New York Report: Retailers lead a broad drop on Wall Street May 20, 2014 US STOCKS fell in a broad sell-off yesterday, with major indexes hitting session lows in afternoon trading, led by losses in the retail sector after disappointing results from Staples and TJX Companies. All 10 primary S&P 500 sector indexes fell, and nearly three-fourths of Nasdaq-listed names were down for the day. The S&P 500’s top [...]
G4S says goodbye to third UK chief in two years May 20, 2014 G4S, the tagging scandal hit security services firm, has lost its third UK chief executive in two years. Eddie Aston, who joined the contract giant from Deutsche Post DHL, has left after just six months in the role, as first reported by the FT’s Gill Plimmer. The company confirmed he left at the end of [...]
Privatisation may have come too late to stop the decline of Royal Mail May 20, 2014 Since privatisation Royal Mail has enjoyed a positive settlement with the Communication Workers Union (CWU), continued to implement its efficiency plan and has reported trading in line with guidance. However, Royal Mail's recent success is under increasing threat as the UK takes off as one of the most liberal and competitive postal markets in the [...]
City Moves for 20 May 2014 | Who’s switching jobs May 19, 2014 IO The multi-let industrial estates management firm has announced the appointment of Oliver Bowditch to handle acquisitions. He joins from JLL, where he focused on providing valuation advice to banks, institutional investors and property companies. BDO The accountancy and business advisory firm has appointed Chris Bellairs as a partner in its financial services practice. He [...]
Three tech start-ups hoping to win over John Lewis May 19, 2014 John Lewis will kick-off its search tomorrow for the next big idea to help its stores stay ahead in the digital age, with 30 technology start-ups battling out for a place in the retailer’s technology incubator JLAB. Each firm will deliver a five minute pitch to a panel of John Lewis directors and mentors [...]
Cisco shares rise in after-hours trading despite drop in revenue May 14, 2014 NETWORK equipment manufacturer Cisco Systems posted a lower-than-expected 5.5 per cent drop in quarterly revenue late last night, prompting the US giant’s shares to climb in after-hours trading. Cisco reported a net profit of $2.2bn in the third quarter, down from $2.5bn in the same period a year earlier. The company revealed revenue of $11.5bn, [...]
British Land warns politics a risk to recovery May 14, 2014 BRITISH Land warned that upcoming political events such as the general election posed “increasing risks” for the property market as the FTSE 100 landlord posted a jump in profits. Chief executive Chris Grigg said yesterday that uncertainty over the outcome of the 2015 elections could put off businesses and investors from investing in the sector. [...]
CollectPlus plots growth plans to rival Post Office May 12, 2014 COLLECTPLUS launched a fresh assault on the Post Office today after announcing plans to expand its parcel returns and delivery service to 7,500 stores over the next 12 months. The company was launched in 2009 and has grown rapidly thanks to the boom in online shopping, click and collect, and consumers demanding more convenient ways [...]
Losses deepen at Italian bank Monte dei Paschi May 12, 2014 TROUBLED Italian bank Monte dei Paschi yesterday reported another steep rise in losses, despite hints of a recovery in the country’s economy. The bank lost €174m (£142m) in the first three months of 2014, up 72.3 per cent from the €101m lost in the same period of 2013. Revenue from fees and commissions increased 3.2 [...]
Why Britain must reject Miliband’s arbitrary economic jingoism May 12, 2014 BRITAIN has a proud tradition of putting scientific inventions to commercial use – from the fire extinguisher to Beta blockers, used to treat high blood pressure. Both may be needed to defuse rising political tension over Pfizer’s bid to take over Astrazeneca. Ed Miliband’s shallow resort to populist protectionism threatens the rule of law, and [...]