Snow losers for traders looking for volatility January 16, 2011 THE Christmas trading results branded companies as either winners or “snow losers” last week. Tesco shocked the market by offering figures that analysts felt paled in comparison to Sainsbury’s. Thanks to 12,000 tonnes of grit, the supermarket deserved to take the title of winner of the festive race. Toy, clothing and leisure retailers also offered [...]
KPMG joins rivals on new hiring spree October 4, 2010 BIG FOUR accounting firm KPMG has joined the ranks of its accountancy rivals as it plans to recruit 8,000 new staff across Europe within the next three years. The hiring spree, as reported in the Financial Times, will see the firm’s British arm grow by 3,000 new staff over the period. Once the recruitment drive [...]
Brewing up a storm in SW11 November 24, 2010 AMID the gloom afflicting the pub industry right now, one chink of light has been the relative success of real ale. Perhaps due to the way its homely, hearty image seems more attractive in recessionary times, ale has increased its share of the beer market and grown its drinker base in the past year, according [...]
Lords query lack of audit competition November 1, 2010 THE House of Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee will today question industry representatives on whether lack of competition among auditors could have contributed to the financial crisis. Representatives from RSM Tenon, Grant Thornton, Mazars and BDO will face questions in the afternoon on whether the dominance of the “big four” auditing firms – Deloitte, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers [...]
Chinese fuel shops boost November 8, 2010 LONDON saw a 167 per cent increase in Chinese shoppers in October, compared to the same month last year. The rise has been fuelled by shoppers snapping up designer goods and a Chinese holiday which saw more holidaymakers than ever from the country. As well as the rise in customers the average spend was up [...]
Chinese fuel shops boost November 8, 2010 LONDON saw a 167 per cent increase in Chinese shoppers in October, compared to the same month last year. The rise has been fuelled by shoppers snapping up designer goods and a Chinese holiday which saw more holidaymakers than ever from the country. As well as the rise in customers the average spend was up [...]
CFOs call for less rules in financial narrative September 27, 2010 MORE discretion and less regulation is needed when auditors deliver financial commentary at the front of annual reports, according to a raft of chief financial officers (CFOs) at large commercial companies. A new report published by Deloitte and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) found that over 65 per cent of some 230 CFOs [...]
Q&A October 14, 2010 Q. Is forecasting essential to a business plan? A.While forecasting can be tricky, it is the core of your business plan. Many small businesses complain about being asked to predict the future. But as Bobby Lane of Denver Chase tells his clients: “Think about how that looks to the bank or investor, they need to [...]
Private sector recovery still on track November 1, 2010 WHAT a day for the global economy. In Britain, China and America, manufacturing surveys surged ahead, in every case beating consensus estimates and suggesting strong private sector growth over the next few months. Yesterday’s jump in the global purchasing managers indices were undoubtedly the most bullish indicator I have seen in a long time. The [...]
There is more to life than budget cuts October 25, 2010 FAR too much of the debate about spending cuts is being conducted in absurdly parochial terms. We are all obsessed with whether George Osborne’s tightening will boost or reduce growth next year – yet there is far too little focus on what other countries are doing on the budgetary front, let alone on longer-term economic [...]