John Lewis sales fall as shoppers feel pinch January 28, 2011 Department store John Lewis suffered a decline in sales last week, a sign that an increase in VAT sales tax has further weakened already fragile UK consumer spending. The retailer, which also owns supermarket chain Waitrose, said its department store sales fell 2.2 per cent to £50.1m in the week to January 22. Sales in [...]
Home shopping retailer N Brown shows resilience in tough market as sales soar July 5, 2011 N BROWN, the British home shopping clothing group that targets older and larger consumers, posted a rise in first-half sales, underlining the resilient nature of the business in tough times. The Manchester-based company said yesterday total revenue increased 5.1 per cent in the 18 weeks to 2 July and was up 1.6 per cent on [...]
Home shopping retailer N Brown shows resilience in tough market as sales soar July 5, 2011 N BROWN, the British home shopping clothing group that targets older and larger consumers, posted a rise in first-half sales, underlining the resilient nature of the business in tough times. The Manchester-based company said yesterday total revenue increased 5.1 per cent in the 18 weeks to 2 July and was up 1.6 per cent on [...]
ARM warns of a light Christmas July 26, 2011 ARM Holdings, the Cambridge-based maker of chips that power the Apple iPhone and other smartphones, has reported a 25 per cent profit rise this quarter, but warned it is not counting on a Christmas sales boom. The firm’s technology, used by firms such as Samsung, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments, helped lift pre-tax profit to £54.2m, [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD February 13, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● Barclays will release its full year results tomorrow. ● Miner BHP Billiton will release its half year results on Wednesday. ● French bank Societe Generale will release its fourth quarter results on Wednesday. ● On Thursday, bank BNP Paribas will release its fourth quarter results. ● BAE Systems will release its full year results on Thursday. [...]
Morrisons sees slim Xmas lift January 10, 2011 WM MORRISON Supermarkets posted a modest rise in Christmas sales yesterday, held back by disruption from severe weather and a tough consumer backdrop. Britain’s fourth-biggest grocer behind market leaders Tesco, Asda and J Sainsbury said sales at stores open at least a year rose one per cent, excluding fuel and VAT, in the six weeks [...]
FTSE sinks below 5,000 August 9, 2011 The FTSE 100 plunged below 5,000 for the first time since 7 July 2010 as the crisis of confidence in world markets deepened. The latest plunge came after indices across Europe had opened on the front foot before returning to a downward spiral. Rallying calls form President Obama failed to limit the damage caused by [...]
Bellway profit rises by 20pc December 7, 2010 British housebuilder Bellway said home reservations for the four months to November end were above its expectations, putting it on course for a 20 per cent increase in first-half pre-tax profit. “The decline in consumer confidence appears to have levelled out and people are still committing to purchase even at this time of year,” the [...]
Worst Wall Street drop since August February 22, 2011 WALL Street suffered its worst day since August yesterday as investors dumped stocks on turmoil in oil exporter Libya, in what could be the start of a long-anticipated pullback after a lengthy rally. Rising volatility and heavy volume added heft to the possibility of a larger pullback. With 9.76bn shares traded on the New York [...]
Service sector growth at four month high August 3, 2011 Activity in the country’s dominant services sector grew at its fastest pace in four months in July on strong growth in new business, raising hopes that the economy may pick up despite recent dire news from manufacturers and retailers. However, the services firms also cut jobs, and banks and consumer-facing sectors suffered a drop in [...]