco’s retrenchment from the empire-building of Sir Terry Leahy means it will soon struggle to describe itself using the adjective “global”. Fresh from its exit from Japan, a retreat into a joint venture in China and this week’s announcement of the part-sale, part-closure of [...]
Letters to the editor – 12/09 – Tesco in the US, Pensions crisis, Best of Twitter September 11, 2013 Tesco in the US [Re: What Tesco’s US debacle tells us about the wisdom of markets, yesterday] Few UK companies can stand up to the price competition and, significantly, service levels of US retail. Even new car dealerships are open up until 10:30pm at night in America. Where else in the world could you find [...]
What Tesco’s US debacle tells us about the wisdom of markets September 10, 2013 EVER since the nineteenth century, the leaders of businesses quoted on the stock exchange have bemoaned investors’ supposedly fickle nature, inability to understand their firms, general competence, and more recently, their relative youth and inexperience. So when back in 2010, Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco’s then boss, complained that fund managers were too risk averse and [...]