Records tumble as Wasps enjoy home comforts December 21, 2014 WASPS fly-half Andy Goode hailed the perfect start to life in Coventry as records tumbled during his side’s bonus-point 48-16 victory over London Irish at yesterday’s Ricoh Arena curtain-raiser. Goode set a new Premiership record by scoring 33 points – the 34-year-old successfully kicked eight penalties and two conversions to add to a second-half touchdown [...]
As consumer price rises fall to 1 per cent, is subdued inflation a new normal for the UK? December 16, 2014 Samuel Tombs, UK economist at Capital Economics, says Yes. Low inflation is unlikely to be just for Christmas. A combination of lower commodity and import prices, alongside stable energy bills, should mean that consumer price inflation falls to comfortably below 1 per cent in the coming months. And while the impact of these factors is [...]
New Year resolutions: Products to help make 2015 fitter, healthier and more organized January 5, 2015 Another festive season draws to a close, another year begins, and with it comes the mass promise-making that takes place every January. Across the globe people are resolving to cut out chocolate, carbs, social media, cigarettes and take up great novels, another language, or jogging. Even those who profess to have made no resolutions harbour [...]
Poundland’s quids in with 11.7 per cent rise in profits November 27, 2014 Shares in discount retailer Poundland edged 3.7 per cent higher to just under 314p after it posted a 11.7 per cent rise in pre-tax profits, which hit £9.3m in the six months to the end of September. Sales rose 15 per cent to £528.2m, while net debt fell 83 per cent to £4.4m, as it [...]
Debenhams loses out to rivals as profit plunges almost 25pc April 15, 2014 Debenhams has just announced a fall in half-year pre-tax profit of 24.5 per cent, to £85.2m. The drop is in line with expectations, the high street store stressed, but shows the still challenging and competitive environment, particularly in the UK, with which it’s having to cope. Chief executive Michael Sharp said the store’s taking “decisive [...]
New Look defies warm weather as profits soar November 11, 2014 New Look has defied the warm weather that has dampened other retailers' sales, with the fast fashion business reporting profits up a whopping 89.1 per cent for the first half of the year. Profits before tax stood at £26.1m for the six months to September 27 – up on £13.8m the same period last [...]
Tesco share price surges nine per cent after naming Matt Davies as new UK boss: sales drop, but turnaround begins January 8, 2015 Tesco's share price surged by more than nine per cent this morning, after the troubled supermarket outlined its turnaround strategy. It reported a fall in like-for-like sales of 2.9 per cent in the 19 weeks to 3 January – a better than expected set of results. The supermarket, which had a dismal 2014, set out [...]
Mourinho set to unleash his lethal weapon February 16, 2015 CHELSEA boss Jose Mourinho is ready to plunge star striker Diego Costa straight back into frontline action against Paris Saint-Germain tonight and has blasted counterpart Laurent Blanc for claiming the Blues hold a physical advantage. Costa has missed Chelsea’s last three Premier League matches after being handed a retrospective suspension for stamping on Liverpool’s Emre [...]
Christmas quiz: Test your knowledge December 22, 2014 Deloitte’s chief economist, poses some of the trickiest questions of the year. How many can you get right? Answers are at the bottom. 1 The Louvre is the world’s most popular art gallery, with 9.3m visits in 2013. How many visits did people make to Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Florida in the same year? a) [...]
General Election 2015: Back to the 30s? How Labour is misleading the electorate January 5, 2015 Friday 19 December 2014 was a happy day for many Londoners, marking their last in the office before Christmas. Yet amid all the festivities, you’d have been forgiven for missing something equally joyous. That Friday also marked the official start of the “long” UK general election campaign. Mercifully, the parties struck something of a [...]