US and Europe shun premium brands August 26, 2010 RECEIVED wisdom tells us that hard-pressed customers hit the bottle in times of economic woe. If they’re doing that this time round, they aren’t reaching for Smirnoff Vodka or Johnnie Walker whisky. Save for a 13 per cent rise in net sales at the international division, which accounts for Africa, South America and the Middle [...]
Unions set Tube strike dates August 25, 2010 Transport unions RMT and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) yesterday confirmed dates for a series of 24-hour strikes to be launched by 10,000 London Underground staff in what will bring severe disruption to London’s commuters. The unions said the first staff walk out will start at 5pm on 6 September, with similar action planned [...]
Tube workers set to strike August 24, 2010 TUBE workers are set to go on strike on 7 September in the first of a series of monthly walkouts in protest at 800 proposed job cuts. The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union secretary Bob Crow and Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) leader Gerry Doherty are due to meet today to finalise the timetable [...]
Prudential August 12, 2010 THE problem with failed takeovers is you have to try and pretend they never happened. For several months, the men from the Pru were courting shareholders mercilessly, telling them a $35bn acquisition of Asian insurer AIA was an unmissable opportunity. Sure, management were careful not to talk down the group’s chances as a standalone life [...]
Investors should stick with this stock August 11, 2010 YOU could forgive Standard Life’s management for being more than a little disgruntled yesterday. The life insurer delivered a robust set of results, with embedded enterprise value (EEV) operating profit up 11 per cent to £364m, and International Financial Reporting Standards operating profit up 10 per cent to £182m. New business growth was reassuringly strong [...]
Union boss plays down strike threat August 8, 2010 ONE of the country’s most powerful union bosses has refused to call for widespread strikes in the face of swingeing public spending cuts. Derek Simpson, joint general secretary of the Unite union, said: “The government would love me to say there’s going to be a winter of discontent. That would move the emphasis onto union militancy [...]
Focus on margins helps push up profit but concerns over debt pile still remain August 3, 2010 BUILD it, and they will buy. Well, not quite. Taylor Wimpey managed to beat expectations in its first half by focusing on higher prices – not volume. In the UK, it completed 4,804 sales at an average price of £168,000, compared to 4,702 sales at £153,000 in the first six months of 2009. Along with [...]
HSBC August 2, 2010 ACTIONS speak louder than words, but numbers are even louder. For all the talk of Eastern promise, as demonstrated by Michael Geoghegan’s recent emigration to Hong Kong, yesterday’s impressive results were more about dealing with the mistakes of the past. It was in the US, home of HSBC’s disastrous Household venture, where the recovery was [...]
Unions plan national walkout August 2, 2010 BRITAIN is facing another winter of discontent, after unions were urged to coordinate strike action and plan a series of national walkouts. The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has called on public sector workers to down tools at the same time, in protest against swingeing cuts planned by the coalition government. The union, run [...]
Migrant row overshadows Indian deals July 28, 2010 DAVID Cameron yesterday smoothed the way for a flurry of deals with India on a trade mission to the emerging superpower, but simmering tensions over plans to cap immigration in Britain threatened to turn into a full-scale row. The Prime Minister is leading a 90-strong delegation, which includes top business figures like Barclays boss John [...]