Consumers plan thrifty Xmas November 2, 2009 Consumers are planning to spend less on gifts this Christmas than last year as they worry about rising unemployment and taxes, putting into question signs of a recovery in consumer spending, a survey showed yesterday. Broker Execution interviewed a representative sample of 2,000 Britons in October and found participants on average plan to spend £358 [...]
A IS FOR… A TOUCH OF ACRIMONY AT ALCHEMY February 2, 2010 PROOF, if it were needed, that the old adage about time being the best healer does not always ring true. Private equity veteran Jon Moulton is in the preliminary throes of building his new business, Better Capital, after quitting his former firm Alchemy Partners last September amid a boardroom bust-up over strategy. (His resignation letter [...]
Bankers must get act together December 21, 2009 IT SEEMS an age away now but back in July, on one of those long summer evenings that makes London such a marvellous place to live in, a group of the country’s foremost politicians, business leaders and bankers gathered at the home of Roland Rudd. Rudd, the founder of the City’s foremost public relations firm [...]
CITY A.M. TOASTS A NEW ERA IN ALLIANCE WITH INTERACTIVE INVESTOR December 14, 2009 IT WAS off to the iconic Gherkin building last night for one of the most exciting developments in the history of City A.M. – our newly-announced alliance with online financial services provider Interactive Investor. Guests at the party sipped champagne as they admired the view over the City, chatting about the partnership, under which we [...]
BA workers to vote on Xmas strike action November 2, 2009 BRITISH AIRWAYS (BA), the ailing flag-carrier, was dealt another blow yesterday after the Unite union said results of a ballot on strike action would be announced mid-December. The decision to kick off the vote next week came after thousands of cabin crew met at Sandown racecourse yesterday to thrash out a response to BA’s cost-cutting [...]
Tesco is serious about building a profitable telco November 26, 2009 It’s hard to think of two brands more different than Apple and Tesco. One is famed for its sleek gadgets, while the other piles high and sells cheap the kind of electronic goods that wouldn’t look out of place in a Latvian discount store. A Lodus television and a Technika DVD player might be cheap, [...]
M&B toasts a dining uplift November 26, 2009 PUBS group Mitchells & Butlers yesterday said it was optimistic about Christmas trading as it switched to a food focus to compensate for slower drinks revenue. The group said that it has recently introduced its “winter menu” to take advantage of the rise in consumer confidence, which has sparked people to splash out on good [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 25, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES INVESTORS TO SIGN AVTOVAZ AID DEALShareholders in Russian car maker Avtovaz will sign a rescue deal for the near-bankrupt firm at a meeting near Paris this week, Yuri Ushakov, the Russian Prime Minister’s deputy chief of staff, said yesterday. SATYAM SHARES TUMBLE OVER FRESH CHARGESShares in Mahindra Satyam, the fraud-hit IT services group, [...]
13/2 Go Native and 16/1 Weapon’s Amnesty look likely Festival types January 7, 2010 OVER the next nine or so weeks between now and the start of this year’s Cheltenham Festival, we will continue to add to our ante-post portfolio that already contains Somersby for the Arkle at 20/1 (now as short as 13/2 with Boylesports). With heavy snow decimating this weekend’s racing action, I have picked out a [...]
Retailers facing a tough Xmas October 4, 2009 MANY struggling British retailers will face a bleaker Christmas than they did last year, when 15 major chains failed, according to insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor. Christmas is a crucial trading period for retailers but soaring unemployment and low consumer confidence is expected to result in more firms facing financial difficulty. “Christmas 2009 could see just [...]