Sterling and FTSE 100 jump as inflation hits two-year high October 18, 2016 Sterling recovered some poise today, soaring higher after inflation jumped to a two-year high. The FTSE 100 also jumped back above 7,000 in early morning trading, fading only slightly to end the day up 0.7 per cent at 6,994 as traders and investors digested the news that prices rose by one per cent in the year to [...]
Marks & Spencer to close 12 stores in five Eastern European countries October 11, 2015 Marks & Spencer (M&S) is pulling out of five countries in eastern Europe, driven in part by heightened tensions between the West and Russia. The company is leaving Croatia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia, with store closures set to begin in January. The group plans to close 12 stores in total by May 2016. The [...]
The fashion industry is on its steepest decline for seven years October 17, 2016 The fashion market is on its steepest decline for seven years, according to new data, with £700m wiped off the value of the UK market since last year. According to figures from Kantar Worldpanel, sales declined for the fourth month in a row in September as retailers continued to offer huge discounts to consumers. Kantar [...]
Marks & Spencer dividend can’t hide fashion disaster as Next and Primark steal market share November 5, 2015 It's that time of year again. The nights are drawing in, the heating’s turned up, minor celebrities are switching on high street Christmas lights… and Marks & Spencer has revealed another disappointing half-year performance. Admittedly, shares rose yesterday – up 2.8 per cent – but this was more due to a modest improvement to margins and a [...]
Marks & Spencer website leaks customer details – but retailer insists it’s a “technical issue”, not a hacking October 28, 2015 Marks & Spencer was forced to suspend its website last night for two hours after it emerged that customers could see other people's details when they were logged in. Customers were able to see order histories, personal addresses and a number of other details belonging to other account holders when they logged in to register [...]
Panic Saturday is here: 12.6m Britons hit the shops for busiest day of Christmas shopping as sales start early at M&S, Sports Direct, H&M, Argos and Sainsbury’s December 19, 2015 Brace yourselves, Panic Saturday is here. If you still haven’t bought your Christmas presents, be prepared for crowds. A stampede of last minute Christmas shoppers are bearing down on UK retailers today, making it the busiest day of this year’s Christmas shopping. 12.6 million Britons are forecast to hit the shops, spending over £1.1bn on [...]
Five-try Saracens continue perfect start to Premiership title defence against Exeter September 11, 2016 Saracens boss Mark McCall praised his improving side after they stormed to a bonus-point 34-13 victory over Exeter Chiefs in a repeat of last season’s Premiership final on Sunday. Two tries by wing Sean Maitland and further scores from young fly-half Alex Lozowski, flanker Jackson Wray and replacement Ben Spencer continued the champions’ flawless start to [...]
Bupa giving dentistry chain Oasis a check up as preliminary talks for a bid get underway October 3, 2016 Private healthcare group Bupa is weighing a takeover bid for dentistry chain Oasis. Oasis, currently owned by private equity firm Bridgepoint, could be worth in the region of £500m, though reports of its value vary. Bupa has held preliminary talks with Oasis Healthcare's management and shareholders about a deal, it was first reported by Sky News. Discussions are said to [...]
Greggs sausage rolls up the leaderboard in hospital food poll October 22, 2016 A ranking of the healthiest providers of hospital food revealed that one of the nation's favourite bakeries was narrowly pipped to the top spot. The "Healthy Hospital Food: 2016 Brand League Table" compared the performance of how well companies meet NHS England targets on healthy checkouts, food advertising and price promotions in hospitals. Although the Royal Voluntary Service and [...]
See us after class: Disappointing back to school week for FTSE 100 as retailers drag it lower September 9, 2016 The FTSE 100 had a decidedly wobbly start to the school year, finishing the first full week of September 1.7 per cent lower than it started. Having come tantalisingly close to the 7,000 mark last week, it finished today at 6,776.95 points, 1.2 per cent down. "You’d be forgiven for falling asleep this afternoon," complained SpreadEx financial analyst [...]