News in brief: Menzies closes US cargo operation, Waitrose’s festive sales hit £300m, Jobless figures up as Germany slows
John Menzies, which runs airport check-in desks and distributes newspapers, today said it is closing its loss-making cargo-handling business at Chicago airport.
The move will cost £7 million and total restructuring charges for 2012 will hit £18 million, after Menzies shut down struggling cargo operations at Glasgow, Birmingham, East Midlands and Manchester airports last year. The firm also said finance director Paul Dollman is quitting the board.
Waitrose’s festive sales hit £300m
Waitrose's aisles were busier this Christmas than ever before in the upmarket supermarket’s history, helping sales hit £300 million for the first time as takings at its 288 stores rose 8.8% in the last 12 days of 2012. Managing director Mark Price said: “The 12 trading days leading up to New Year’s Eve were exceptional as customers got ready for family entertaining and parties.”
Jobless figures up as Germany slows
German unemployment rose to 2.942 million in December as the eurozone’s powerhouse slowed. Analysts expect German GDP to have contracted in the fourth quarter of 2012, dragged down by the weakness of its European trading partners. But the 3000 rise in the monthly jobless figures was less than the 10,000 that economists had forecast. The Bundesbank expects the economy to expand by just 0.4% over 2013.
