Why filling in the census improves your life March 9, 2011 SO, how old are you? Have you ever been married? Who do you live with? Do you have a mortgage? How many bedrooms do you have? What religion are you? Yes, it might feel like Big Brother plopped on our doormats this week. The 2011 census asks questions that probably many of us would find [...]
Lloyds TSB unveils 5.5 per cent bond for retail investors March 8, 2011 LLOYDS TSB launched a five-year corporate bond for retail investors yesterday, following its first offering to private bond investors last June. The bonds will pay 5.5 per cent interest at a fixed rate until the notes mature in September 2016. Lloyds and Royal Bank of Canada are underwriting the scheme. Lloyds expects to raise at [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 6, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES TESCO PUSH ON MUSIC GROUPS’ CD DEALS Tesco is pushing music companies to accept minimal upfront payments for the compact discs they ship to the Uk retailer, in a renegotiation that will test how record labels’ bargaining power has diminished in line with shoppers’ interest in CDs. Instead of paying £7 or £8 [...]
John Lewis issues £50m retail bond March 6, 2011 THE John Lewis Partnership has issued a retail bond for its cardholders and Partners in a bid to raise £50m of funds by April. Customers who hold either the Partnership or Account cards, as well as current Partners in the employee-owned firm, can invest lump sums of between £1,000 and £10,000 into the John Lewis [...]
Tesco backs Fresh & Easy March 3, 2011 TESCO’S new chief executive Philip Clarke is to continue the US expansion strategy of his predecessor Sir Terry Leahy despite ongoing losses in the market, the group said yesterday. Tesco said its Fresh & Easy brand was opening two new stores in California with a further ten due to open across the state before the [...]
Why gazelles and giants both matter March 1, 2011 SHOULD you work for a big company or a small one? To me, the answer is simple: the smaller, nimbler and the more entrepreneurial the firm, the better. But as figures out yesterday demonstrate, there is a reason why many people would prefer to work for larger institutions. The top 100 firms in the UK [...]
Supermarket sales slowing as shoppers rein in spending March 1, 2011 SALES growth at grocers slowed in February, despite higher prices, according to market research published yesterday, adding to signs of growing caution among consumers since the start of the year. Kantar Worldpanel said grocery sales rose 3.9 per cent year-on-year in the 12 weeks to 20 February, down from 4.2 per cent growth for the [...]
Tesco China mall deal marks Sir Terry’s swansong February 28, 2011 TESCO chief executive Sir Terry Leahy bid farewell yesterday as the chain continued its march into China with a joint venture deal on three malls. Leahy took the helm of the company in 1992 and has steered it towards significant international growth, particularly in the rapidly expanding Asian market. His long planned retirement ushers in [...]
Tesco in deal for three malls in China February 28, 2011 Tesco, the world’s third-biggest retailer, has signed a joint venture to build three more shopping malls in China as part of its plans to rapidly expand in the world’s most populous country. The supermarket group said on Monday that 50 percent of the venture would be owned by a consortium of Asian investors including Singapore’s [...]
Tesco targets Asda in new price scheme February 27, 2011 TESCO will today start a new supermarket price war by introducing £200m worth of reductions. The retailer plans to lower prices on more than 1,000 everyday products including bread, meat, vegetables and fruits, and medicines across all of its UK stores. The key target in Tesco’s latest promotion is rival Asda – owned by US supermarket giant [...]