Trade lift falls short

Friday 10 August 2012 7:00

Retailers and hospitality firms have reportedly seen the biggest climb in trade during the London 2012 games, although they have failed to meet general business expectations, according to a survey published by Deloitte. The survey of 100 large London companies found 42% reported an increase in demand in the first week of the Games, compared with 27 percent which reported a decrease.

Aviva sees profits dip

Thursday 9 August 2012 10:00

Insurance group Aviva recorded a pre-tax operating profit of £935m in the first half of 2012, down from £1.04bn in the first six months of 2011.

News Corp cuts value

Thursday 9 August 2012 9:00

HMV seeks electronic recovery

Thursday 9 August 2012 8:00

Music retailer HMV has reported a £16.2m loss but is pinning its recovery hopes on plans to step up sales of electronic devices. The group, which runs 252 stores, expects profits of at least £10m on the back of tablet device sales alongside CDs, DVDs and headphones.

Coffee sales provide pep for Nestle

Thursday 9 August 2012 8:00

Net profits at Nestle rose 8.9% to £3.34bn in the first half of 2012, with sales in emerging markets climbing 12.9%, and by 2.6% in developed nations. Demand in China for its ready-to-drink coffee fuelled the growth.

Economy to remain flat

Wednesday 8 August 2012 7:00

The Bank of England is likely to slash UK growth forecasts to close to zero from the 0.8pc predicted in May when it releases its quarterly inflation report later today.

Sony sinks deeper into the red

Thursday 2 August 2012 8:00

Electronics giant Sony has lowered its full-year earnings forecast amid declining LCD TV and video game console sales  and a strong yen. The group reported a quarterly loss of around £202m.

Manufacturing shrinks

Thursday 2 August 2012 7:00

UK manufacturing shrank at its fastest rate for three years last month, new figures show. The Markit/Cips PMI manufacturing index dropped unexpectedly sharply from 48.4 in June to 45.5 in July – any measure below 50 indicates the sector is shrinking.

Thomas Cook "on track"

Thursday 2 August 2012 7:00

Ailing travel firm Thomas Cook this morning said its turnaround remains on track despite making a £26.5m quarterly loss. The group said it had been hit by "challenging" trading, but that sales in recent weeks had improved.

Lending kick-start

Wednesday 1 August 2012 9:00

An £80bn scheme to kick-start bank lending was launched today. The Bank of England and Treasury's Funding for Lending scheme (FLS) will make funding accessible to banks to pass on to businesses and households through cheaper loans and mortgages.

Creative fund launched

Wednesday 1 August 2012 7:00

Creative England has launched a national business development fund of up to £1m to support creative and digital businesses across the English regions. The fund is aimed at small to medium-sized companies looking to develop new software, applications and content. It will typically support companies looking to develop new cross-platform applications or content related to new applications for the above markets. Proposals such as a mobile healthcare application, the development of a new game for tablet or mobile, or e-government content linked to a new service delivery model, may all be eligible for funding.

London expansion for Edinburgh firm

Tuesday 31 July 2012 9:00

Edinburgh based online marketing company QueryClick has announced the arrival of two new business development executives to its London office. The specialist marketing company, which helps businesses improve their online return on investment, launched the London base in August last year as a platform to expand beyond Europe and into the Far East within the next three years. Business development executives Adam Lee and Leon Willoughby will be based in Marylebone.