In pictures: M&S hopes for summer of love with 2015 spring clothing line November 18, 2014 Winter has arrived and the temperature has finally dropped but the weather felt distinctly summery last night in Marylebone, west London, where Marks & Spencer was showcasing next season’s collection. Speaking at the event, style director Belinda Earl said the 2015 spring/summer ranges, which will start hitting the stores as soon as February, [...]
Is there about to be a defection to Ukip in Sherwood? November 24, 2014 The whispers about new defections to Ukip have continued since the Rochester and Strood by-election victory and the website Political Scrapbook has spotted a possible turncoat. Simon Ashcroft had been pencilled in to contest the seat in Sherwood since last December, but has now been secretly moved to contest Ashfield, another constituency. This has led [...]
Labour’s business woes: Industry leaders savage Ed Miliband’s attack on Boots boss February 3, 2015 Ed Miliband's decision to come out all guns blazing against Boots boss Stefano Pessina may have back-fired after a swathe of business leaders took to the media to condemn the Labour leader. Speaking yesterday at event for young voters, the Labour leader hit back at Pessina's claim that a Labour government would be a "catastrophe" [...]
Who does the best New year detox lunch? From Leon’s super-healthy vegan quinoa pot to Pod’s “joyless” chicken box January 6, 2015 It’s January again, and your favourite City eateries are flogging super-healthy lunches. We tried them all so you don’t have to… Vital Ingredient Immunity Booster Vital Ingredient Immunity Booster £6.25 Chicken, beetroot, sweetcorn, pomegranate, spinach. Carrot and apple dressing HEALTHINESS: ★★★★☆ TASTINESS: ★☆☆☆☆ Dishes like these give detoxing a bad name. Weird [...]
Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2014: Could Manic Monday beat both to become the biggest retail day of the year? November 25, 2014 With Black Friday bargains from the biggest retailers including Amazon, John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and Currrys PC World, UK shoppers are expected to go hell for leather in the lead up to Christmas this year. But two firms are fighting against the consensus that says Black Friday and Cyber Monday will see us [...]
Tesco is winning at Valentine’s Day. Here’s why February 11, 2015 Valentine's Day is just around the corner and what says love more than multinational retailers pushing their pink heart-shaped products you neither want nor need? Absolutely nothing. That's why between now and Saturday we will all be bombarded with adverts for all the chocolates you can eat (before the cocoa runs out) recipes for two, [...]
In charts: Spending on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Manic Monday to peak at £470k per minute November 26, 2014 Retailers including Tesco, Marks & Spencer, John Lewis, Amazon and Currys PC World are gearing up for what are tipped to be some of the biggest shopping days of the year. The retailers have unveiled a whole range of deals on everything from electricals like TVs, tablets and other gadgets to designer watches, clothing and [...]
FTSE rebounds on expectations of European QE – London Report January 7, 2015 Britain’s top equity index gained nearly one per cent yesterday, rebounding from a three-week low as Eurozone consumer price data raised expectations of new stimulus from the European Central Bank. The blue chip FTSE 100 index, which had fallen in the last three sessions and hit its lowest since mid-December on Tuesday, finished 53.32 points, [...]
John Lewis, M&S, Debenhams – the best Christmas TV adverts of 2014 November 7, 2014 Alright, so there's still a month and a half until the big day – but settle in, because Christmas ads have begun to grace our screens, and they're going to be around for the next 47 evenings in. You might as well become acquainted. First up, we had the big one: John Lewis' much-awaited Christmas [...]
Fears over Greek election and oil prices hit FTSE – London Report January 5, 2015 AFALL in major energy stocks and worries over the political outlook in Greece knocked down Britain’s top equity index yesterday. The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed down two per cent at 6,417.16 points. The index also retreated 0.3 per cent on Friday, after falling 2.7 per cent in 2014. Weaker energy stocks, including BP and Royal [...]