Wall St The Week Ahead: Investors keen to see if rally can continue February 9, 2014 AFTER the S&P 500’s first weekly gain in a month, investors will see this week whether the US stock market’s rally of the last two days is the shape of better things to come – or if this year’s weakness will turn into a full-fledged correction. At Friday’s close, the S&P 500 was up 0.8 [...]
New York Report: US stocks up as investors await Yellen speech February 10, 2014 STOCKS ended with modest gains yesterday as investors digested recent market gains and looked ahead to new Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen’s first testimony before lawmakers. The Nasdaq was boosted by strength in large-cap tech and pharma names, but most market participants took a wait-and-see attitude ahead of the testimony, looking for confirmation that the [...]
Gamification: What Monopoly is teaching marketers about engagement April 7, 2014 @AnnabelPalmer1 GAMIFICATION has been popular with businesses for decades: loyalty programmes and cereal box prizes are just two examples of the strategy in action. In recent years, however, it’s become a marketing buzzword. But what does it really mean, and is it here to stay? Many consumers associate gamification with apps or digital games. Certainly, [...]
Any other business – 07/11 November 6, 2013 ■ FOXTONS disappointed many a financial public relations firm when it floated successfully in September without their assistance. But the estate agency chain, which yesterday issued an interim statement highlighting flat sales, might be having a rethink. “It’s early days but we’re gauging whether we might need something,” chief financial officer Gerard Nieslony told The [...]
Equistone fancies French pudding maker October 21, 2013 EQUISTONE, the private equity house founded by ex-Barclays buyout executives, has taken a bite out of a French luxury pudding maker that supplies tasty treats to M&S and McDonalds. The outfit, led by managing partner Guillaume Jacqueau, has bought a majority stake in French dessert conglomerate Europeenne des Desserts (EDD) for an undisclosed sum. The [...]
Brand Index: Heinz could be the victor of the global burger battle October 29, 2013 THE BATTLE of the burgers got saucier this week when McDonald’s announced it was severing its 40-year relationship with Heinz after the ketchup-maker hired a former head of Burger King as its new CEO. Perhaps adding salt to the wound, Burger King revealed better-than-expected third-quarter profits. McDonald’s profits also narrowly topped expectations, but its sales [...]
Expansion lifts full-year sales at Wagamama January 14, 2014 WAGAMAMA, the Japanese-inspired noodle chain, said yesterday that sales jumped 13.5 per cent last year as the company ramped up its expansion plans in the UK. The private equity-owned group posted sales of £141.2m in the year to 28 April compared with £124.4m the previous year, driven by 14 new restaurant openings. Pre-tax profits edged [...]
Mind the nap: Deloitte boss in sleeping selfie January 9, 2014 DELOITTE’S head of real estate Andy Rothery fell foul of the selfie craze just before Christmas when he unwittingly fell asleep on the train home. The City boss woke up from his slumber to find the girl next to him taking selfies of the two of them. His fellow commuter was happy to show him [...]
London Report: Sharpest fall in the FTSE since turn of the year January 23, 2014 BRITAIN’S main equity index yesterday suffered its biggest one-day fall this year, weighed down by disappointing US economic data and weak updates from Easyjet and Pearson. Global stocks extended losses in the afternoon as data showed US manufacturing growth slowed in January for the first time in three months. The data further undermined sentiment towards [...]
Ashley scores in the weird world of business tiffs December 15, 2013 MIKE Ashley is not happy with Adidas, after the German sports company refused from next season to let Ashley’s retail giant Sports Direct sell its replica Chelsea kits – incidentally one of Sports Direct’s bestsellers. Ashley is understandably miffed, and it has even been suggested the billionaire plans to build a hostile stake in Adidas [...]