Best of the Brokers for 10 March 2014 March 10, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com BWIN.PARTY Peel Hunt has a “buy” rating on the gambling firm and a target of 137p ahead of full-year results due on Thursday. While the broker expects the earnings figures to make for grim reading, with earnings down 36 per cent, it thinks [...]
London Report: Carney to face questions over Bank oversight March 10, 2014 MARK CARNEY faces probably his toughest questioning so far as Bank of England governor tomorrow when lawmakers will seize on a foreign exchange scandal to press their demands for tighter oversight of the central bank. Carney will face the Treasury Select Committee over claims the Bank’s governance system is outdated. Last week the Bank suspended [...]
New York Report: Bullish market backed by US jobs rebound March 10, 2014 STRONGER-than-expected payrolls figures on Friday did more than ease concerns about US economic fundamentals – they also seemed to justify Wall Street’s record levels, suggesting the market’s uptrend could continue. February’s jobs report followed two straight months of payrolls reports that were sharply below expectations, and the rebound reinforced the theory that weakness in December [...]
One step ahead: Liam Ward-Proud talks to ZenithOptimedia’s Belinda Rowe March 10, 2014 IN 1988, Zenith Media merged with the buying arms of Saatchi & Saatchi, KHBB, and BSB Dorland, forming what many consider to be the world’s first truly global media agency. By 2000, the group (now called ZenithOptimedia) had repositioned itself as the “return on investment agency”. Belinda Rowe joined the firm – part of Publicis – [...]
Shock tactics: What business can learn from charity marketing campaigns March 10, 2014 @AnnabelPalmer1 ANOTHER week, and another hard-hitting charity campaign causes public outcry. This time it’s Save the Children, with its “If London was Syria” video for its Syria Crisis Appeal. Before that, Pancreatic Cancer Action arguably torpedoed advertising boundaries with its “envy” campaign, which some condemned as “insensitive”. It’s hard not to feel a sense of [...]
RBS dishes out up to £18.25m of shares to top management team March 7, 2014 Another bout of bonuses-related news – this time going to directors at RBS. It’s handed out as much as £18.25m of long-term share awards to the 11 members of its executive committee. The 81 per cent state-owned lender, which reported a £8.2bn loss in 2013, risks political and public vitriol, as the spotlight remains on [...]
What you need to know before the US open March 7, 2014 Nonfarm payrolls just came in stronger than expected. In February, 175,000 workers were hired. Analysts had expected 149,000 jobs to be added. Some traders have begun pricing in an earlier date for a rate hike from the Fed on the back of the solid numbers. The dollar has hit a six-week high against the yen [...]
LA fitness selling 33 stores to slim down business March 7, 2014 UK gym chain LA fitness has announced it’s selling 33 of its 80 clubs as part of a restructuring plan to reduce its debt burden. By slimming down its portfolio, the group hope to secure its long-term future. Chief executive Martin Long said: It is a structural issue that is hampering LA fitness and it [...]
US jobs data: 175,000 workers hired in February March 7, 2014 On a seasonally adjusted basis, 175,000 US workers were hired in February. The number was significantly above analysts estimates of 149,000, suggesting a strengthening of the US economy. The labour force participation rate came in at 63 per cent, the same as was recorded last month. The unemployment rate ticked up to 6.7 per cent, [...]
Why Germany’s industry pickup isn’t that exciting March 7, 2014 German industrial production gathered steam in January, with output rising 0.8 per cent. While consensus was for a 0.7 per cent rise – so initially the pickup looks pretty encouraging – December’s fall of 0.6 per cent was revised up to a drop of 0.1 per cent, and several analysts had been expected a bigger [...]