Stars in their pies: mincemeat magic December 1, 2010 WHILE turkey and Christmas pudding are held back for the meal on the big day, mince pies are the real staple of the festive season. People who wouldn’t normally dream of a mid-afternoon snack will suddenly find themselves gobbling down piles of pastry and fruity mincemeat, while every cocktail party and seasonal bash is overflowing [...]
UK economy has hit turbulence again January 19, 2011 AFTER a run of good news, the UK economy has hit choppy waters once more, though hopefully conditions will soon improve again. Growth bounced back between February and October 2010. Since then, manufacturing has remained buoyant; but services have slowed, especially in December (the snow was bad). Construction is slowing. The services sector purchasing managers [...]
Halfords refinances as earnings drive forward November 18, 2010 HALFORDS said yesterday it had refinanced its debt arrangements as it posted a rise in first half profit. The cycle and car parts retailer saw pre-tax profit rise 12.8 per cent in the six months to 1 October. Halfords said it had grown its market share in its more expensive cycles range as more people [...]
THE TIPSTER December 12, 2010 THE rail and bus company Go Ahead might be a reasonable long call. The company seems to be trying to focus more on core aspects of the business but the share price is continuing to struggle to make an impression. There’s clearly longer term exposure to the rail franchise renewal mechanisms and also government intervention [...]
THE TIPSTER December 5, 2010 THE Scottish oil producer, Cairn Energy, has seen its share price knocked thanks to a fruitless drilling operation off Greenland back in October, but last week’s award of a new exploration license is injecting a degree of life back into the stock. That, in addition to the painfully slow ongoing attempt to dispose of part [...]
Selfridges profit boosted November 7, 2010 UPMARKET department store Selfridges broke through the £100m profit level last year as wealthy tourists kept the tills ringing. Figures due to be filed at Companies House this week will show a trading profit of £107m for last year, which was the store’s 100th year of trading. The figures are up 21 per cent from [...]
Selfridges profit boosted November 7, 2010 UPMARKET department store Selfridges broke through the £100m profit level last year as wealthy tourists kept the tills ringing. Figures due to be filed at Companies House this week will show a trading profit of £107m for last year, which was the store’s 100th year of trading. The figures are up 21 per cent from [...]
Tube boss vows to fight unions in a bid to modernise the network November 17, 2010 TUBE boss Mike Brown vowed not to back down in his long-running dispute with unions over his plans to cut 800 ticket office jobs. “I want staff to be more flexible, I make no apology for that,” said the London Underground managing director. “We will not run a service that is stuck in the 1960s. [...]
Tube boss vows to fight unions in a bid to modernise the network November 17, 2010 TUBE boss Mike Brown vowed not to back down in his long-running dispute with unions over his plans to cut 800 ticket office jobs. “I want staff to be more flexible, I make no apology for that,” said the London Underground managing director. “We will not run a service that is stuck in the 1960s. [...]
Cable demotion cheers Murdoch December 21, 2010 James Murdoch, the chairman of British Sky Broadcasting, was said to be “cock-a-hoop” last night, after Vince Cable was stripped of his role in deciding whether the satellite broadcaster can be taken over by News Corp. Sources close to Murdoch, who is also chief executive of News Corp in Europe and Asia, said Cable’s demotion [...]