Nina Ricci heiress Arlette found guilty in HSBC Swiss tax fraud leaks case April 13, 2015 Arlette Ricci, heiress to the Nina Ricci perfume and fashion fortune, has been found guilty of tax fraud in a case prompted by a leaked list of people who used the services of HSBC in Switzerland. A Paris court sentenced Ricci, the 73-year-old granddaughter of co-founder Nina Ricci, to three years in jail with two [...]
Morrisons’ group trading director Casper Meijer joins mass exodus April 13, 2015 Morrisons’ trading director Casper Meijer has become the latest high profile executive to leave the troubled retailer as part of an ongoing shake-up under new chief executive David Potts. The former Tesco director has sacked over half of Morrisons senior management team since taking over in March as he tries to turn around the troubled [...]
Weak Chinese data hits FTSE mining stocks – London Report April 13, 2015 THE UK’s top equity index slipped from record highs yesterday as surprisingly weak data from China weighed on mining stocks, with investors also growing cautious before next month’s General Election. The FTSE 100 index, which touched a record high of 7,095.36 points on Friday, retreated 25.47 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 7,064.30 points by [...]
Halfords finance chief Andrew Findlay flies off to EasyJet April 13, 2015 The finance chief of Halfords is swapping bikes for airplanes, flying off to EasyJet to fill the CFO role at the budget airline. Findlay fills the position left vacant by Chris Kennedy who announced his departure for UK chip designer ARM at the start of the year. It's the second time a senior executive has [...]
Sainsbury’s cuts back on Nectar loyalty rewards April 12, 2015 Sainsbury’s has halved the number of Nectar points its customers can earn, sparking fears that frustrated shoppers will turn to discounters such as Aldi and Lidl instead. The retailer made changes to the loyalty scheme this weekend, meaning members now only earn one point for every £1 spent in-store and online, as opposed to two [...]
Investec Comment: How cheap oil is boosting small businesses April 12, 2015 THE extraordinary decline in the price of oil has been one of the most important economic stories of the past year. Brent Crude fell from over $110 per barrel in June 2014 to below $50 in January 2015, slumping to multi-year lows. Prices have increased marginally since then, but with factors like the interim deal [...]
General Election 2015: Labour’s non-dom tax change would hit some of UK’s biggest banks April 12, 2015 Labour's pledge to scrap non-dom tax status would affect top employees at some of London’s leading banks, including RBS, Lloyds and Barclays. Under the non-domicile rule, those with a permanent home abroad currently do not have to pay UK tax on overseas earnings. Only their UK income is taxed, although they have to pay £30,000 [...]
FTSE 100 closes at record high (again) April 10, 2015 The FTSE 100 closed at another record high today, showing that political uncertainties aren't overtly worrying investors. The index finished the day 1.1 per cent up at 7,092.5 points, only the fifth time it's closed above 7,000 since it finally broke that barrier in mid-March. The close follows a record-breaking day in Japan overnight, where the [...]
Easter “masks” wider problems in supermarket sector as price war continues to take toll on Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury and Morrisons April 10, 2015 Supermarkets experienced their first growth in spend during March – but the early Easter is “masking” the sector's problems, Nielsen claims. Sales rose 0.7 per cent for the four weeks to March 28 against the same period last year. The last time grocers saw an increase in spend was April last year, when Easter distorted [...]
Debenhams bolsters board with appointment of Terry Duddy as a non-executive director April 10, 2015 Debenhams is looking to bolster its board by appointing veteran retailer Terry Duddy as a non-executive director, as it tries to improve its fortunes after years of underperformance. Duddy was chief executive of the Home Retail group until March last year and is chair of the retail trust. Until 2006 he was chief of Argos, [...]