Retailers predict Mega Monday rush November 12, 2013 UK retailers are bracing themselves for a leap in online traffic this Christmas, with 2 December predicted to be the busiest internet shopping day of the year. According to research by Barclays bank nearly two thirds of high street retailers (63 per cent) surveyed expect website traffic to increase by 11 per cent on 2 [...]
What you need to know before the open – 23/12 December 23, 2013 The FTSE 100 is expected to open higher on the last full day of trading before Christmas. Volumes will however be thinner than usual with many investors enjoying the festive season and limited news releases to trade on. Last Friday saw the best week for European stocks in eight months. They're now expected to get [...]
Monte dei Paschi sends bailout plan to European Commission November 11, 2013 THE EUROPEAN Commission yesterday received a restructuring plan from troubled Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which needs the EU’s green light for a €4.1bn bailout, a press officer for EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said. It was not immediately clear how long it would take for the EU Commission to approve the plan, [...]
Mourinho eyes decisive spell December 3, 2013 CHELSEA manager Jose Mourinho says the hectic Christmas period will sort the Premier League title contenders from the pretenders. Arsenal sit four points clear but Mourinho, whose side visit Sunderland tonight, will only consider them favourites if they remain atop the table at New Year. “There is a lot to play for in December and [...]
2013 was a big year for bank reform – but we must avoid global divergence January 8, 2014 ALMOST a year ago to the day, the chancellor predicted 2013 would be the year banking was reset. Entering 2014, it is worth remembering that pressing the reset button is only the start. In a hectic few days before Christmas, politicians in Washington passed the Volcker Rule, the UK’s Banking Reform Bill received Royal Assent, [...]
Analyst Views: What do you make of Mitchells & Butlers’ results? November 26, 2013 NICK BATRAM PEEL HUNT Full year numbers were slightly ahead of our expectations. It is early days but the start to the current year looks relatively lacklustre. However, the group is moving in the right direction and whilst the share price is about right we would see any significant weakness as a buying opportunity. GEOF [...]
Cyber fraud victims lose an average of £371 this year November 27, 2013 As 33.6m of us are expected to storm online stores this Monday, new research from Barclays and Kaspersky Lab reveals that 4m of us were hit by cyber fraud in the last year. Victims were stung for a total of £1.5bn – an average of £371 per person. Shoppers are expected to rush for online [...]
China, Japan, and the row that shook Davos January 22, 2014 JAPANESE Prime Minister Shinzo Abe raised the terrifying prospect of conflict in east Asia yesterday, comparing Japan and China’s cold relationship to relations between the UK and Germany in the years before World War One. At the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos yesterday, Abe told journalists that while China and Japan had a [...]
Amazon pioneers drones for deliveries December 2, 2013 Online retailer Amazon is testing unmanned drones to deliver products to consumers in record times. Instead of being the preserve of the US military and law enforcement, drones could be making the Christmas delivery rounds within five years according to the company. Amazon chief executive, Jeff Bezos told CBS television's 60 Minutes "We can do [...]
Tesco sees UK sales drop 1.5 per cent in third quarter December 4, 2013 Tesco has announced a 1.5 per cent fall in like-for-like sales in the three months to 23 November, which it says is down to a weaker UK grocery market. Underlying sales fell in every country in which it operates. The sobering news is in line with predictions from Citi analysts. It doesn't bode well for [...]