What the other papers say this morning October 7, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Austerity squeeze to last until 2018 George Osborne is set to be told this autumn by the Office for Budget Responsibility he will have to plug another large hole in the public finances, extending austerity until 2018 and throwing the coalition’s deficit reduction strategy into doubt. Regulator warns on Big Four alumni The [...]
Booker posts profit jump and awaits clearance on Makro deal October 18, 2012 SHARES in Booker rose more than six per cent yesterday after the food wholesaler shrugged off the poor summer weather and reported better-than-expected profits. The group,which runs over 170 branches supplying caterers, convenience stores, grocers, restaurants and pubs, said pre-tax profit rose to £51m in the 24 weeks to 14 September, up from £45m a [...]
M&B grabs rival exec as new CEO September 10, 2012 PUB chain Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) yesterday ended its 18-month search for a new chief executive, poaching Alistair Darby from rival group Marston’s. Darby, who served as chief operating officer at Marston’s, will join M&B at the start of next month. The appointment caps a turbulent period for the company, which last year saw off [...]
M&B grabs rival exec as new CEO September 10, 2012 PUB chain Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) yesterday ended its 18-month search for a new chief executive, poaching Alistair Darby from rival group Marston’s. Darby, who served as chief operating officer at Marston’s, will join M&B at the start of next month. The appointment caps a turbulent period for the company, which last year saw off [...]
Costa energises first-half profit for Whitbread October 23, 2012 WHITBREAD yesterday warned that growth in the second half of the year would be more subdued after the Olympics and a wet summer helped drive up first-half profits by 11 per cent. The owner of Premier Inn and the Costa coffee chain said a strong performance across both brands had helped push revenues up by [...]
Hurricane Sandy drags FTSE 100 down October 29, 2012 The FTSE 100 fell in early trading, spooked by hurricane Sandy which has already shut the US stockmarket. Financial and mining shares dragged the main blue chip index down in early trading, with Hargreaves Lansdown the biggest loser on the FTSE 100, dropping 3.95 per cent. Insurers were also big fallers on the stock market [...]
Improved Chinese manufacturing doesn’t steady FTSE 100 October 24, 2012 The blue chip index fell beneath 5,800 this morning, despite signs from China that a recovery in the world’s second-largest economy was gathering pace. Energy and engineering firms shouldered the brunt of the losses. Ophir Energy fell 5.68 per cent in early deals, while FTSE 250 oil and gas group Salamander dropped 5.37 per cent. [...]
Improved Chinese manufacturing doesn’t steady FTSE 100 October 24, 2012 The blue chip index fell beneath 5,800 this morning, despite signs from China that a recovery in the world’s second-largest economy was gathering pace. Energy and engineering firms shouldered the brunt of the losses. Ophir Energy fell 5.68 per cent in early deals, while FTSE 250 oil and gas group Salamander dropped 5.37 per cent. [...]
Buoyant central London is in an economic world of its own December 10, 2012 IF you work or live in central London, you could be forgiven for not believing that the UK remains stuck in a nasty stagnation, let alone at risk of a triple-dip recession, as Vince Cable intimated yesterday. The shops are full, the tubes jam-packed and new skyscrapers are being built; Fortnum and Mason, the department [...]
Booker defies economic gloom as sales surge in spite of Makro September 20, 2012 CASH and Carry giant Booker yesterday defied the economic gloom to report a surge in sales over the past quarter. The firm – which supplies almost half a million businesses including corner shops and pubs – said total sales were up 4.3 per cent in the quarter to 14 September compared to last year. Non-tobacco [...]