Threshers fell into administration last night with the 112-year-old off-licence chain taking on the service of the accountants KPMG. The collapse of the company, owned by First Quench Retailing, puts 6500 jobs at risk.
Source: The Times
The British housing market is showing signs of recovery after enjoying its first annual average house price rise for 19 months. Nationwide has revealed data that shows that house prices rose by 2 per cent in October compared to the same month last year.It is the first annual rise since March 2008.
Source: The Times
Sony has decreased its forecasted losses for the full year to end of March 2010 from 12 billion yen to a more optimistic 95 billion yen loss. If it achieves its forecasts, its yearly loss would be a slight improvement on last year when the Japanese electronics giant suffered a 98.9 billion yen loss.
Source: The Daily Telegraph
The US economy grew by by 0.9 per cent, or an annualised 3.5 per cent, in the third quarter of the year.
While the US was experiencing its most powerful growth in two years, figures last week revealed that the economic output in Britain shrank by a further 0.4 per cent between July and September - making this recession the longest since records began in the 1950s.
Source: The Daily Telegraph
The Conservatives are pushing for the Royal Mail to be fully privatised and believe that bidders would be more likely to come forward if the union is forced to accept moderisation. The move, which would see the loss of around 30,000 jobs, risks further antagonising the bitter dispute as Billy Hayes, the Communication Workers Union leader, raised the prospect of longer strikes.
Source: The Guardian
New figures released by The Fawcett Society show there is still a pay gap between men and women, with some women in parts of the UK getting paid less then half the amount as men. While women nationally earn an average of 21 per cent less per hour than men for full- and part-time work, in some areas such as West Somerset, the pay gap is as large as 53 per cent.
Source: The Guardian
