Tesco attracts investor support as it defends use of private planes January 7, 2013 TESCO’s fleet of private jets, used to ferry its executives around the globe, has been laid bare for the first time as a leading City figure sprang to defend the firm over the use of the planes. The supermarket giant, which reveals its much-anticipated Christmas trading figures on Thursday, operates a subsidiary, Kansas Transportation, to [...]
John Lewis Christmas trading lift November 11, 2012 John Lewis saw a strong start to its traditional Christmas trading period, with sales up 11.4 per cent year-on-year for the week to last Saturday. The department store, which took £85m in the week, reported high demand for beds, fitted carpets and made to measure curtains as customers prepare for entertaining. A 29 per cent [...]
M&S posts slide in profits November 6, 2012 Retailer Marks & Spencer posted falling profit in the six months to September, hurt by low consumer confidence. Pre-tax profit came in at £290m for the group, down from £307m over the same period last year. Britain’s biggest clothing retailer said this morning that recent trading had been “volatile”, making it cautious about the outlook [...]
Premier Foods’ shares tumble as chief resigns January 28, 2013 SHARES in the company behind Hovis bread and Mr Kipling cakes tumbled yesterday after its chief executive quit after just 18 months at the helm. Premier Foods said Michael Clarke, who joined from Kraft Foods in September 2011, had indicated to the board over Christmas he was considering moving on “to pursue other business opportunities”. [...]
Watch Ryder Cup stars go at Majors in 2013 January 7, 2013 WHAT an exciting year we have ahead of us, after perhaps the best ever 12 months for European golf in 2012, with Rory McIlroy confirming his status as the world’s best player and that magical Ryder Cup triumph. My money would be on McIlroy hanging onto his world No1 ranking for some time now, and [...]
M&A lawyer bags holiday to Antigua in our reader survey January 7, 2013 A HUGE thank you to the record number of readers who filled in our survey, offering us lots of welcome feedback and suggestions for the paper. The close to 2,200 readers who participated were entered into a fantastic prize draw to win a holiday for two at Sandals Grande Antigua Resort & Spa. The Capitalist [...]
What the other papers say this Morning December 11, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Call for cleaner succession strategies Companies must improve their succession planning and make sure they have strong candidates ready to take the helm as chief executive, or risk undermining shareholder value and damaging market performance. The Association of British Insurers (ABI), which represents some of the UK’s biggest investors, gave the warning as [...]
Asda sales slow as it forecasts a bleak Christmas November 15, 2012 ASDA, the UK’s second largest supermarket, reported a slowdown in third quarter like-for-like sales growth yesterday and struck a sober note in its outlook on the Christmas quarter. Like-for-like sales rose 0.3 per cent in the three months to 30 September, down from 0.7 per cent in the previous quarter and 2.2 per cent in [...]
Bad news for pension reform – we’ll live far longer than ministers expect January 15, 2013 IN A democracy, it is always a risky business for politicians to tell the electorate things they do not want to hear. So Steve Webb, the pensions minister, must be congratulated. He told the truth about the retirement age. In a speech last week, he said bluntly: “If someone tells a 30 year old what [...]
Retailers enjoy a third month of sales growth November 29, 2012 RETAIL sales growth accelerated in November, industry data out yesterday indicated, marking the third month of expansion after August’s small decline. The net balance of retailers who reported a rise in sales year-on-year rose to plus 33 per cent in November from plus 30 per cent in October, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said. [...]