Morrisons buys baby care website for £70m February 15, 2011 Wm Morrison Supermarkets, the country’s fourth-biggest grocer, is buying online baby products retailer Kiddicare for £70m to kick-start an online business selling non-food goods. Morrison said the deal would give it a technology platform and distribution centre to develop an online non-food business, launching its first products in 2012. The move is part of chief [...]
Mergers are needed to keep bourses in business February 13, 2011 TWO blockbuster stock exchange tie-ups were announced last week, sparking a rush of speculation that others may follow. But what are the forces behind this drive to consolidate, and is it sustainable? On Wednesday, the London Stock Exchangeagreed a merger with Canada’s Toronto Metals Exchange, to establish the world’s biggest trading exchange by listings, with [...]
Dido’s gamble means white flag isn’t likely February 8, 2011 DIDO Harding is a keen racehorse owner whose horse Cool Dawn won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1998. But perhaps the biggest gamble of her career was leaving the sector she had become synonymous with to take the reins at TalkTalk. Harding made her name in supermarkets, first as an executive at Tesco, which she [...]
FTSE shrugs off bank levy tax as it surges to 32-month high February 8, 2011 BRITAIN’S leading share index jumped higher yesterday, ending at levels not seen since May 2008, supported by rallies from banks and miners, and by gains in energy issues following results from BG Group. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was up 40.30 points, or 0.7 per cent at 6,091.33, its fifth gain in the [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 8, 2011 SHIRE JP Morgan Cazenove (JPM) rates the pharma group “neutral” with a £16.40 price target. The broker expects revenue growth forecasts of around 12 per cent when the firm reports fourth quarter results tomorrow, along with margin expansion of around 200 basis points. For the quarter, JPM expects revenue of $910m (£565.9m) and core operating [...]
Lawyers are bad at business? Think again February 8, 2011 THIS paper recently ran an article warning that for lawyers “doom is nigh” and that they should shape up or ship out. The context was the Legal Services Act and its welcome shake up of the way in which legal services can be delivered. The article had many solid, good messages: in summary, cutting overheads [...]
FTSE dips as banks come under pressure February 8, 2011 The FTSE 100 dipped this morning despite strong results from Xstrata and BG Group. The index has gained in four out of the last five trading sessions – regularly surpassing the 6,000 barrier, but banking stocks were among the poorest performers today. Commodities dipped as the price of copper came down after a record high [...]
M&S POACHES NEW ONLINE BOSS FROM TESCO February 7, 2011 MARKS & Spencer has poached Laura Wade-Gery from supermarket group Tesco to head its internet business, underscoring new boss Marc Bolland’s commitment to growing sales online. Wade-Gery will join as executive director of multi-channel and e-commerce as the retailer aims to double online sales by 2013-14.
M&S poaches Tesco’s online guru Wade-Gery February 7, 2011 Upmarket retailer Marks & Spencer has poached Laura Wade-Gery from supermarket group Tesco to head its internet business, underscoring new boss Marc Bolland’s commitment to online sales growth. M&S, the UK’s biggest clothing retailer, said Wade-Gery is to join as executive director of multi-channel and e-commerce at a time and on terms to be confirmed. [...]
THE TIPSTER February 6, 2011 WITH uncertainty continuing over the situation in Egypt, bearish investors are coveting the safe haven assets once again. After retreating from the $1,400 level at the start of the year, gold is now creeping higher but with no signs of further contagion in the geopolitical sphere, the risk aversion stance could arguably be seen as [...]