H&M all dressed up for autumn but long summer has hit sales September 25, 2014 Fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz yesterday announced that its recent strong sales growth had slowed sharply this month as unusually warm weather delayed purchases of cold-weather gear. The Swedish company said sales in the 1-23 September period rose seven per cent, compared with a near-20 per cent increase in August, putting September on track to [...]
Boffins blast HS2 arguing Britain’s high speed rail offering could be five times more expensive than its French equivalent May 26, 2016 High Speed 2 (HS2) could be up to five times more expensive than its French equivalent according to a new academic study, reigniting rows over whether the £56bn railway plan is a “vanity project”. The academics, led by Professor Tony May from Leeds University and transport consultant Jonathan Tyler, said that France's TGV line from [...]
London mayoral election: Freezing fares or cutting council tax? How Zac and Sadiq’s giveaways stack up May 4, 2016 Elections are rarely free from giveaways. Labour Mayoral hopeful Sadiq Khan’s flagship policy is to freeze Transport for London’s fares for four years. His main contender, Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith, has made clear he would freeze the council tax collected by the Mayor. This is one of the few big policy differences between the two [...]
H&M to take on its rival Inditex after posting 20pc earnings lift September 15, 2014 SWEDISH clothing giant Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) yesterday announced a nearly 20 per cent rise in sales in August, beating forecasts after a warm European summer. The company posted net sales of 38.8bn Swedish krone (£3.3bn) excluding sales tax for June through August, beating a forecast of 37.8bn krone and compared with 32bn krone in the [...]
Ladbrokes reeling from “worst Cheltenham ever” but claws back to positive net revenue growth across the board April 21, 2016 Bookmaker Ladbrokes has said it is reeling from its "worst Cheltenham ever" in March this year, but has posted strong results despite the downer from the annual festival. The figures Ladbrokes posted an "encouraging" start to the year this morning and said results were especially positive before the bookie's worst ever Cheltenham in March. Net revenue [...]
Know your benefit crystallisation event from your pension input period with our A to Z of pensions jargon October 28, 2016 National Pensions Awareness day came and went last month, with no apparent impact on people’s understanding of one of the best ways of saving for retirement. The Bank of England’s media-savvy chief economist Andy Haldane said in May that even he was unable to understand pensions because the system is so complicated. This situation is [...]
From the Aston Martin DB11 to the Lamborghini Centenario: These are the five coolest supercars at the Geneva International Motor Show 2016 March 2, 2016 As the great and the good of the world's car industry descended on Geneva today for its annual two-week knees up, petrolheads had their eyes on one thing: supercars. From Bugatti's (potentially) record-breaking Chiron to China's first-ever supercar, aka Techrules' 220mph hybrid, the options for those intent on splashing the cash were pretty limitless. What are the shiniest [...]
From flying taxis to a London shuttle: Here are five of the coolest driverless concepts June 16, 2017 Over the next decade, driverless technology is set to transform not only how we drive, but the prospect of owning a vehicle. Advances in artificial intelligence, cameras, sensors, and radar are making this possible. With that in mind, here are five of the most exciting autonomous prospects on the horizon… Read more: Not a load [...]
Monitise to break even by the second half, despite restructuring costs hurting the bottom line in H1 January 21, 2016 Digital payments group Monitise has said cash flow will drop below guided levels as the cost of restructuring bites – but claims it will be turning a profit by the second half of the current financial year. In the six months to 31 December, the company said it expected revenues to come in at around £33m, while [...]
How one simple change could save the NHS millions: Nurses taking stairs instead of lifts could save £100m, startup StepJockey says February 4, 2016 One simple change to an everyday habit in hospitals across the country could save the NHS millions of pounds, according to new research. More than £100m could be saved if even just 15 per cent of the country's 348,000 nurses took the stairs instead of the lift while on duty, research from health and wellbeing startup StepJockey [...]