HOW DO YOU RATE CADBURY’S PERFORMANCE? June 18, 2009 JULIAN HARDWICK RBS“We expect consensus earnings forecasts will be revised down as analysts review their currency assumptions, and this is likely to have some adverse impact on the shares in the near term despite the generally reassuring tone of this update we say “hold”. JEREMY BATSTONE-CARR CHARLES STANLEY“Our “hold” recommendation is based on our perception [...]
LITTLE LUXURIES June 18, 2009 LUXURY handbag maker Mulberry yesterday raised hopes that the downturn in the high-end retail sector is starting to ease, after like-for-like sales rose by more than a fifth over the first 10 weeks of its financial year. Mulberry said its understated British style and a new range of cheaper bags had boosted its performance in [...]
Hospitality: bribery or an essential business tool? June 18, 2009 LOVE it or loathe it corporate hospitality has become a key feature of “The Season”, the collection of traditional English sporting occasions that have become an annual fixture. From Royal Ascot to Henley, Lords to Wimbledon, City bankers, investment managers and other finance professionals will be heading in their droves for the most popular events [...]
Big Swiss banks face break up June 18, 2009 SWITZERLAND yesterday became the latest country to join the global regulatory assault on the banking industry, warning that it could force the break up of large banks like UBS and Credit Suisse because they were too big to fail. The Swiss National Bank (SNB), which says that UBS and Credit Suisse still pose a risk [...]
Cantillon shuts hedge funds after missing out on rebound June 18, 2009 CANTILLON Capital Management, the asset manager run by William von Mueffling, is closing two embattled hedge funds valued at $3.5bn (£2.1bn) after failing to capitalise on recent market rallies. The US group told its hedge fund investors yesterday they will be handed back what is left of their capital – the two funds fell between [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 18, 2009 ITVRoyal Bank of Scotland upgraded ITV to “buy” from “sell” with a target price of 41p, based on its belief that TV will lead the charge on the advertising recovery, and that ITV will take the lion’s share of the budgets. The broker notes that the balance sheet is slowly being addressed and that the [...]
Government debt rises by 20bn in May June 18, 2009 GOVERNMENT borrowing in May increased by the largest amount since monthly records began and could reach as high as £200bn this fiscal year if it continues at its current pace, official data showed yesterday. Figures from the Office of National Statistics revealed that public sector net borrowing was £19.9bn in May 2009 and the public [...]
POOR SIR FRED June 18, 2009 SIR FRED Goodwin, the former chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, is to hand back nearly a third of the £555,000-a-year pension he was awarded on leaving the bank. Goodwin will now take home £342,500 a year, or a total of £9m, after a deal was hammered out between RBS, the Treasury and UK [...]
Retail rents to dive by a fifth June 18, 2009 Retail rents across the UK’s high streets and shopping centres are set to drop by almost a fifth between now and the end of next 2010, quashing hopes of a revival of the troubled retail property sector, according to a report by Colliers CRE. Rents are forecast to drop by about 11 per cent by [...]
HOW DO YOU RATE CADBURY’S PERFORMANCE? June 18, 2009 JULIAN HARDWICK RBS“We expect consensus earnings forecasts will be revised down as analysts review their currency assumptions, and this is likely to have some adverse impact on the shares in the near term despite the generally reassuring tone of this update we say “hold”. JEREMY BATSTONE-CARR CHARLES STANLEY“Our “hold” recommendation is based on our perception [...]