Best of the Brokers for 23 September 2014 September 22, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com PETROFAC Barclays has upgraded to “overweight” from “equal weight”, with the target price kept at 1,500p. Barclays says while Petrofac’s Great Stella development needs to come on-stream, its record order backlog will likely ensure strong growth in the years ahead, with significant upside [...]
London Report: Tesco’s woes and miners’ China fears drag down market September 22, 2014 SHARES in giant retailer Tesco tumbled yesterday 11.5 per cent to 203p – their lowest in 11 years – because of fears that first-half profits were overstated by around £250m, dragging down the FTSE 100. The blue-chip index was off 64.29 points, 0.94 per cent, at 6,773.63 points. Supermarket rivals Morrison and Sainsbury’s were hit [...]
New York Report: Housing data hits Wall St September 22, 2014 American shares yesterday closed lower, with the S&P 500 suffering its biggest one-day fall since early August as the latest housing data came in much weaker than expected, raising new concerns about the level of growth in the economy. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 104.01 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 17,175.73, the S&P [...]
Scottish independence referendum: Claims of vote rigging lead to petitions demanding recount September 22, 2014 Claims of vote rigging durig the Scottish independence referendum have led to calls for a recount. Over 88,000 people signed a petition at change.org entitled "We the undersigned demand a revote of the Scottish Referendum, counted by impartial international parties." The accusations of vote rigging centre around videos and photos shared on social media that [...]
Phones 4u announces it is to close remaining 362 stores and make 1,697 staff redundant September 22, 2014 After going into administration, mobile phone retailer administrators working with Phones 4u have announced that there has not been enough interest to save the company's remaining 362 stores. All told, 1,697 people will lose their jobs. EE had already agreed to buy 58 stores while Vodafone said on Friday that it was buying 140. The [...]
Ed Miliband to announce mansion tax to improve NHS health and social care September 22, 2014 Ed Milliband is set to announce a "mansion tax" to fund new an NHS spending increase. In a speech tomorrow to party activists in Manchester the Labour leader will announce the plan to tax properties worth more than £2m, with the proceeds paying for improvements in health and social care. With the election fast approaching, Miliband [...]
UK private equity firm drops ISIS name September 22, 2014 UK private equity firm ISIS Equity Partners has decided it no longer wants to share a moniker with the violent terrorist group operating in Syria in Iraq. The firm say it will reveal a new brand in the "coming weeks". Earlier this month a mobile wallet maker called Isis also decided to change its name [...]
Ratings agency Fitch puts Tesco on negative watch as £2bn is wiped off its value September 22, 2014 It's been a bad day at the office for new Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis. Not only did shares in the supermarket close down 11.6 per cent, wiping £2bn off the supermarket's value, after it admitted it had "overestimated" its profits by £250m – but now ratings agency Fitch has put it on negative watch, [...]
Mario Draghi speech: ECB president hints at use of more unconventional instruments in fight against low inflation September 22, 2014 The euro has fallen against the dollar after a doveish Draghi spoke before the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament. Consumer confidence for the single currency bloc was underwhelming at -11.4, falling short of an already bearish consensus of -10.75. In his speech the president of the European Central Bank (ECB) indicated [...]
Could it happen in London? One chart showing how Uber has impacted San Francisco’s taxi industry September 22, 2014 Beloved by punters, hated by rivals, taxi service app Uber has a knack of dividing opinion. The company has been the subject of an outright ban in Germany (which was later overturned), a gridlock protest from black cabbies in London and vociferous complaining from local taxi drivers in just about every one of the 45 [...]