Analyst Views: What did you think of Supergroup’s recent trading performance? September 4, 2014 KATE CALVERT | INVESTEC SuperGroup’s slightly better-than-expected first quarter performance should reassure that the UK is solid and the long-term growth story intact. Encouragingly like-for-likes are positive in the second quarter to date…we believe the company is on the right trajectory to achieve our forecasts. JOHN STEVENSON | PEEL HUNT Like-for-like sales were in line [...]
Getty Images taking Microsoft to court over new Bing Widget online photo tool September 4, 2014 Microsoft has launched a new online product that Getty Images says allows website publishers to embed digital photographs on their sites and is a “massive infringement” of copyrighted images, the photo agency claimed in a lawsuit filed in federal court in New York yesterday. Microsoft’s Bing Image Widget, released on 22 August, gives publishers the [...]
Co-operative Group promises return to form after torrid time September 4, 2014 The Co-operative Group yesterday said it was poised to get the battered mutual back on track after returning to profit this year. The retail-to-funeral care provider said income for the six months ending 5 July was £116m, compared to a £1bn loss during the same period last year. The 150-year-old business also announced [...]
Guinness brews up competition for craft beers September 4, 2014 Diageo is fending off rising competition from craft beer makers by launching its own under the Guinness brand, the drinks giant revealed yesterday. The FTSE 100 company said it had launched two new beers, a Dublin porter and a West Indies porter, which will be available in certain pubs and shops by mid-September. The West [...]
Outsider David Lammy seeks first-mover advantage in London Mayor bid September 4, 2014 Labour MP David Lammy has made an early bid for his party’s nomination to be the next London Mayor. The Tottenham MP threw his hat into the ring yesterday morning, nearly a year to the day since he first announced he was considering running for the coveted London role. “I spent a long [...]
Chemicals firm Alent sees boss Corbett resign September 4, 2014 Speciality chemicals maker Alent announced yesterday that its chief executive Steve Corbett would step down immediately, and its assembly materials division president Rick Ertmann would take over as interim chief executive. Shares in the company fell as much as three per cent during early morning trading yesterday after the company did not announce a reason [...]
EDF Energy nuclear reactors may be out until end of year fuelling winter blackout fears September 4, 2014 Fears of power blackouts in the UK this winter due to possible shortages in energy supply were heightened yesterday, after major energy supplier EDF revealed four reactors at its nuclear power plants might not come back online until the end of the year. The UK subsidiary of the large French energy company said four nuclear [...]
Flotations outperform FTSE by over five per cent September 4, 2014 New listings on the London stock market have generated better returns for investors than the FTSE 100 this year, despite some prominent private equity-backed flops, a survey shows. The 28 initial public offerings of shares between the turn of the year and the end of August achieved an average return of seven per cent – [...]
Boeing predicts 6,000 planes to be sold to China from 2014-2033 September 4, 2014 Demand for new planes in China could be above 6,000 over the next 20 years, expected to be worth a massive $870bn (£532bn) in sales, according to US plane making giant Boeing. Boeing predicts that China will make up nearly 45 per cent of total aircraft demand in Asia over the period between 2014-2033, and [...]
Yes, but no, but yes… Ed’s way to help the Nos September 4, 2014 Remember Donald Rumsfeld’s “known knowns” speech? During a 2002 briefing, the then US Defence Secretary confused us all, saying: “[There are] known knowns; there are things that we know that we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also [...]