Public sector jobless total is set to soar February 15, 2010 JOB losses are set to surge as the axe swings in the public sector, an employers’ survey has found. One in three public sector employers plan to slash jobs this year according to the survey, published yesterday by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). The number of public sector bodies planning job cuts [...]
Pubs and restaurants see sales jump in December despite gloom January 18, 2010 PUB and restaurant groups managed a 2.9 per cent year-on-year increase in sales in December despite poor weather, fewer Christmas parties and price hikes ahead of the VAT increase this month. However, the increase was lower than the 4.7 per cent total like-for-like growth in 2009. Mark Sheehan from Coffer Group, which published the figures, [...]
KPMG called in as Coffee Republic fails July 7, 2009 COFFEE Republic, the high street coffee shop chain, yesterday said its three main subsidiaries had fallen into administration after months of teetering on the brink due to the slump in consumer spending. KPMG’s David Crawshaw and Richard Hill – who have been appointed joint administrators to Coffee Republic UK, Coffee Republic Franchising and Goodbean – warned [...]
January sees new cars surge by a third on scrappage boost February 4, 2010 The government’s scrappage scheme led new car sales to surge by almost a third this January, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said yesterday. Despite the return of the 17.5 per cent VAT rate, 145,479 new cars were registered over the month, a 29.8 per cent increase on last year. This made January [...]
NEWS | IN BRIEF January 3, 2010 Ski breaks hit by the recession Almost 20 per cent of UK consumers intend to sacrifice their annual winter sun or ski break this year to combat the financial pressures of the recession, research from accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has shown. But consumers will balance their winter thriftiness with a travel spending spree in the summer, [...]
Cadbury deal is first in an M&A boom for 2010 January 20, 2010 KRAFT’S takeover of Cadbury will not change our love of Dairy Milks and Creme Eggs, but it will take time before we start thinking of Cadbury as an American, rather than a British, institution. Before the year is out, though, we might have to get used to other much-loved businesses going the same way. Market-watchers [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 31, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES US BANKS FACE INSIDER TRADING PROBE Neil Barofsky, the special inspector-general overseeing the US government’s financial rescue efforts, is to probe allegations of insider trading among bank executives and their associates. Eight of the largest banks in the US received between $2bn and $25bn in October 2008 under a programme to prop up [...]
Tata hires KPMG to help cut costs at Jaguar as its earnings in India surge July 27, 2009 JAGUAR LAND ROVER’S (JLR) owner, Tata Motors, has hired KPMG and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants to advise it on cost-cutting at the struggling car firm. The carmaker will be given advice on how to break even and on how to manage its cashflow more effectively. “We are going ahead with their proposals and this is [...]
These are the judges who will name the stars of 2010 March 14, 2010 CITY A.M. is looking forward to another scoop later this year: our first-ever awards ceremony where we will be celebrating London’s financial and business community and its most succesful individuals and firms. Our newspaper is delighted to be hosting and organising the awards in partnership with Interactive Investor; we are proud that our awards will be [...]
A BABY RAY OF LIGHT PENETRATES THROUGH SNOWY SKIES OF GLOOM January 10, 2010 GLOOM, gloom and more gloom settles over us because of that dratted snow – dwindling grit supplies, an acute gas shortage, train cancellations, firms left in the lurch by snowed-in staff, the spiralling economic cost for small businesses… the list goes on and on. But there is hope on the horizon, according to a frisky [...]