Jon Moulton defends City Link collapse January 27, 2015 JON MOULTON, the founder of City Link’s parent company Better Capital, has spoken of his deep regret at the attempt to turn around the collapsed company, telling MPs yesterday “we killed ourselves to try to save this company and we failed”. Over 2,700 workers lost their jobs after the parcel delivery firm collapsed on Christmas [...]
UK consumer spending slows in November despite Black Friday sales boom December 7, 2015 Consumer spending edged higher in November as feverish demand for televisions and other bargains online over the Black Friday weekend helped to offset a decline on the high street. Figures released today based on credit and debit card transactions from Visa Europe show consumer spending rose by 1.1 per cent on the year, albeit at [...]
‘Tis the season to slack off: Why your month-long Christmas holiday is bad for everyone December 9, 2015 "I will be out of the office travelling and attending events and seminars until 4 January 2016. I will only have intermittent access to email.” I received this remarkable auto-reply on 4 December from a senior marketing executive in a large bank. Unless you are an academic, why would you need to spend an [...]
Black Friday UK 2015: Amazon, Currys PC World, John Lewis and Asos to be winners – while AO World, Home Retail Group and Game Digital will be losers November 18, 2015 Black Friday is less than 10 days away (27 November for those who haven't marked it in their calendar/had it tattooed on their forehead) and UK retailers are falling over themselves to get the sales bonanza right. Some, like Asda and fashion brand Jigsaw, have walked away from the discount day. But others are planning to [...]
Where is the love? City workers are losing their mojos ahead of the Christmas holidays December 8, 2015 It's hard enough trying to find the “one” when you work in the City, but it’s now becoming even harder. According to BBC Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills, next week is the universally acknowledged Relationship Transfer Deadline Day. It’s too cruel to break up with someone during the holidays, so if you’re planning on binning [...]
New Axa Insurance boss Amanda Blanc on the company’s plans for growth January 11, 2016 Amanda Blanc began the new year as chief executive of a reorganised Axa Insurance. Previously the head of Axa Commercial Lines and Personal Intermediary, as of 1 January Blanc has taken on responsibility for the French group’s insurance business in the UK and Ireland, a change that doesn’t seem to have phased her. “I feel like [...]
Small food suppliers hit the hardest by supermarket price wars November 23, 2015 Britain's small food manufacturers have emerged as the biggest casualties of the supermarket price wars, according to new research out today that reveals how the gap between the profit margins of the suppliers and their bigger competitors is widening. According to law firm EMW, profit margins at small to medium-sized manufacturers – those with less [...]
David Cameron plans Islamic State fightback and Syria airstrikes “within weeks” November 22, 2015 David Cameron is formulating plans for Britain's fight against Islamic State (IS), including military action, and will announce them "within days", media reports suggest. That could include airstrikes against IS in Syria for the first time, action which was previously voted against by MPs. The PM will need to corral support from across the political spectrum for a [...]
Forget Black Friday bargains and Cyber Monday sales – 2015 should be all about Giving Tuesday November 26, 2015 On one particular day during last year’s Christmas shopping season a phenomenon from across the Atlantic really took hold in the UK for the first time. Businesses lined up to get involved, pounds were spent in their millions, social media went into a frenzy, and even the Prime Minister was talking about it. This year [...]