Alliance & Leicester posted pre-tax profits of just £2m. Operating profits increased by 2% to £301m, however they also recorded £279m of extra costs, losses and write-downs due to the continuing turbulence in the mortgage markets.

Alliance & Leicester is to be taken over by Banco Santander as the bank believes it would be hard pressed to weather future shocks and write-downs. Being part of a larger group with a much more solid balance sheet is a sensible route for A&L to take.

Bingo is as popular as ever in the UK and whilst traditional Bingo Halls continue to pack the punters in, it is the explosion of online bingo that is really driving the industry forward. With new bingo sites appearing almost daily, it is difficult to know which is the best site to join and trying to compare features and prizes would take forever.

Thanks to Bingo Port you don’t have to. Bingo Port constantly monitors the web’s  new and existing bingo sites to see which are currently offering the the best deals in terms of the prizes and jackpots available, the number of players the site attracts and if there are any special prizes on offer. Read the rest of this entry »

The Co-operative Group’s £1.6bn deal to buy Somerfield looks set to be concluded this week. This is good news for the consortium who own Somerfield as they look set to pocket around £700m. The Co-op look set to shake up Somerfield and  sell-off as many as 150 stores to rival groups.

HMV continues to perform well on the high street thanks to its large music and video game selection, when compared to its competitors. The company has seen its market share increase over the past twelve months and has been rewarded with a 25% rise in full year pre-tax profits. Despite the good news, its shares continue to trade around the 100p marker, which is at the bottom end of its 52 week range. Given the positive results, HMV could be one of the few retailers that still offers some value.

As expected, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee have kept interest rates on hold at 5%. With inflation at 3.3% against a target of 2% this was the only decision the MPC were likely to take, despite incresing economic concerns and fears that the UK could be entering a recession. If there are further signs of a downturn, the Bank must be prepared to act quickly and cut rates.

Today it was the turn of Bovis Homes and Redrow to add to the doom and gloom of the housing sector. Both companies will cut 40% of their workforce which will mean 400 job losses for Bovis, whilst Redrow will shed 550 posts. Read the rest of this entry »

Marks & Spencers share price has fallen 35% since last Monday. Losing another 4% today, analysts expressed concerns that profits could fall by more than one third this year. In 2007 M&S made £1bn, but 2008 could see this drop to as low as £600m. Such news has made the market very cautious about the stock and has left the retailer with a lot of work to do to regain investor confidence.