WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 2, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Airline levy could aid UK border Two Democratic senators have turned up the political pressure on News Corp, reviving questions about whether a scandal at Rupert Murdoch’s UK newspapers could jump the Atlantic. Sen Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia has written to Lord Justice Leveson asking for any evidence that “troubling and sometimes [...]
Troubling times for retailers to the squeezed middle April 29, 2012 SPARE a thought for the squeezed middle. No, not the ordinary family as defined by Ed Miliband, but the places they shop and the things they buy. The mid-market consumer firm is finding the going very tough indeed. There has been much written about Tesco’s troubles in recent months, punctuated by a series of ignominious [...]
Recessionary data brushed off as FTSE mirrors gains seen on Wall St April 25, 2012 THE UK’s blue-chip index closed up yesterday, shrugging off weak UK GDP figures showing Britain slipped back into recession and disappointing first-quarter results from drugmaker Glaxosmithkline, as investors awaited results from a key US Federal Reserve meeting. Early gains on the FTSE 100 index were led by a rise on Wall Street, which opened up [...]
FTSE rise aided by banks April 25, 2012 The FTSE 100 opened on the front foot this morning as the tech sector was given a boost by stellar sales from Apple in the US while banks also nudged up. But UK GDP figures showing that the country had plunged back into recession cast a shadow.The UK economy shrank by 0.2 per cent in [...]
Waitrose and budget stores winning sales April 24, 2012 UK CONSUMER habits are becoming increasingly divided, accordingly to new retail data that shows higher-end and budget retailers growing market share while those occupying the middle ground lose out. Kantar Worldpanel figures for the 12 weeks to 15 April 2012 showed upmarket supermarket Waitrose increasing market share from 4.3 per cent to 4.5 per cent [...]
Leahy offers Tesco answers at Hay Festival April 22, 2012 INVESTORS seeking to find out what’s going wrong at supermarket chain Tesco might want to indulge their literary side and buy a ticket to this year’s Hay Festival – as the firm’s former chief executive is set to appear at the event. Terry Leahy, who led the firm for 14 years before quitting last spring, [...]
Tesco to fight back with £1bn revival scheme April 18, 2012 TESCO revealed yesterday it would be spending £1bn on reviving its UK business as the supermarket giant attempts to restore sales growth and make customers “fall back in love again” with the brand. Chief executive Philip Clarke outlined a six-point plan to hire 8,000 more staff, create “warmer” stores, lower prices and improve products after [...]
Clarke will need more than £1bn to reverse curse of complacent incumbency April 18, 2012 LET’S keep things in perspective here. Tesco isn’t exactly struggling, although you wouldn’t know it from the bad publicity that has plagued it since a profit warning in January. Group profit of £3.83bn was up by five per cent last year on revenues that were seven per cent higher at £72bn. A distressed retailer this [...]
CITY VIEWS DO YOU SHOP FOR GROCERIES ONLINE? April 18, 2012 LUCY WALLCRAFT FIDELITY Sometimes I shop online for my groceries, but not always. When I do it’s because it is the most convenient way to get what I need. I mainly use Tesco if I shop online because it is the easiest to use.” SHARON GURNETT MCGRIGORS I don’t personally shop online for groceries. I’m [...]
Euro fears and ex-divi stocks see FTSE slide after two days of gains April 18, 2012 BRITAIN’S leading share index dipped into negative territory yesterday, pulled down by a set of ex-dividend stocks, while fears of another blow-up in the Eurozone crisis kept investors nervy ahead of a Spanish debt auction. The FTSE 100 index closed down 21.66 points, or 0.4 per cent at 5,745.29, after two days of gains, as [...]