Third day of red as miners and banks lose their appeal May 13, 2009 THE FTSE 100 dropped 2.1 per cent yesterday, succumbing to disappointing US retail sales figures, profit-taking in the banking sector and mining stocks weighed down by weak commodity prices. The index retreated for the third day in a row, closing at 4,331.37, or 94.17 points down. “Despite the change of tone, markets have more room [...]
Third day of red as miners and banks lose their appeal May 13, 2009 THE FTSE 100 dropped 2.1 per cent yesterday, succumbing to disappointing US retail sales figures, profit-taking in the banking sector and mining stocks weighed down by weak commodity prices. The index retreated for the third day in a row, closing at 4,331.37, or 94.17 points down. “Despite the change of tone, markets have more room [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 25, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES OPINIONS SHIFT TOWARDS LONGER WORKING LIVESA majority of Britons now favour longer working lives if it means a more generous pension in retirement, a significant shift of opinion in the few years since the subject was raised by the Pensions Commission report in 2005. A Financial Times/Harris survey of 1,126 adults in Britain [...]
KKR could yet pull off huge Boots coup May 18, 2009 TOGETHER with Guy Hands’ purchase of EMI, the creation and buy-out of Alliance Boots, the pharmacy-led health and beauty group, was one of the symbolic deals of the boom years. The firm was created when Alliance UniChem merged with Boots in 2006, before becoming the first FTSE 100 member to be taken private by a [...]
Mutuality stages a comeback as Co-op buys Somerfield for £1.56bn July 17, 2008 Three months ago Co-operative Group chief executive Peter Marks unveiled a bold three-year plan to double the group’s profits. The fortunes of the mutual store group were flagging, with 2007 profits down almost 50 per cent and the group offering little competition to the main supermarket chains. Yesterday, the first phase of Marks’ plan to [...]
RUM at the top August 8, 2008 The Caribbean spirit is entering the ranks of the premium tipples, writes Timothy Barber What do you think about when you think about rum? For lots of folk, the answer is one of two things: a glass of Bacardi and coke, or pirates. Okay, so a few people know that it forms the basis for [...]
It’s Ken Again October 21, 2005 He is 74 but Ken Morrison is in no mood to slow down and take it easy. During the span of a career in the City a businessman usually plays the role of hero and villain. Sir Ken Morrison was typecast as the former until he acquired Safeway a year ago. In 2001 when it [...]
Violet Hue October 18, 2005 Tchenguiz is the last man standing in the race for Somerfield. Another one bites the dust. Amid talk of a high-street bloodbath in the run-up to Christmas, Somerfield has joined the lengthening list of retailers opting to leave the glare of the stock market. Of course, the announcement surprised no one. Somerfield has been on [...]