B&Q looks to World Cup to kick-off sales June 3, 2010 B&Q owner Kingfisher said yesterday it was pinning its hopes on the World Cup to fuel a sales rise after a first quarter blighted by poor weather. The group said it had almost sold out of a garden gnome dressed in the England team kit ahead of the tournament and was also selling wheelbarrows and [...]
Kingfisher profit up after cost savings June 3, 2010 B&Q owner Kingfisher – Europe’s biggest home improvements retailer – posted a 15 per cent rise in first-quarter profit as cost savings and reduced losses in China offset a fall in underlying sales due to poor spring weather. The group, which runs Castorama and Brico Depot in France, made a retail profit of £146m in [...]
Pru told to list its Asian unit June 2, 2010 PRUDENTIAL is facing calls to realise the value of its Asian business through a stockmarket listing after its $35.5bn (£25bn) play for AIA lay in tatters yesterday. Chief executive Tidjane Thiam and chairman Harvey McGrath, who are fighting for their professional lives along with the rest of the board, will come under pressure to provide [...]
Mitchells & Butlers profits rise by 50pc May 20, 2010 PUBS group Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has seen a surge in half-year profits – but its boss warned yesterday that cheap supermarket deals were threatening the industry. The owner of the All Bar One and O’Neill’s pub chains said pre-tax profits for the six months to 10 April were £73m, up from £47m the year [...]
Intesa’s Fideuram listing to be delayed May 13, 2010 ITALY’S Intesa Sanpaolo is understood to be preparing to delay listing its Banca Fideuram asset manager until after the summer, potentially slowing the bank’s plans to boost capital. It is expected to wait for better market conditions to list Fideuram, Italy’s market-leading asset manager. A spokesman for the bank said work on the initial public [...]
VEXED IN THE CITY May 12, 2010 Can I ask my colleague about his home life? DEAR VEXED: There’s a colleague I work really closely with on a number of projects. We get along well, but our relationship is strictly professional. Recently I’ve noticed him being really distracted, and I overheard him having a bitter argument with his wife on the phone. [...]
Johnson in Wallaby warning May 11, 2010 DEFIANT Martin Johnson last night fired a warning to Australia, insisting his England side to tour Down Under this summer is the strongest since he lifted the World Cup on their shores in 2003. Team manager Johnson has selected no fewer than nine uncapped players in a strong 44-man squad as he prepares for the [...]
Capello admits to World Cup selection ‘problems’ May 10, 2010 ENGLAND coach Fabio Capello last night admitted he has encountered “some problems” in settling on a provisional squad to carry the hopes of a nation at this summer’s World Cup. Capello will today confirm the 30 players he will take to Austria for two training camps this month, before then whittling his squad down to [...]
Go hide away in the sun-drenched valleys of Jordan May 9, 2010 THE afternoon sun is browning our sweaty pink skin as we lie by the pool at Evason Ma’in, nudged between a massive yellowstone fortress-style hotel and a water-spewing rock face. Well, it may be all lemonade, glossy magazines, dramatic scenery and sun-tanning poolside, but just a few kilometres away on the Dead Sea’s south-east coast [...]
Osborne: hung house will paralyse the UK April 26, 2010 THERE is a “clear risk of economic paralysis, higher interest rates and a loss of market confidence” if the general election results in a hung parliament, George Osborne warned yesterday. Speaking in an exclusive interview with City A.M., the shadow chancellor said the Tories needed to win an overall majority so they could make “the [...]