Price hikes fuel Unilever growth August 4, 2011 Consumer goods giant Unilever raised its prices sharply in the second-quarter to offset a hike in commodity costs helping it on Thursday to beat forecasts with 7.1 per cent rise in quarterly sales growth. The Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Dove soaps group suffered a fall in margins due to the time lag between [...]
Working abroad has huge career benefits August 3, 2011 PEOPLE often describe international travel as “eye opening,” but rarely do they say it is good for your career. But research published in the Harvard Business Review shows that people who have international experience or identify with more than one nationality are better problem solvers and display more creativity. Better still, it seems that they [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD in association with GFT July 31, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● It’s a busy week for results. Today, Hiscox, HSBC, Intertek and Ultra Electronics Holdings announce. ● Barclays, Capital Shopping Centres, Cookson, Drax, Fresnillo, GKN, Meggitt, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, Rotork, Weir and Xstrata all announce tomorrow. ● Announcing on Wednesday are Capital & Counties Properties, Ferrexpo, Legal & General, Rexam, Rightmove, Standard [...]
Nestlé spends $1bn to buy stake in Chinese candymaker July 11, 2011 NESTLÉ, the world’s largest food company, is paying a hefty $1.7bn (£1.1bn) for a 60 per cent stake in candymaker Hsu Fu Chi International to move deeper into fast-growing markets in China. Nestlé’s biggest deal in China so far will take it closer to its target of 45 per cent of sales from emerging markets [...]
KEEP THE FAITH: TONY BLAIR PRAYS FOR GLOBALISATION WITH VALUES July 5, 2011 NEVER mind the JP Morgan advisory gig, Tony Blair’s real focus post-politics is his religious faith – despite being warned by former aide Alastair Campbell not to make a feature of his Christian beliefs. “We don’t do God,” Campbell growled to Blair, after the former Prime Minister’s Christian faith became the headline in one of [...]
FTSE digs in after gains July 5, 2011 The FTSE started solidly today after breaking the 6,000 barrier yesterday but bleak service sector data cast a shadow across European markets. Growth in the eurozone’s service sector slowed for a third straight month in June — sending negative signals to investors. The UK Markit/CIPS services PMI came in at 53.9 for June, down from [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 3, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES JLR IN 50 PER CENT BOOST TO SPENDING Jaguar Land Rover is to boost its spending on products by 50 per cent from about £1bn to £1.5bn as the UK’s largest premium carmaker prepares to launch the most important vehicle since Tata Motors bought the group from Ford Motor three years ago. CHI-X [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 28, 2011 DOMINO’S PIZZA Numis rates the pizza maker a “buy” with a 600p target price as it says the market expects the firm to report negative like-for-like sales for the second quarter after hot weather in April and May. The broker instead believes new product launches and growing lunch and late night sales should fuel 12 [...]
Diageo leads raft of China trade deals June 27, 2011 DIAGEO is to become the first spirits firm to take control of a Chinese-listed rival, after a £13m deal was approved yesterday. The deal, which was announced during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to Britain, was given the green light by regulators in a sign that the emerging superpower is becoming more open to foreign [...]
Unilever announces shake-up to drive growth June 24, 2011 Consumer goods group Unilever is to focus on product categories rather than geographic regions in a management shakeup the Anglo-Dutch group says is aimed at driving growth especially in emerging markets. The maker of Dove soap and Knorr soups is to scrap its three-region structure and single-product category heads, with new Chief operating officer Harish [...]