2015: Bring on the year of empowerment December 19, 2014 It's dangerous territory, some smart-arse proffering a crystal ball projection of the future. From weathermen to economists, the curse of the prediction has floored many a better man and woman than I; but as the headline states, we are wallowing in the age of empowerment. I’m not talking about John Lennon’s “power to [...]
Philip Clarke, Euan Sutherland and Dov Charney – the bosses who left us in 2014 December 19, 2014 This year has had its fair share of disasters – from the Co-op’s continued struggles to Tesco’s melting share price. But what of the people behind the stories? We’ve got the best, worst and most surprising people moves of the year. 1. Philip Clarke makes an unceremonious departure from Tesco Clarke stepped down at [...]
Novamedia / Postcode Lotteries – No.3 December 18, 2014 Netherlands – £470.3m For a Postcode Lottery player their address could be the luckiest thing that ever happened to them. Anyone who wants to play provides their postcode which then becomes their ticket number. Using the postcode means it’s not just one participant who wins a prize, but all the players in an entire street [...]
Tesco share price timeline: One chart showing the dramatic decline of the supermarket giant December 9, 2014 Since 1919, the rise of Tesco as the dominant supermarket chain has seemed unstoppable. It enjoyed rapid expansion in the 80s and 90s which resulted in a huge market share over the last ten years. This is all now under threat after a series of profit warnings and scandals has cast a bleak shadow over [...]
FTSE drops over Draghi’s lack of stimulus news – London Report December 4, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index fell yesterday largely due to a drop in commodity stocks and disappointment at a lack of concrete, new economic stimulus measures from the European Central Bank (ECB). The blue chip FTSE 100 index closed down by 0.6 per cent, or 37.26 points, at 6,679.37 points. The ECB slashed its growth and [...]
Unilever spins off Flora and Bertolli spreads into a separate business December 4, 2014 Unilever is spinning off its butter division into a separate standalone business as it dragged on the consumer giant’s growth. Its spread brands, including Flora and Bertolli, will form a new division by the middle of 2015 run by a separate management team following a separate strategy, Unilever’s head of finance Jean-Marc Huet told investors [...]
Autumn Statement 2014: Stamp duty, business rates, banking profits and tech firm taxes. How has industry responded? December 3, 2014 There were a number of surprises in George Osborne's final Autumn Statement before the general election, many of which are solidly aimed at middle class voters. Bankers taxes are being limited, multinational tech firms are going to have to pay more taxes and stamp duty slabs have been scrapped. The squeezed middle and chattering [...]
Marks & Spencer poaches John Lewis finance chief Helen Weir November 17, 2014 MARKS & Spencer has poached Helen Weir from John Lewis to become its news finance director. Weir will succeed Alan Stewart, who quit M&S in July to join Tesco, and was fast-tracked into the job in September, when Tesco discovered a black hole in its accounts. Weir has been CFO at John Lewis since 2012 [...]
FTSE buoyed as Draghi speech reverses trend – London Report November 17, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index turned positive late yesterday after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said unconventional monetary policy measures could include buying sovereign bonds. Draghi also told the European Parliament the ECB will continue to do “whatever it takes” within its mandate to save the euro and that the single currency was irreversible. The [...]
M&S poaches John Lewis finance director Helen Weir November 17, 2014 Marks & Spencer has appointed John Lewis finance director Helen Weir as its own chief financial officer. In a statement posted this afternoon, the retailer said Weir has yet to confirm a start date. M&S' previous finance director, Alan Stewart, left suddenly in September to take up his new role at Tesco several months earlier [...]