The Jubilee stands as a landmark to the power of the national idea May 31, 2012 THE Queen famously asked a group of economists, at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, “Why did nobody see it coming?” Of course, most mainstream economists didn’t predict it. However great their expertise, orthodoxies prevailed. And the same is true of pundits in other areas. Take the monarchy itself: fifteen years ago it appeared [...]
Service sector in slim rise March 29, 2012 Britain’s dominant service sector grew modestly in January, official data showed on Thursday, raising the chances that the overall economy can avoid a renewed recession. The output from the sector ranging from banks and hotels to airlines grew by 0.2 per cent after an 0.3 per cent increase in December, the Office for National Statistics [...]
DOCTORS AND POLITICIANS CHARGE THEIR OWN GLASSES March 25, 2012 AS the debate rumbles on over setting a minimum price for alcohol, the British Medical Association has shown itself to be a bastion of moral fortitude. Heartily backing the move, which has found favour with the Prime Minister, it spoke out against the “scourge of alcohol abuse” and has lobbied against supermarkets selling cheap booze [...]
DOCTORS AND POLITICIANS CHARGE THEIR OWN GLASSES March 25, 2012 AS the debate rumbles on over setting a minimum price for alcohol, the British Medical Association has shown itself to be a bastion of moral fortitude. Heartily backing the move, which has found favour with the Prime Minister, it spoke out against the “scourge of alcohol abuse” and has lobbied against supermarkets selling cheap booze [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 19, 2012 JD WETHERSPOON JP Morgan Cazenove rates the pub chain “underweight” and has raised its target price from 381p to 390p. The broker has trimmed its like-for-like sales growth for 2012, from two per cent down to one per cent, following half-year results earlier this month that showed a sales dip. However, JP Morgan’s earnings per [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 14, 2012 G4S Exane BNP Paribas downgraded G4S from “outperform” to “neutral” after the security group posted a drop in annual profits. Exane said the results, which included a £50m cost from last year’s failed merger with Danish catering firm ISS, were “uninspiring”. It held the target price at 305p but highlighted a “loss of management credibility” [...]
RAPID RESPONSES March 27, 2012 Money troubles [Re: Reform of political funding mustn’t result in taxpayers carrying the bill for parties, yesterday] Membership of the three main parties is less than that of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. It will take years for the parties to regain their base, if they ever do. In the meantime, if [...]
Wetherspoon profit margin slimming January 18, 2012 Pubs firm JD Wetherspoon said its operating margin declined in the second quarter of its fiscal year and will come under further pressure in the second half due to continuing cost increases. “We expect the operating margin for the half year ending 22 January 2012 to be slightly below that achieved in the first quarter [...]
Get fit… and make a difference too April 2, 2012 FIT IN THE CITY Picture the scene: it’s 6.30pm on a Wednesday evening at the Reebok Sports Club and instead of being full of weary looking execs wishing they were in the pub, the reception is buzzing with an eager group of runners about to head out to a local community garden to enjoy a [...]
Get fit… and make a difference too April 2, 2012 FIT IN THE CITY Picture the scene: it’s 6.30pm on a Wednesday evening at the Reebok Sports Club and instead of being full of weary looking execs wishing they were in the pub, the reception is buzzing with an eager group of runners about to head out to a local community garden to enjoy a [...]