Fewer companies freeze workers’ pay

Message from Five Filters: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it.

The number of new pay freezes in private sector companies — a key feature of
the recession — fell sharply in the three months to April, new research will
show today.

But the number of workers facing little or no pay rise is set to jump as pay
freezes in the public sector become more common.

Read more

A Labour-Lib Dem anti-dream team would spark a rush for the exit

[fivefilters.org: unable to retrieve full-text content]The banking crisis gave us a sharp reminder of the negatives that come alongside the many benefits of a global economy. What began as a problem with dodgy mortgages in America became a worldwide problem because European banks, and other international institutions, had hoovered up this toxic debt. When the credit markets crashed as a result, they did so across the globe.

Toyota expects huge drop in sales figures

Toyota is braced for a huge drop in official sales figures as the beleaguered
Japanese motor group insisted that it would not cut prices to lure back
passengers put off by the manufacturer’s multiple car recalls.

The sales fall last month — after an already sharp drop in January, when
Toyota sales were down more than 12 per cent in a rising market buoyed by
the scrappage scheme — looks likely to exceed 25 per cent.

Fresh industry figures for Toyota sales in the UK are not scheduled to be
published until later in the week.

Read more

Factory gate prices rise in September

Prices at the factory gate rose for the first time in five months in
September, with almost all sectors taking part in the unexpected rise,
according to official figures today.

The Office for National Statistics said that non seasonally adjusted output
prices rose 0.5 per cent in September.

It took the annual rate of inflation to 0.4 per cent, the first positive
reading since April. Prices registered a 0.3 per cent fall in August.

Read more

Next upgrades profits in sunny sales surge

Next, the clothing retailer, unexpectedly delivered some encouraging news from
the high street this morning when it reported a sharp bounce in sales from
the hot weather and a profits upgrade.

The company brought forward its first half trading update, detailing
better-than-expected revenues in recent weeks and that, as a result, there
would be less stock than expected discounted in the end of season sale,
which started on Saturday.

Next had said earlier this year that it did not intend to slash prices
ferociously to encourage customers back into the shops in the downturn. The
hot weather added an estimated 2 per cent to 3 per cent to sales of summer
clothing, and leaving 19 per cent less stock in the sale than last year.

Read more

Pension view ‘not radical enough’

The author of an influential report into the future of pensions now believes that his proposals were not radical enough.

Lord Turner told the BBC he would now argue that the age at which people received a state pension should be raised more quickly.

Read more

Sharp fall in eurozone economy

The German economy suffered its largest contraction since reunification in the first three months of the year, official data has shown.

Gross domestic product (GDP) fell 3.8% from the previous quarter, led by sharp falls in exports and investment, the Federal Statistics Office said.

Read more

Gatwick sale ’still on schedule’

Airport operator BAA has said its sale of Gatwick Airport is on schedule with initial bids having been received from potential buyers.

However, BAA made no comment on the sale of Stansted, which is expected following a Competition Commission review of UK airport ownership. Read more

French retailer in administration

French women’s clothing store chain Morgan has gone into administration, the latest retailer to be hit by the sharp fall in consumer spending.

The company, which expects to report a 9% fall in 2008 sales, said it still hoped to be able to sell the business. Read more

Hotelier group in profit warning

Intercontinental hotels has warned of a sharp deterioration in trading conditions in October and issued a profit warning for the final quarter.

It said revenues per available room dropped 4.5% as the economic turbulence spread to the hotels sector. Read more

Next Page »