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 [...]
Hellman’s sues US firm for calling its no-egg mayonnaise “Just Mayo” November 11, 2014 Is an egg-less mayonnaise a mayonnaise at all? This is the big debate that's cracked open in the condiment's corporate world. Unilever, which manufactures Hellman's mayonnaise, is suing the American firm Hampton Creek for creating a no-egg mayonnaise brand with what it argues is a misleading name – “Just Mayo”. It accuses Hampton [...]
Just one UK company ranked among the world’s top 50 innovative firms in BCG report October 27, 2014 Britain's biggest firms are lagging behind US and Asian firms in terms of innovation, according to a new report that lists just one UK firm among the world’s 50 most innovative companies. The single British firm was multinational Unilever, which owns brands such as Lynx, Ben and Jerry’s and Dove. The firm finished in 49th [...]
Tesco’s falling share price eats away at Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart’s bonuses October 27, 2014 Here's another reason for Dave Lewis to be concerned about Tesco's tumbling share price – it's already cost him around a quarter of the bonus accrued at his previous employer Unilever. Tesco bought out awards that both Lewis and new chief financial officer Alan Stewart forfeited from leaving their previous employment, which in the [...]
Just one small Cornetto! Unilever’s cheap goods for the cash-strapped October 23, 2014 Unilever yesterday promised investors that new, cheaper products would help it grow profits, even as reticent consumers dragged its sales growth in the third quarter to its weakest in nearly five years. Sales volume rose only 0.3 per cent, well below analysts’ estimate of 1.8 per cent and growth of 1.9 per cent in the [...]
FTSE recovers but Tesco’s woes drag down rival retailers – London Report October 23, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index recovered yesterday and ended slightly higher, tracking a broad rally in US stocks following some strong earnings results, although a slump in Tesco and Unilever capped gains. The FTSE 100 index ended up 0.3 per cent at 6.419.15 points, after falling as much as 1.4 per cent during the day. Troubled [...]
The good, the bad and the ugly: What the analysts say about Tesco October 23, 2014 It’s another dark day for Tesco. The supermarket's estimated £250m profit black hole was even larger than expected at £263m, £70m of which came prior to the period it initially identified as problematic. Profits collapsed 91.9 per cent as it took the hit of the accounting error, it completely ditched its forecasts, cash flow was [...]