Get your hands dirty in Sardinia November 15, 2009 THESE days, you can hardly turn on a television without seeing somebody rummaging around in hedgerows, or cooking a meal with something they have just picked or plucked from a tree. Foraging is in. The idea of wandering around the British countryside in November looking for my dinner doesn’t exactly appeal – but doing so [...]
Asda launches price cuts as discount war hots up November 12, 2009 ASDA has raised the stakes in the Christmas price war by slashing £150m from the price of products in a discount drive designed to put pressure on its rivals. Asda, which has based its marketing on being the cheapest of the big four supermarkets, said consumers were still unwilling to part with cash. A day [...]
Tesco looks East for growth and plans new Chinese stores November 12, 2009 TESCO yesterday announced a £100m tie-up with Asian investors to build three shopping centres in China as the first stage of a larger building programme. Britain’s biggest supermarket has signed an agreement for a 50-50 venture with investors including HSBC Nan Fung China Real Estate Fund, Singapore’s Metro Holdings and Hong Kong’s Nan Fung Group. [...]
Japanese whisky, the spirit of Christmas November 11, 2009 IF JAPANESE whisky sounds like a joke – something akin to the Jamaican bobsleigh team, or Indian wine – then you clearly don’t know very much about spirits. At last year’s World Whisky Awards, Yoichi 20-year-old was voted the best whisky in the world, while Suntory’s Hibiki was voted the best blended whisky. If you [...]
Non-food to drive growth at Sainsbury’s November 11, 2009 J SAINSBURY has pinned its growth hopes on a bold expansion of its non-food offering, with plans to take on market leaders Tesco and Asda in larger-format stores. Unveiling a robust 18 per cent rise in first half profits to £307m yesterday, chief executive Justin King outlined a £2bn expansion programme for the next two [...]
Clubcard lifts Tesco’s share of customers November 10, 2009 SUPERMARKET giant Tesco is growing market share for the first time in two years as it fights back at its rivals, industry figures show. Tesco’s double Clubcard points promotion – which cost the group around £5m a week – helped its share of the grocery market climb to 30.7 per cent in the 12 weeks [...]
Asda and J Sainsbury to battle it out in crunch time for grocers November 8, 2009 J Sainsbury and Asda will go head -to-head this week to show the City how they have been faring in the consumer downturn. Sainsbury’s, Britain’s third-biggest grocer, is expected to post a 16 per cent rise in first-half profits on Wednesday and warn of a tougher second half amid stiff competition. And Asda, owned by [...]
Share index up as Bank of England keeps rates at a low November 5, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index closed 0.4 per cent up yesterday, with energy stocks lifted by optimism on the economic outlook as central banks kept rates steady and US data surprised on the upside. The Bank of England kept rates steady at a record low of 0.5 per cent and said it would expand its quantitative [...]
Banking shake-up gives the markets a case of the jitters November 3, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index fell to its lowest closing level in a month yesterday, led down by banks after shake-ups at Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds and poor results from Swiss peer UBS The FTSE 100 closed 67.29 points or 1.3 per cent weaker at 5,037.21, having surrendered the 5,000 level for the first [...]
Bank changes affect millions November 3, 2009 MILLIONS of retail banking customers will be affected by the sale of Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland assets, but it could be four years before the process is complete. Spokespeople for both RBS and Lloyds both stressed yesterday that it was “business as usual” until further notice, and that any disruption will [...]