Best of the Brokers for 14 March 2014 March 13, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com RESTAURANT GROUP Barclays rates the dining firm “overweight” and has lifted its target from 675p to 750p to reflect what the broker reckons is an attractive free cash flow yield. Barclays believes the firm will be back at its margin peaks in the [...]
London Report: Supermarket fears lead FTSE to a fifth consecutive drop March 13, 2014 BRITISH shares fell for a fifth straight session yesterday, dragged down by supermarket stocks after WM Morrison cut its profit outlook, as well as by escalating tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine. Morrison’s was the worst performer on the FTSE 100 index, plunging 11.9 per cent, and its revised outlook triggered a sell-off [...]
New York Report: Tensions over Ukraine hit US March 13, 2014 US stocks tumbled yesterday, with the Dow and the S&P 500 suffering their worst day since early February, on rising concerns over Ukraine and Russia and new signs of a slowdown in China. Selling accelerated in afternoon trading after Russia launched military exercises near its border with Ukraine, showing no sign of backing down in [...]
UBS delivers a poke in the eye for equity bulls March 13, 2014 The bull markets are raging, IPOs are surging and investors are pinning their hopes on the FTSE breaking through the 7,000 barrier for the first time this year. All is rosy in the world of equities – unless you happen to pay attention to something called the equity risk premium. This is the difference between [...]
How will the Bank tackle a crisis with lower “new normal” interest rates? March 13, 2014 Three monetary Policy Committee members, including governor Mark Carney, have voiced the view in recent weeks that rates may only rise to somewhere between two and three per cent, even after years of relatively solid recovery. The rough level was suggested in the February inflation report, and ever-proactive TUC senior economist Duncan Weldon blogged on [...]
George Soros says Eurozone is now like a debtors’ prison March 13, 2014 George Soros has been holding court at the London School of Economics today on the state of Europe, how the Ukraine crisis could bring the continent closer together, and why the UK should stay a part of it. Here are some of the billionaire investor’s most interesting comments. On the state of the Eurozone You [...]
The NHS needs to focus on patients not staff pay packets, says think tank March 13, 2014 News this morning that only some public sector workers will see a one per cent pay rise next has riled individuals and unions alike. While Armed Forces, prison officers, members of the judiciary and some NHS workers will see a pay rise next year, not everybody will. And the rise – by only one per [...]
16 years of clawback for bank bonuses March 13, 2014 Bankers could lose their bonus 16 years after it was awarded if they misbehave or if decisions they took turn bad, the Bank of England said today. Currently pay can only be clawed back in the years between the bonus being awarded and it vesting – that is, when they actually collect the payout, typically [...]
What you need to know before the US open March 13, 2014 US stock futures are pointing to a slightly better open for markets today, and no doubt the slew of data just out – all of which is better-than-expected – means investors have plenty to digest. Bonds have slipped after the encouraging data, with the dollar gaining ground against the euro, too. Initial jobless claims fell [...]
Gold touches 6-month high on Ukraine and China fears March 13, 2014 Rising tensions between Ukraine and Russia and growing concern about Chinese economic growth have seen gold climb to a six-month high today. The safe-haven asset rose 0.4 per cent to $1,373/oz, up for the third day in a row. It’s currently up 0.1 per cent. Tumbling exports and a recent bond default have sent equities [...]