Fat Face to bulk up in the States July 22, 2013 CLOTHING brand Fat Face is aiming to crack the American market in the next two years, the firm said as it posted record annual sales. Fat Face yesterday confirmed plans to open its first store in the US and launch a dedicated website for American customers. It posted a 12 per cent rise in turnover [...]
London Report: Glaxo troubles in China weigh on the FTSE 100 July 22, 2013 BRITAIN’S blue-chip share index ended slightly lower yesterday, weighed by GlaxoSmithKline’s problems in China, but remained close to a retest of seven-week highs. Glaxo, the FTSE 100’s biggest pharmaceutical company by market capitalisation, fell 1.2 per cent and accounted for more than half the broader index’s decline after it said some staff in China appeared [...]
CRH appoints company veteran as new chief executive July 18, 2013 Building materials producer CRH has announced the appointment of Albert Manifold as its chief executive following the retirement of Myles Lee after 32 years with the group. Manifold, 50, will assume his new post on 1 January 2014. He has been a board member and chief operating officer at CRH since January 2009, and has [...]
The wait to see how Carney voted on QE July 17, 2013 The Bank of England will today release its minutes from the Monetary Policy Committee held earlier this month. The meeting was new governor Mark Carney’s first, and the minutes will show whether or not he voted to extend quantitative easing. It will also be interesting to see if managed to persuade any other members to [...]
Barclays hires finance chief from JP Morgan July 16, 2013 BARCLAYS’ group finance director Chris Lucas will step down early next year, the bank announced yesterday, the final member of Bob Diamond’s top team to quit following last year’s Libor fixing scandal. He will be replaced by Tushar Morzaria, who is currently chief finance officer in corporate and investment banking at JP Morgan. Morzaria will [...]
Michael Page sees tough job market ahead July 16, 2013 RECRUITMENT firm Michael Page posted a rise in quarterly profits in Britain yesterday but said the next three months are likely to be tough. Michael Page, which makes 40 per cent of its profits from finance and accounting, said gross profit was up 0.3 per cent in the UK. However, this was wiped out by [...]
Travel money: the benefits of credit and prepaid currency cards July 16, 2013 THE PROLIFERATION of credit, debit, and prepaid currency card deals means changing holiday money is no longer a matter of simply comparing rates along the high street. While the majority still prefer to take cash with them – 60 per cent, according to research by Halifax – debit and credit card providers widely facilitate the [...]
Simplify planning laws and Garden Cities could solve our housing crisis June 19, 2013 BRITAIN’s planning regulations are a lawyers’ banquet. A tangled web of 118 Acts of Parliament govern them and, while the legal profession and a new breed of lobbyists known as “planning consultants” may prosper from this quagmire, the economy suffers. This is the theme of a new policy report on Britain’s antiquated planning regime I [...]
Russian and Kazakh firms set for relegation from FTSE 100 | City A.M. June 10, 2013 ALL THE Russian and Kazakhstan-based firms listed on the London Stock Exchange are expected to leave the top FTSE 100 index in the coming months in a stunning reversal from the tide of eastern giants entering the blue chip London market in recent years. Mining firms Polymetal and Evraz are widely expected to fall out [...]
Five myths about Margaret Thatcher that must be refuted April 14, 2013 FAR too much nonsense is being spoken about Lady Thatcher’s time in office. Here is my take on five key myths. MYTH 1: POPULARITY Thatcher won 43.9 per cent of the vote in 1979, 42.4 per cent per cent in 1983 and 42.2 per cent per cent in 1987, landslide results that contemporary politicians can [...]