Car sales jump 10.8 per cent July 6, 2010 UK new car sales rose 10.8 per cent in June compared with the same month last year, industry figures have shown. The rise came despite the end of the scrappage scheme. A total of 195,226 new cars were sold in June, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. In the six months from [...]
The City is back but under new management December 21, 2010 BRITAIN’S financial landscape has been transformed since we last shone a light on the City’s most powerful figures two years ago. The City A.M./CityJet Power Hundred 2011 list ranks the most influential figures in UK finance as we head into the new year. It should be no surprise that it is very different from 2009. [...]
The City is back but under new management December 21, 2010 BRITAIN’S financial landscape has been transformed since we last shone a light on the City’s most powerful figures two years ago. The City A.M./CityJet Power Hundred 2011 list ranks the most influential figures in UK finance as we head into the new year. It should be no surprise that it is very different from 2009. [...]
Swannell is the right man for M&S August 23, 2010 WHEN I had breakfast with Robert Swannell, the newly appointed chairman of Marks & Spencer recently, it was clear that the former investment banker was in anything but wind down mode. After three decades of working on mergers and acquisitions, sometimes over seven-day weeks involving late nights, Swannell could have been forgiven for putting his [...]
H&M hit by summer slump June 24, 2010 H&M yesterday reported that it could be forced to reduce prices to offload spring stock after unseasonally cool weather hit sales. The Swedish fashion retailer said demand in April and May was unexpectedly weak despite reporting a 24 per cent profit rise in the third quarter. It added that “this could lead to a higher [...]
Persimmon sees house sales rise July 6, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Persimmon said total house sales and completions rose in the first half, despite slipping in recent months on election and budget uncertainty. The company, the UK’s largest housebuilder by market value, said legal completions in the first half increased by 16 per cent to 4,657 homes year-on-year, with the average selling price rising by [...]
China’s Mr Private Equity explains the new frontier’s hopes and risks October 17, 2010 VICTOR ZHIKAI Gao is staying at the Langham Hotel, down the road from the Chinese Embassy. Just off a plane from Beijing, and sipping green tea to stay ahead of his jet lag, he is in London to brief an investment bank on China’s rapidly developing private equity sector. Although jaded, he manages to be [...]
Punch Taverns on track as summer sun boosts takings July 6, 2010 BRITAIN’S biggest pubs firm Punch Taverns yesterday reported an upturn – fuelled by the warm weather and World Cup football fans. The company, which has 7,100 pubs in the UK, said trading had been brisk in recent weeks. However, with debts of £3.2bn, Punch remained cautious about future trading. It said in a statement: “We [...]
THE TIPSTER August 2, 2010 HIGH street retail giant Next releases its latest trading statement tomorrow and the statement should give some insight into whether the company feels that the man on the street is more optimistic than he was six months ago or if concern about government cuts is still curbing our spending at the tills. Next had a [...]
austerians take on the keynesians June 29, 2010 BORIS SCHLOSSBERG DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT WILL the new Austerians or the old Keynesians win the public policy debate on economic growth going forward? The contrast between the two became evident last weekend at the G20 summit when the UK and the US moved in opposite directions. The new Austerians were led by the [...]