The Mog effect? Sainsbury’s share price climbs as grocer outperforms Tesco, Asda and Morrisons as Kantar supermarket figures December 15, 2015 Could it be the Mog effect? Sainsbury's has beaten Tesco, Asda and Morrisons to become the best performing supermarket among the Big Four. In fact, Kantar Worldpanel figures show that Sainsbury's was the only grocer among the top spots to post a growth in sales for the 12 weeks to 6 December, up 1.2 per cent. Tesco and Asda had [...]
Blockchain and mobile payments are sending banks’ spend on payment tech soaring in 2016 December 15, 2015 Blockchain and mobile payments are sending payment tech spend soaring next year, new research has found. Globally, some 61 per cent of banks expect to increase their payment technology expenditure next year, according to a report from tech firm Ovum. This is a significant rise on 2015, when 52 per cent hiked their spending in [...]
From The Shard to Heathrow Airport to the price of a pint: How has London changed in the past fifty years? December 15, 2015 The world is a very different place to what it was in 1965 and London, of course, is no exception. Back in the Swinging Sixties a week’s worth of Tube rides would set you back just 77p. Even adjusting for inflation that’s only half of the sums we’re throwing at Transport for London for a [...]
UK wages unlikely to rise next year, think tank warns December 15, 2015 Workers in the UK are unlikely to experience a rise in their wages next year, according to a report by the Resolution Foundation. The think tank said pay will stagnate in 2016, unless productivity is steady and inflation goes up quicker than expected. Their current estimate is a pay increase of just one per cent. [...]
Tim Peake’s mission marks a historic day for the UK space industry as Britain’s first International Space Station astronaut gets set for lift off December 15, 2015 Today marks an historic day for British science, innovation and space investment. It is the day that Tim Peake blasts off to the International Space Station – the first British astronaut from the European Space Agency to do so. This remarkable feat is the pinnacle of the UK’s growing global capability in space innovation and research – a [...]
CV advice for 2016: “Team players” and “good listeners” don’t get hired December 15, 2015 If writing a CV is a difficult task, reading one may be just as taxing. Recent research by the New College of the Humanities found that 59 per cent of employers said they are caused “stress” by grammatical and typing errors on job applications. So if you’re thinking of applying for jobs in the [...]
Forget Janet and Mario: 2016 is the year of GARY – CNBC Comment December 15, 2015 Investors have spent the last few years betting with the Fed and the ECB, as monetary policy dominated fundamentals. But many are now stumped over what to do next, as central bankers today seem to carry more risk and less reward. The ECB’s Mario Draghi let investors down this month with a flawed communications strategy. [...]
Japan: Three years after the Abenomics’ bazookas were fired, the jury’s out on whether the economy is better off – but investors are cheering the Nikkei’s rise December 15, 2015 As he launched the bazooka that would lift Japan’s economy out of decades of stagnation, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the world he was firing “three arrows” of “bold policy” which would finally “achieve results”. Three years on, and the jury’s still out on whether Abenomics is showing signs of success. THE [...]
Blue-chip index falls for eighth straight session – London Report December 15, 2015 OIL AND commodity price concerns have continued to drag on the FTSE 100, with the index touching 10-week lows at its close last night. It finished down 1.3 per cent at 5,874, its eighth straight session of losses, and down around 10 per cent so far this year. The price of key metals, including copper [...]
Best of the Brokers for 15 December 2015 December 15, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com INVESTEC Following recent significant weakness in the South African rand, Numis slashed its forecasts for Investec’s financial results. Numis’ earnings per share forecast for this year has been cut 3.5 per cent while next year’s has been cut 8.5 per cent. “We have [...]