There’s no logic behind the workfare proposal February 28, 2012 THE government has introduced a scheme that encourages people on the unemployment benefit to work at selected firms, such as Tesco. They are paid nothing but are alleged to benefit by gaining work experience. This is not slave labour, as some have alleged. No one is forced to do this unpaid work, not even as [...]
Tesco eyes stake in Hi-Mart February 23, 2012 TESCO may bid for a controlling stake valued at about £570m in South Korean electronics retailer Hi-Mart, two sources with knowledge of the matter said yesterday, as the British grocer eyes growth markets to offset challenging times at home. Disposable incomes across much of Europe are being squeezed by rising prices, muted wage growth and [...]
FOCUS ON: STRATFORD, LONDON February 23, 2012 RICHFORD ROAD Price: £340,000 A four bedroom period conversion spread over four floors with front bay windows and access to private gardens. Go to www.foxtons.co.uk ANGEL LANE Price: £350,000 A twelfth floor, two bedroom flat in a modern high rise. Located a stone’s throw from the Underground and other transport links. Go to www.foxtons.co.uk CASPIAN [...]
Sales slow at Asda but boss stays upbeat February 21, 2012 ASDA, owned by US retailer Wal-Mart Stores, yesterday posted a slowdown in sales growth in its fiscal fourth quarter as shoppers cut back due to rising prices, muted wages growth and an uncertain economic outlook. Chief executive Andy Clarke said he was instinctively optimistic about prospects in 2012 but said it was too early to [...]
Tesco changes tack on job scheme February 21, 2012 Supermarket giant Tesco yesterday agreed to start paying young people taking part in the government’s work experience scheme, in a bid to halt growing complaints about the programme. Tesco had been advertising long-term, unpaid positions for those on jobseekers’ allowance.
ASDA sales growth slows February 21, 2012 Supermarket firm Asda suffered a slowdown in sales growth as shoppers were squeezed by rising prices and muted wages growth. Britain’s second-biggest supermarket chain said today that sales at stores open over a year, excluding fuel and VAT sales tax, rose 1 per cent in the fourteen weeks to 7 January. Asda said underlying sales [...]
Surprise loss for Ageas on write-downs February 20, 2012 BELGIAN insurer Ageas announced an unexpected fourth quarter loss of €44.5m (£37m) yesterday as it wrote down the value of its Hong Kong operation and took a €124m hit on the value of its Greek bond holdings. Without these impairments its insurance division would have turned a full year profit of €595m, the firm said. [...]
Tesco launches float of its Thailand property fund to raise up to £369m February 20, 2012 TESCO, the world’s third-largest retailer, launched the initial public offering of its Thailand property fund yesterday, aiming to raise up to £369m to finance future expansion. The offering is part of a trend among retailers in recent years to squeeze more value from their real estate assets, bundling them into a property fund, selling the [...]
MINISTER SLAMS JOB SNOB CRITICS February 20, 2012 CHRIS Grayling, the employment minister, yesterday rounded on critics of the government’s work experience programme, describing them as “job snobs”. He was speaking in response to opponents of the scheme who branded it “21st century slavery” and “forced labour” after it emerged Tesco had offered an unpaid placement stacking shelves in its supermarkets. The scheme [...]
Banks face new threat of break up February 16, 2012 BRITISH retail banks must act fast to encourage competition or face the threat of being broken up, a leading regulator has warned. John Fingleton, head of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), yesterday said he would contemplate asking for a Competition Commission investigation into the sector unless there was a “step change” in the way [...]