Economy not rebalancing fast enough September 14, 2011 IT is not good news on the jobs front. Unemployment jumped by 80,000 over the past three months; employment is up by just 24,000 over the past year. The post-recession jobs rebound has ground to a halt. The economy is rebalancing towards the private sector but no longer quickly enough. Private sector employment peaked at [...]
Troubled JJB pins hopes on incentive plan September 5, 2011 THE City last night took a hopeful view of the £14m incentive plan launched for the bosses of troubled retailer JJB Sports. Shares in the firm, which was rescued by a deal with landlords in March, closed up 2.4 per cent despite a dire day on the rest of the FTSE, after it said senior [...]
International growth drives Hayes profits up by 50pc September 1, 2011 Recruiter Hays said it would continue to focus on international markets, where strong demand helped deliver a 50 per cent rise in its full-year profit, in the face of slowing growth in the UK’s private sector. Hays, which specialises in placing office workers such as accountants and secretaries, on Thursday posted pretax profit before exceptional [...]
Aer Lingus upgrades full year outlook August 31, 2011 IRISH airline Aer Lingus saw a surge in second quarter profits but blamed the effects of industrial action by its cabin crew for overall losses in the first half of the year. The airline, which is owned in part by the Irish government and Ryanair, posted an operating loss of almost €28m (£24.6m) in the [...]
HOW JAMES MURDOCH CAN TRUMP BROOKS’S August 31, 2011 GOOD NEWS for anyone looking forward to joining James Murdoch at the bar of the prestigious gentlemen’s club Brooks’s, as its secretary Graham Snell has confirmed all is not yet lost for the News Corp heir’s membership application. As those of you who read The Capitalist’s original story on 9 August will recall, things were [...]
Regus profits up as sales grow August 30, 2011 Office space supplier Regus expects further improvements in its sales after it posted a 34 per cent rise in first-half adjusted pre-tax profit on a pick up in demand from big businesses for temporary space amid economic uncertainties. Luxembourg-headquartered Regus, which offers ready-to-use offices for rentals as short as half a day, said on Tuesday [...]
INM profit falls 6pc August 26, 2011 Publishing group Independent News & Media posted a six per cent year-on-year fall in operating profit for the first half of the year, despite cutting costs and paying back debt, after advertising and consumer markets remained “remarkably tough.” The Dublin-based group, nearly 50 per cent owned by former bondholders, is focussing on media markets in [...]
Grim reading at Johnston as profits fall August 25, 2011 NEWSPAPER publisher Johnston Press only needs to focus on repaying around a third of its £370m debt pile, according to outgoing chief executive John Fry. The group, which announced a slump in first-half pre-tax profits, said it would continue to cut costs by simplifying processes and consolidating back-office functions as the economic outlook remained grim [...]
Amec enjoys boost despite North Sea tax August 25, 2011 AMEC, the engineering and support services group, said a surge of activity in the North Sea oil fields and growth in the mining and renewables sectors helped it post higher first-half core earnings and bolstered its order book. Samir Brikho, Amec’s chief executive said the UK government’s North Sea tax raid announced in the March [...]
BOOM-TIME FOR BRITISH FILM INDUSTRY August 24, 2011 MARGARET Thatcher biopic The Iron Lady, starring Meryl Streep (pictured) as the lead, helped push film studios owner Pinewood Shepperton to a 68 per cent rise in film revenue. The firm, in which Peel Holdings acquired a majority stake earlier this year, has seen such a surge in demand for movie studio space it has [...]