Ex-Ofcom boss Dame Colette Bowe hired to keep tabs on bankers October 9, 2014 Dame Colette Bowe was appointed yesterday to head the new Banking Standards Review Council (BSRC), a body which aims to promote and maintain good behaviour in finance. The council was set up by former CBI chief Sir Richard Lambert, at the behest of the big banks, as an independent body to monitor behaviour in [...]
John Lewis sales reach £100m a week for the first time this year November 18, 2013 AFTER a warm start to the winter, Christmas shopping began in earnest last week with John Lewis reporting sales in excess of £100m for the first time this year. Sales in the week to 16 November jumped 10.7 per cent from a year ago to £101.4m – the earliest week that sales have ever topped [...]
Scottish independence: Boost for No as Alex Salmond’s economic plan torn apart September 11, 2014 An influential thinktank yesterday tore apart Alex Salmond’s economic plan for an independent Scotland, warning that a Yes vote will make it harder to protect public spending from cuts. The blow to Salmond’s case for independence came as a number of high-profile UK retailers and banks added their names to a growing list citing concerns [...]
Tesco racks up record £6.38bn loss in worst year in supermarket’s history April 22, 2015 Tesco has racked up a £6.38bn loss – the worst year in the supermarket's 96-year history. It's one of the biggest losses ever made by a UK company, and the biggest ever made by a British retailer. The beleaguered supermarket's pre-tax losses for the year are even higher than the £5bn markets had been expecting. One-off [...]
John Lewis hopes its new campaign has the X Factor November 7, 2013 EVER since its award winning advert two years ago featuring a boy impatiently waiting for Christmas to give a present to his parents – John Lewis has been under pressure to pull out all the stops for its Christmas campaign. And this year it has stopped short at nothing less than booking an entire commercial [...]
Scottish independence: Former Sainsbury’s boss warns of higher prices if there’s a Yes vote September 12, 2014 In a fresh blow for the pro-independence campaign, the former CEO of Sainsbury's Justin King has warned Scots they will pay higher prices in the shops if they vote to abandon the union of 18 September. Speaking to the BBC's Robert Peston, King said: It is more expensive to do business in Scotland today. Business [...]
Wellesley Finance to finance loans with £100m mini-bond July 27, 2014 PEER to peer lender Wellesley Finance has today launched a £100m mini-bond to finance new loans. The company, which launched in November, lends against secured real-estate assets and has lent around £50m since it launched last year. The fundraise is twice the size of the largest mini-bond to date, John Lewis’s £50m issued last year. [...]
Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn makes it onto Labour leader ballot in 11th-hour victory: Who are the MPs that endorsed him? June 15, 2015 Jeremy Corbyn has made it onto the ballot for Labour's leadership contest with less than an hour to go before the deadline. It was confirmed that the Islington MP, who is seen as more left-wing than many of his competitors, received the required 35 nominations just moments before the midday closing point. It [...]
Tesco first quarter results and AGM: Three things to expect from Friday’s figures June 21, 2015 Tesco will update the market on its first-quarter figures – the first since reporting its biggest ever loss – while executives will face shareholders at its AGM. Here's what to expect from the supermarket on Friday. 1. The numbers will continue tumbling The supermarket’s first quarter is unlikely to tell a different story from the [...]
Tesco faces US lawsuits over profit scandal March 24, 2015 A GROUP of angry shareholders are launching a lawsuit against Tesco and seeking billions of pounds in compensation over last year’s accounting scandal that led to a huge black hole in profits. Tesco has suffered one of the most turbulent years in its history following revelations at the end of last year it overstated profits [...]