March of the discounters: Sainsbury’s share price rises as it promises £150m price cuts November 12, 2014 Newly-installed Sainsbury's chief executive Mike Coupe has taken the bull by the horns, promising a £150m "investment" in price cuts in order to compete with increasingly powerful discounters such as Aldi and Lidl. Investors were clearly impressed: shares rose four per cent as the market opened. The supermarket posted results showing its worst first-half performance [...]
Why an MBA can help change your career October 22, 2014 It's not unusual to change your career these days. A 2012 survey by Future Workplace found that 91 per cent of millennials (those born between 1977 and 1997) expect to stay in a job for less than three years. And if you are looking to make a career pivot – changing your role radically, taking [...]
Volution Group results strong for first post-IPO report October 23, 2014 Fan manufacturer Volution Group has reported an 18 per cent increase in revenue during 2014, from £102m to £121m. Of this total, the company’s ventilation segment posted revenue of £101m, up 23 per cent on last year. The firm also reported a pre-tax loss of £15.5m, compared with a £4.2m loss in 2013. These [...]
Budget 2015: Here are George Osborne’s best quotes plus his Budget speech in full March 18, 2015 George Osborne's final Budget during this parliament had few surprises but plenty of great quips, including – to the dismay of bookies everywhere – a quip about Ed Miliband's now-infamous second kitchen. Here's a selection of our favourites from today's big speech. (Source: Getty/City A.M.) (Source: Getty/City A.M) (Source: Getty/City A.M.) [...]
Party leaders urged to rebalance the economy September 14, 2014 BRITAIN’S political leaders are being urged by manufacturers to back policies that will rebalance the UK’s economy, following a YouGov poll suggesting strong support for such a move from voters. EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation’s call follows new research confirming widespread support for industry’s demands for better-balanced growth. According to the YouGov poll, 63 per cent [...]
Dim sum debut: UK completes first renminbi bond sale in push to build foreign currency reserves October 14, 2014 City dealmakers scored an unexpectedly big success yesterday, selling a 3bn renminbi (£300m) bond for the government. The sale gives the square mile a welcome boost after the turmoil of the past month after the Scottish referendum, wobbles in the flotation market and uncertainty over oil prices. It is the first time a western state [...]
Planning liberalisation is the closest thing there is to an economic silver bullet September 15, 2014 WITH low productivity, high inflation and terrible industrial relations, in 1977, Britain was a basket case. So that year, businessman John Hoskyns decided to dedicate substantial effort to analysing the UK’s economic problems. The result was a flow diagram, which sought to trace out the fundamental causes of the malaise. Hoskyns’s work pinned the blame [...]
A pint with your meal? SABMiller targets women and wine drinkers in new strategy October 6, 2014 Could beer become as popular with women as coffee? That is certainly what SAB Miller chief executive Alan Clark and marketing director Nick Fell are banking on. In an investor seminar in London today, the pair talked through plans to build the company – which owns brands including Coors, Grolsch, Peroni and, of [...]
Russia “will react” to EU sanctions, accuses Nato of supporting neo-Nazi forces September 6, 2014 Russia says "there will undoubtedly be a reaction" to any new sanctions imposed by the EU. The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement that the EU's proposed sanctions were "practically sending a signal of direct support to the 'party of war' in Kiev". The new sanctions will target state-owned oil companies, including Rosneft, and add [...]
Peer-to-peer platforms need to mature – or risk innovation-stifling regulation November 6, 2014 IT’S NOT surprising that peer-to-peer lending is becoming so popular. After years of low interest rates and scandals, there is a feeling that financial services should get back to basics. And after all the upheaval in banking, there is a desire to look at new ways of lending – preferably ones that pay a decent [...]