FTSE ends flat as S&P eyes Eurozone rating downgrades December 6, 2011 THE UK’s top share index ended flat yesterday, with banks and retailers falling and sentiment hurt as credit agency Standard & Poor’s warned of a possible downgrade to most Eurozone countries. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was up 0.76 points or 0.01 per cent at 5,568.72 following a see-saw session, having closed at [...]
FTSE ends flat as S&P eyes Eurozone rating downgrades December 6, 2011 THE UK’s top share index ended flat yesterday, with banks and retailers falling and sentiment hurt as credit agency Standard & Poor’s warned of a possible downgrade to most Eurozone countries. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was up 0.76 points or 0.01 per cent at 5,568.72 following a see-saw session, having closed at [...]
Green to cut hundreds of shops as wary consumers stay home November 24, 2011 ARCADIA Group, the retailer owned by billionaire Sir Philip Green, yesterday said it planned to close up to 260 stores over the next three years after announcing a big fall in profits. The group, which owns fashion retail stores including Topshop, Miss Selfridge, and department store BHS, said it would not renew half of its [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 20, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BP, TOTAL AND STATOIL SECURE ANGOLA RIGHTS A new exploration frontier off the coast of Angola that may be similar to oil fields found in Brazil is to be opened after the government of the African country awarded drilling rights to some of the world’s largest energy groups. Britain’s BP, Total of France [...]
FTSE hit by soaring bank yields November 17, 2011 The FTSE 100 fell in early trading today as yields on a Spanish bond auction soared to almost seven per cent – a level considered unsustainable by economists. A warning from ratings agency Fitch that the outlook for US banks could deteriorate if the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis is not resolved also took its toll. [...]
CITY BANKS FACE JOBS BLOODBATH November 16, 2011 THE CITY faces a jobs bloodbath as investment banks accelerate job cuts to a speed last seen during the 2008 financial crisis. With data showing UK joblessness at a 15-year high, one of Canary Wharf’s biggest employers, Citigroup, confirmed plans to slash jobs, with 3,000 expected to go globally. BNP Paribas also said it would cut [...]
BOOST FOR MORTGAGES November 21, 2011 THE GOVERNMENT will today launch a scheme to encourage first-time buyers to take out 95 per cent mortgages even as new figures show the largest monthly drop in house prices since before the financial crisis. Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg will today unveil a plan to “help people get on the [...]
LUNCH PRICES HIKED TO HIGHLIGHT PROBLEMS FACED BY THIRD WORLD October 12, 2011 LONDONERS may be accustomed to signing away the vast majority of their pay packet on the capital’s rising rents, but what if everyday food was as much of an outlay, accounting for 50 to 80 per cent of income every month? That’s what the Red Cross is hoping to highlight as it takes over popular [...]
Desert island dream in remotest Philippines February 19, 2012 AS the plane rumbles along from Manila to Busuanga in the Palawan peninsula in the Philippines, the smiling stewardess at the front starts playing a game of “Show and Tell” to an enraptured audience, in the absence of TVs to divert us. First person to hold up a… pen, wins a thermos flask. Next person [...]
SuperGroup bucks high street gloom September 7, 2011 YOUTH fashion retailer SuperGroup expects to buck the high street gloom and achieve a solid Christmas after recording strong summer sales. The fast-growing firm, whose SuperDry clothes are worn by David Beckham and Leonardo DiCaprio, reported a 66 per cent rise in sales to £54m in the 13 weeks to 31 July. The group, which [...]