ANALYST VIEWS: IS THE HIGH STREET CRISIS OVER? March 11, 2010 TONY SHIRET | CREDIT SUISSE RETAIL “Home Retail Group’s results were pretty poor. They were worse than expected but we had been forewarned about that. Overall sales should improve but recovery in sales are more likely in 2011 and 2012.” SAM HART | CHARLES STANLEY RETAIL “The Morrisons results were bang in line with expectations. [...]
DIAMONDS ARE AN INVESTOR’S BEST FRIEND March 11, 2010 WE’VE all heard a lot of novel investment advice over the course of the last two bumpy years, but investing in your own diamond mine has got to be a new one. Investment firm Capital Alternatives has set up a new venture, Capital Mining, which plans to do just that, having recently snapped up the [...]
Pound boosted by uptick in inflation expectations March 11, 2010 STERLING yesterday managed to claw back some of Wednesday’s sharp losses after Bank of England data showed that consumers’ expectations for inflation over the next year inched higher. Figures from the quarterly Bank of England/GfK NOP Inflation Attitudes Survey showed that on average, Britons are expecting inflation to be around 2.5 per cent over the [...]
NEWS | IN BRIEF March 11, 2010 America’s burgeoning economic recovery could be slowing after figures published yesterday showed the US trade deficit narrowed in January, in part due to a slump in demand for overseas oil. The deficit shrank to $37.3bn (£24.8bn) during the month, a 6.6 per cent fall on the previous month, and well below economists’ predictions of an [...]
NEWS | IN BRIEF March 11, 2010 Consumer inflation in China has soared to a 16-month high, according to official data published yesterday. Annual consumer price inflation rose to 2.7 per cent in February compared to 1.5 per cent the previous month. The main driver of the acceleration was a 6.2 per cent jump in the price of food. Inflation remains well [...]
Citigroup to return to profit, says Pandit March 11, 2010 CITIGROUP chief executive Vikram Pandit told investors yesterday the bank is on track to return to sustained profitability and losses from some of its worst assets should be manageable if the economy does not deteriorate. The comments were uncharacteristically optimistic for Pandit. The bank’s improving performance is easing pressure on the chief executive, who has [...]
CITY VIEWS: do you think the fsa’s crackdown on insider March 11, 2010 ADRIAN YEUNG | JP MORGAN CHASE “Historically, it’s always been a hard thing for the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to crack down on. Proving intent is difficult. It’s the difference between insider trading and market abuse. I’m not sure it will produce the desired effect. It’s a lot easier to prosecute for market abuse than [...]
AstraZeneca in emerging markets deal March 11, 2010 ASTRAZENECA is stepping up its footprint in emerging markets through a branded generics supply deal with Indian group Torrent Pharmaceuticals that mirrors similar tie-ups by other big pharma groups. The Anglo-Swedish company said yesterday that Torrent would supply it with a portfolio of generic medicines for which Torrent already has licences in a range of [...]
NEWS | IN BRIEF March 11, 2010 Scottish Power yesterday caught up with rivals annoucing that it will cut gas prices by an average of eight per cent from the end of March. The company said its 1.6m domestic gas customers would save an average of £66 a year on their bills. In addition, 60,000 customers who have been identified as vulnerable [...]
NEWS | IN BRIEF March 11, 2010 US regulators are stepping up their investigation into Google’s planned acquisition of mobile advertising company AdMob, suggesting that the government may challenge the $750m deal. The Federal Trade Commission is beginning to gather evidence for a potential anti-trust challenge and has asked at least two companies that compete with Google, or are involved in advertising, [...]