Miners peg back FTSE as investors eye Slovak vote October 11, 2011 European shares slid this morning as investors eyed a key vote in Slovakia on whether it will back the Eurozone rescue package. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.6 per cent while London’s blue chip index also edged down as miners opened weakly. Analysts said traders were cautious ahead of the [...]
Foodies fuel sales rise at Greene King September 6, 2011 Pub and restaurant group Greene King has served up a heartening sales uplift over the past four months, saying sales in its food-focused chains were higher than last year despite the benefit of the World Cup in 2010. Greene King, which runs retail brands Loch Fyne and Hungry Horse among others, said its retail division [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 20, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES CAYMAN DIRECTORS COLLECT FUND JOBS A small group of Cayman Island “jumbo directors” are sitting on the boards of hundreds of hedge funds as demand for independent directors booms in the Caribbean tax haven. A least four individuals hold more than 100 non-executive directorships each, and 14 have more than 70 – each [...]
QE is back on Bank’s agenda September 4, 2011 LOW confidence, high inflation and continuing fears for the Eurozone are giving the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) a headache for Thursday’s interest rate decision. Last month the MPC’s two most hawkish members, Spencer Dale and Martin Weale, voted to keep rates on hold at 0.5 per cent. That marked a change from [...]
THE TIPSTER September 18, 2011 DEPARTMENT store Debenhams is releasing a trading statement tomorrow. Traders are finding it tough to be optimistic after poor August UK retail sales and consumer confidence figures. Rival John Lewis released its latest figures and found the first half of the year tricky. Capital Spreads quotes 60.7p-61.1p. Alliance Trust has been in the press lately [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD September 18, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● Gulfsands Petroleum, Highland Gold Mining and Petra Diamonds all announce today. All are looking for strikingly good results. ● Tomorrow, the UK-listed holding company of the Carnival group – the world’s largest cruise ship operator is dual-listed in New York and London – announces. It will be hoping for smooth sailing. ● [...]
John Lewis: We will buck Xmas gloom August 22, 2011 John Lewis said it would outperform a falling retail market this Christmas, benefiting from the strength of its presence in the capital and investment, particularly in Internet shopping. Andrew Murphy, retail director at the department store chain, said UK consumers were feeling cautious and vulnerable amid government cutbacks, rising prices and fears the economy could [...]
Bank’s Broadbent signals more QE September 26, 2011 Britain’s economy will not need to weaken much further for the Bank of England to start a second round of quantitative easing, Bank policymaker Ben Broadbent said on Monday. Economists’ expectations have shifted sharply in recent weeks to expect a top-up to the Bank’s £200bn of asset purchases in either October or November, due to [...]
John Lewis sales lifted by back to school gear September 2, 2011 John Lewis posted a rise in weekly sales, boosted by parents splashing out on items ahead of the imminent start of the new school year. The employee-owned business said sales at its department stores increased 1.4 per cent to £58.6m in the week to August 27. Sales excluding VAT sales tax fell 0.4 per cent. [...]
High inflation hits UK retail sales in July August 18, 2011 THE WEAKNESS of the UK’s consumer recovery was underscored yesterday, after official figures revealed retail sales rose by just 0.2 per cent in July. Clothing sales were particularly weak as cash-strapped households reined in their spending, the figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed. Analysts had pencilled in a 0.3 per cent rise [...]