Ted Baker confident on outlook June 16, 2009 Fashion brand Ted Baker said it was confident full-year results would be in line with expectations as it posted a 7.6 per cent increase in revenue for the 19 weeks to 12 June. The group said gross margins were also in line. But Seymour Pierce yesterday warned of tough times ahead: “As a retailer that [...]
Kesa nears 11m Swiss sell-off June 16, 2009 Kesa Electricals, Europe’s third-biggest electrical goods retailer, said yesterday it was close to selling its loss-making Swiss operation as its new chief executive moves to clean up its portfolio of businesses. The firm said it was in exclusive talks with Swiss electrical retailing chain FUST regarding the sale of its local business for about £11.4m.
House of Fraser denies sell off June 16, 2009 House of Fraser yesterday moved to quash market rumours that it was considering selling its stores and said it was trading ahead of expectations, with sales growing in the last 12 weeks. The group said it had no plans to sell any of its 62 stores and had sufficient capital “to meet all its obligations [...]
Tesco upbeat as sales meet expectations June 16, 2009 TESCO, Britain’s largest retailer, yesterday said it had made a “solid start” to the year, reporting a 4.3 per cent rise in first quarter like-for-like sales at its UK stores. The giant supermarket chain reported a higher sales lift for the 13 weeks ending 30 May than it did in the previous quarter, but its [...]
DOES TESCO’S FIRST QUARTER GROWTH MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS? June 16, 2009 RICHARD HUNTER HARGREAVES LANSDOWN“The headlines have tended to centre on Tesco’s loss of market share, as opposed to the progress it is making. Its international businesses in particular continue to bolster overall performance, contributing a 20 per cent rise in sales over the period. But the growing intensity of competition is not likely to abate.” [...]
China offers $10bn loan to its key allies June 16, 2009 CHINA will offer a $10bn (£6bn) credit loan to Russia and other key allies to help them through the financial crisis, Chinese President Hu Jintao said yesterday. Speaking at a summit in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, Jintao said China would provide monetary aid to Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, who are all members [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 16, 2009 REED ELSEVIERPanmure Gordon retained its “buy” rating on Reed Elsevier after an update call with the company. It said that the shares have been disconcertingly weak recently but that this is understandable in view of the weak dollar. The broker leaves its core assumptions unchanged, forecasting earnings per share growth year-on-year. SERCOSerco’s shares have rallied [...]
Bank of Japan sees recession easing June 16, 2009 THE RATE of deterioration in the Japanese economy has begun to slow, the country’s central bank said yesterday, signalling that the worst of its recession could be over. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) opted to leave interest rates unchanged at 0.1 per cent, but issued a more optimistic outlook based on increased production in the [...]
GLORY DAYS FOR ROYAL ASCOT CITY RACING SET June 16, 2009 IT WAS smiles all round for the property world’s keenest racegoers yesterday, as a group of City real estate heavyweights toasted a win (and a hefty £167,472 prize pot) for their horse Paco Boy in the Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot. I hear Parkwood Property Investments partner Derek Lucie-Smith, one of the owners, was in [...]
Huge demand for gilts sale led by banks June 16, 2009 THE DEBT Management Office (DMO) raised a greater-than-expected £7bn in a syndicated sale of 25-year gilts yesterday, easing fears of a lack of investor enthusiasm for British government debt. The DMO took orders for £15.25bn worth of gilts, making the sale by far the most popular syndicated sale of sovereign debt in history. Yields on [...]