Taxidermy and Victoriana at the hottest new hotel in town April 4, 2011 IN a candle-lit, antique-filled dining room, by a grand table decked out in gleaming china, fine glass, antique candelabras and an assembly of strange bronze figurines, stands a kangaroo. An old example of the taxidermist’s art, it stares out glassily at the ancient urns and other objets that cram the room. Round the corner, in [...]
M&S to add to retail gloom April 3, 2011 MARKS and Spencer, the retail bellwether, is likely to add to the sense of impending doom on the High Street when it reports a sharp drop in sales later this week. Analysts expect like-for-like sales of general merchandise – which exclude food – to have fallen by a “grisly” six per cent in the fourth [...]
THE TIPSTER April 3, 2011 THIS week sees a fourth quarter trading update from Marks & Spencer. The impact of the VAT hike, rising commodity prices and careful consumers will make for interesting reading. With so many others on the high street struggling, there is no real hope of a good performance from M&S. Overseas ambitions may well help in [...]
THE TIPSTER April 3, 2011 THIS week sees a fourth quarter trading update from Marks & Spencer. The impact of the VAT hike, rising commodity prices and careful consumers will make for interesting reading. With so many others on the high street struggling, there is no real hope of a good performance from M&S. Overseas ambitions may well help in [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 29, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES NETWORK RAIL AIMS TO TAKE TRACTION OUT OF BONUS ISSUE Network Rail will seek to allay long-standing concerns about its executive bonuses by putting a new system to the vote of its 100 members tomorrow. But the scheme, intended to provide a longer term solution to the issue, has been criticised by the [...]
EasyJet in VisitBritain deal March 28, 2011 BUDGET airline easyJet has launched an £18m licensing deal with VisitBritain to promote tourism into the UK over the Royal Wedding, the 2012 London Olympics and beyond. The four-year deal will see the government pay the airline £9m to bring in foreign passengers to the UK. EasyJet will provide the rest of the funding in [...]
Wake up and smell the instant coffee March 24, 2011 CHRISTMAS?2010 will be remembered as Britain’s last big spending splurge. What better way to end almost two decades of unsustainable, debt-fuelled largesse than with a massive turkey dinner and tonnes of presents? Supermarkets could barely believe it as families spent more than ever before on rich food and booze; John Lewis notched up record sales. [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 24, 2011 ENRC UBS rates the Kazakh miner “buy” with a 12-month target price of £13. ENRC’s results on Wednesday met the broker’s expectations, with earnings per share beating forecasts by 13 per cent due to exceptional items linked to an acquisition. UBS expects the firm’s costs to rise in line with the industry as it undertakes [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 24, 2011 ENRC UBS rates the Kazakh miner “buy” with a 12-month target price of £13. ENRC’s results on Wednesday met the broker’s expectations, with earnings per share beating forecasts by 13 per cent due to exceptional items linked to an acquisition. UBS expects the firm’s costs to rise in line with the industry as it undertakes [...]
FTSE inches up despite Sainsbury’s glum update March 23, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares edged up higher yesterday, on a budget day that brought a mixed outlook for UK corporates. J Sainsbury fell sharply after a downbeat trading update, while sector peers firmed after the budget, as did housebuilders which got a first-time property buyers boost, while North Sea-focused oil firms were hit by a tax [...]