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...J Paul Horne Alexandria, VA, US...
...The boss of J Sainsbury said shoppers were starting to splurge on certain items after two years of shopping for bargains, as Britain’s second-biggest supermarket forecast rising profits this year....
...J Sainsbury, the UK’s second-largest supermarket chain, said it expected to deliver profit growth this year despite a drop in earnings for the year just ended as it seeks to lure more shoppers to its stores...
...The survey, which asked nearly 3,200 UK consumers if they had spent more, less or the same on leisure in the past three months, showed sentiment in “eating out” and “drinking in pubs and bars” had declined...
...“We’re announcing no job changes today,” he said, adding: “With [profit] margins at 3 per cent and less in this industry, we’ve got to find better ways of doing things.”...
...Winning in hand, South plays J♠ to A♠ and ruffs a low spade in hand. He crosses to dummy’s Q♥ and ruffs a second low spade, noting that the suit is dividing 4-3....
...If West leads 3♦, all is easy for South; on 7♣ or 8♥ lead, the same problem exists. To try to establish spade tricks is unlikely to work: the defence will probably take ♠KQ and ♦AK....
...Their discography includes two English language EPs, a pitch to a world that usually pays scant attention to J-pop. “Idol” features on The Book 3, their latest Japanese language EP....
...In North America, Mr Kipling cakes are now listed in almost 3,000 stores....
...J&T Global Express plans to raise up to HK$3.9bn ($500mn) in Hong Kong. At an expected market valuation of $13.5bn it would be the city’s second-largest listing this year....
...He leads A♦ and 3♦. If West ducks, declarer loses no diamond trick, and can follow with K♣ and a third club, ruffing the fourth one high in dummy....
...West led 7♣, taken with dummy’s J♣. Perhaps South can overcome a 4-1 trump break if there is a singleton honour, but these thin contacts usually require some decent divisions....
...In 2017, J&F agreed to pay a $3.2bn fine in Brazil after admitting to bribing politicians. The payment was suspended by the supreme court last year....
...BiddingDealer: NorthLove All West led J♣ instantly; South indentified five losers: two diamonds, two low hearts and A♠....
...J Sainsbury was among the biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 on Wednesday after strong grocery sales failed to allay concerns over its struggling general merchandise business....
...Asda had net debt of £3.8bn at the end of 2023, with more than 90 per cent secured on fixed rates of interest....
...Companies have raised just $3.5bn from Hong Kong listings this year, down almost 70 per cent from a year ago and on track for the lowest annual total in two decades, as hopes for a steady stream of IPOs...
...At trick 2, when declarer laid down A♠ and discovered the 3-0 break, his 10♠ entry disappeared. What can he do now?...
...Sainsbury’s operating profit margins of 3.3 per cent are slightly below pre-pandemic levels....
...Chris Rossbach, a fund manager at J Stern & Co, said it had voted in favour of Disney’s board recommendations....
...At market close, the stock price was about £3.03 per share....
...Since January, all the main food retailers — including Tesco, J Sainsbury and Asda — have said that store staff will receive at least £12 an hour from April, matching the higher voluntary rate set as a benchmark...
...J&J also raised its guidance for adjusted diluted earnings per share to between $10.07 and $10.13, compared with its previous estimate of between $10 and $10.10....
...Winning trick 1, declarer must lead 3♠ from hand and, when West plays low, insert North’s 8♠. When this holds the trick, the double lead of clubs can be achieved and the contract comes home....
...Wetherspoons’ full-year operating margin of 5.6 per cent was an improvement from last year but was still down on its 7.3 per cent margin in 2019....
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