Lancashire to announce debts January 27, 2011 CRICKET: Lancashire have alerted members they are set to announce losses of around £2m, the worst ever recorded by a county cricket club, and conceded that unless the Tesco-funded redevelopment of Old Trafford is finally cleared within the next two months, their future existence could be under threat. “If we don’t develop, there is no [...]
Cheshire joins Whitbread to replace Tesco bound Clarke January 27, 2011 WHITBREAD has appointed Ian Cheshire, pictured left, as a non-executive director to replace Philip Clarke. The pub group said yesterday Clarke, pictured right, will be stepping down from the board when he takes up the chief executive role at Tesco in March, replacing Sir Terry Leahy at the supermarket giant. Cheshire, who will start his [...]
The ex-butcher who knows how to cut it fine January 24, 2011 HAVING started his career in a butcher’s shop in Wolverhampton, Ranjit Singh Boparan has a lifetime of experience in food firms – and knows how to cut things fine. Boparan’s £342m bid for Northern came two hours after the Takeover Panel’s original deadline of 5pm on Friday, after he negotiated a last-minute extension with the [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 19, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES MOD FACES FRESH CRISIS OVER ITS FUNDING Senior figures in the Ministry of Defence are warning of a possible reopening of last October’s Strategic Defence and Security Review because the MoD lacks the funds needed to provide the military capability demanded by the government for 2020. The department has discovered that it needs [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU SHOP IN HMV AND WOULD YOU MISS IT IF IT FOLDED? January 19, 2011 CRAIG MEDFORD | MH CARBON “It’s just been wiped out. I don’t think there’s a way for it to undercut. There are so many other competitors like Tesco’s and Sainsbury. It’s lost its market really.” DANIEL FARIKULLAH | NOMURA “Naturally, it has to go, with technology taking control. People are quite lazy and it’s easier [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 19, 2011 NOKIA Standard & Poor’s Equity Research has moved the mobile maker from “strong buy” to “hold” and downgraded the target price to €8 from €9 as it feels its board has limited strategy options against competitors such as Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android. The broker says Nokia’s operating systems lack exciting apps and it should [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 18, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES NATIONAL GRID AWAITS RULING ON CHARGES National Grid will receive a long-awaited ruling from New York state regulators on the amount that it can charge its customers. A positive outcome would give the company breathing space to improve the performance of its US business. A negative outcome, suggested by a draft ruling last [...]
Developed markets should expect inflation January 16, 2011 INTEREST rates may still be at all time lows in the developed world but inflation is the only story in town for much of the emerging world. It will soon be the same story in the West. In 2008, spiralling food prices brought people in Asia, Africa and Latin America onto the streets. Many fear [...]
Snow losers for traders looking for volatility January 16, 2011 THE Christmas trading results branded companies as either winners or “snow losers” last week. Tesco shocked the market by offering figures that analysts felt paled in comparison to Sainsbury’s. Thanks to 12,000 tonnes of grit, the supermarket deserved to take the title of winner of the festive race. Toy, clothing and leisure retailers also offered [...]
Tesco shares drop on poor Xmas figures January 13, 2011 TESCO shares took a hit yesterday as it announced disappointing Christmas sales figures. Like-for-like sales in the UK missed forecasts, rising just 0.6 per cent in the six weeks to 8 January. The company blamed the poor weather on the performance with its larger stores worst hit. Tesco shares were one of the poorest performers [...]