Home » Latest news

Bottom Line

An analysis of the performance of companies. Our experts trawl through results and give informed views
on stock values, trading conditions and strategy.

  • Picking bank winners is a loser’s game
    Friday 10th February 2012, 2:01am GMT
    BOTTOM LINE
    Juliet Samuel
    THE grim news for bankers just keeps coming. Revenues at Credit Suisse’s investment bank fell off a cliff last quarter: overall they were down by nearly two thirds on the end of 2010, but in fixed... [Read more]
  • Emerging markets push comes too late
    Thursday 9th February 2012, 1:20am GMT
    BOTTOM LINE
    David Crow
    WHEN times get tough, branded products are the first things to go. British consumers know there is little difference between Fairy and a supermarket’s own-label washing up liquid. The trend is more... [Read more]
  • Rogue trading scandal was a blessing in disguise
    Wednesday 8th February 2012, 2:33am GMT
    BOTTOM LINE
    David Crow
    THE ROGUE trading scandal that hit UBS in September was a blessing in disguise. The disaster sounded the death knell for the group’s investment bank, at least as we currently know it, which has... [Read more]
  • Taiwanese firm is caught in pincer
    Tuesday 7th February 2012, 1:50am GMT
    BOTTOM LINE
    David Crow
    THE demise of Nokia happened in slow motion. Apple released its first iPhone in 2007 but it took almost four years before Nokia admitted it was “standing on a burning platform”. Even now, some... [Read more]
  • As crunch time nears there’s still a lot left to be decided
    Monday 6th February 2012, 4:37am GMT
    BOTTOM LINE
    Elizabeth Fournier
    SO as expected, Xstrata’s shareholders are kicking up a fuss over the premium Glencore is offering to pay for the company, barely a year after blocking a similar deal before Glencore’s record listing... [Read more]
  • It ain’t over until Ivan Glasenberg sings
    Friday 3rd February 2012, 2:18am GMT
    BOTTOM LINE
    David Crow
    IT ain’t over till Ivan Glasenberg sings. Everyone knows the rationale for the deal: massive scale, a raft of cost-saving synergies, and a much-improved presence for Glencore in commodity markets.... [Read more]
  • Black market sales are the main culprit
    Thursday 2nd February 2012, 1:33am GMT
    BOTTOM LINE
    David Crow
    PAIN in Spain. That is the cause of lower sales at Imperial Tobacco. The Spaniards, hurt by austerity and high unemployment, have decided to kick the cancer sticks. The quintessential cafe culture... [Read more]
  • Satellite giant takes on Netflix and Lovefilm
    Wednesday 1st February 2012, 1:11am GMT
    BOTTOM LINE
    David Crow
    IT was only ever a matter of time before BSkyB launched some kind of internet TV service. The insurgent threat of online film streaming products such as Netflix and Lovefilm meant it could not stand... [Read more]
  • How to answer the $100bn question
    Tuesday 31st January 2012, 1:48am GMT
    BOTTOM LINE
    David Crow
    IT’S the $80bn question, or maybe even the $100bn question: just how much is Facebook worth? To find the answer, you would normally try to value the company using traditional multiples – price to... [Read more]
  • How McCall has proven her critics wrong
    Friday 27th January 2012, 12:30am GMT
    BOTTOM LINE
    David Crow
    WE need more investors like Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder and majority shareholder of easyJet. If institutions were as combative as the pugnacious Cypriot, there would be no need for the current... [Read more]
Syndicate content