Carpetright reckons it will remain strong despite challenging market September 8, 2011 CARPETRIGHT said yesterday that it remained a profitable business despite a “substantial” reduction in profits over the past year. The carpet and flooring company last month reported a 5.8 per cent decrease in trade for the year ending 30 April and, in spite of improvement, sales fell at a rate of 1.5 per cent for [...]
Debenhams chief to retire as profit rises April 14, 2011 Debenhams said its chief executive of eight years would retire in September as it posted a 4.5 per cent rise in first-half profit and resumed its dividend. The firm said Rob Templeman would be succeeded by Michael Sharp, the current deputy chief executive. Templeman will remain as a consultant for up to one year after [...]
Sainsbury’s sales edge up October 5, 2011 Sainsbury’s posted an expected rise in second-quarter underlying sales as store extensions and growth in convenience stores, online and non-food ranges helped it to overcome tough trading conditions. The group, which trails Wal-Mart’s Asda and market leader Tesco by annual sales, said on Wednesday sales at stores open over a year rose 1.9 per cent [...]
UK’s high street sales slip after the January bounce March 24, 2011 RETAIL sales dropped more sharply than expected in February, official data showed yesterday. Compared to January, sales were down 0.8 per cent, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) revealed. “Stripping out the increase in auto fuel sales, then the figure was down one per cent on the month,” noted Alan Clarke, economist at BNP Paribas. [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS September 7, 2011 NEW MOBILE APP FOR INVESTORS Hargreaves Lansdown has released a new smartphone app, allowing investors to view their Isa, Sipp and other investments on both iPhone and Android systems. Ofcom figures show that 27 per cent of UK adults now own a smartphone.“The age of connected computing is with us,” says Richard Hunter, head of [...]
BAA air traffic edges higher April 11, 2011 Passenger traffic at BAA airports rose slightly last month compared with March 2010, helped by the popularity of flights to China and India from London’s Heathrow and growth at its three Scottish airports. BAA, majority owned by Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial, said 8.27 million passengers flew from its UK airports last month compared with 8.19 [...]
Corporate results boost US stocks April 26, 2011 A FRESH batch of corporate results pushed US stocks to their best levels since June 2008 yesterday, renewing optimism that profit growth will remain resilient enough to keep equities on the rise. The S&P 500 barreled through the 1,344 level, seen as a key resistance point the benchmark index needed to surpass in order to [...]
Corporate results boost US stocks April 26, 2011 A FRESH batch of corporate results pushed US stocks to their best levels since June 2008 yesterday, renewing optimism that profit growth will remain resilient enough to keep equities on the rise. The S&P 500 barreled through the 1,344 level, seen as a key resistance point the benchmark index needed to surpass in order to [...]
UK manufacturing slows as costs rise April 1, 2011 UK manufacturing growth came under pressure in March and output prices rose to a record high, according to a new report. Manufacturing activity fell to 57.1 on the Markit/CIPS purchasing managers index, down from a record high of 60.2 in February, as growth slowed to a five-month low. A combination of weak consumer confidence, surging [...]
Britain is not a safe haven in Osborne’s hands September 19, 2011 The shadow chancellor calls for a change in the UK’s course THE global economy has entered a dangerous new phase. It’s now more vital than ever that countries have credible economic plans to ensure economic growth and get deficits down. I believe there are three tests for a credible economic plan. First, there has to [...]