Shopping around is the future of law June 1, 2010 COMMENTATORS talk excitedly about “Tesco Law” and the ongoing liberalisation of legal services as though it were a latter day gold rush led by big name supermarkets and banks. But what is it that consumers want? New research suggests that there is little enthusiasm on the part of the public to associate legal services with [...]
The grocer who says this year will test retailers as well as shoppers May 31, 2010 Much like the rest of the country, the chief executive of the country’s third largest supermarket group is trying to make up his mind about the coalition government. At the start of the election campaign Sainsbury’s boss Justin King was one of many who backed Tory plans to scrap national insurance hikes for employers, a [...]
Asda takes over Netto in £778m deal May 27, 2010 ASDA has bought the Netto supermarket chain in the UK for £778m. Netto has 193 stores, which will be converted to small Asda stores by next Summer, if regulators give the deal the go-ahead. Asda plans to employ up to twice as many staff in each of the stores it has acquired. It sees the [...]
Asda May 27, 2010 GET ready to slap the change in your back-pocket and shout “that’s Asda Price”: Britain’s number two supermarket has been on a spending spree. At first glance, the £778m that Asda has shelled out for 193 Netto stores looks pricey. The Wal-Mart subsidiary is paying £504 per square foot, mostly for units that are in [...]
THE TIPSTER May 26, 2010 TESCO has pulled back from its high of 454.9p at the end of April but has also bounced back from its decline to the 38.2 per cent Fibonacci retracement level. Look to purchase below £4 with a stop at £3.85. WorldSpreads offers a rolling spread on Tesco of 397.2p–398p. There’s been no shortage of volatility [...]
Cable & Wireless trades in line with forecasts May 26, 2010 TELECOMS firm Cable & Wireless Worldwide posted full-year results in line with forecasts and said it was confident it would meet expectations for cash and earnings generation as conditions improve. The former Cable & Wireless group split earlier this year into CWC – focussed in the Caribbean, Macau and Panama – and Cable & Wireless [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 24, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES AIA CHIEF IN THREAT TO QUIT OVER PRU DEAL AIA’s chief executive has told friends and industry executives that he would quit if the UK’s Prudential succeeded in its $35.5bn (£24.6bn) takeover of the Asian businesses of AIG. Mark Wilson has said he would step down once the deal closed because the proposed [...]
Cranswick raises dividend May 24, 2010 Pork supplier Cranswick increased its dividend yesterday after posting a 21 per cent rise in annual pre-tax profits, to a record £43.8m. Increased demand from supermarkets, particularly for higher-end products, is credited for better than expected growth. The company, which has supply contracts with Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference and Tesco, raised its divided more than [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 20, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK PUBLISHERS FEAR THREAT OF DIGITAL PIRACY Publishers have warned that the fight against illegal copying of digital books could impose a huge cost on the industry, raising fears of a new wave of online piracy. Gail Rebuck, chairman and chief executive of The Random House Group, part of Bertelsmann, said illegal copying [...]
Boots in £1bn profit haul May 17, 2010 ALLIANCE Boots yesterday posted an annual profit of more than £1bn – becoming only the third UK retailer to pass that milestone. The group, taken private in 2007 in Europe’s biggest leveraged buyout, also said there was strong growth in own-brand products like No7 cosmetics. Its international wholesale operations also helped in a tough consumer [...]