Best of the Brokers for 19 February 2013 February 18, 2013 ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS UBS has a buy rating on the clothing-to-sugar conglomerate and has raised its target price from 1,705p to 2,000p as currency tailwinds lift the firm. The broker also expects Primark to accelerate further this year, which combined with lower restructuring costs in grocery and ingredients should help deliver double digit earnings growth [...]
BLP’s trainees told to march to the firm’s tune February 18, 2013 SPARE a thought for the latest intake of trainees over at Berwin Leighton Paisner, who started last week. The law firm is not only sending the fresh recruits off today for a relaxed day of team bonding at Army officer training centre Sandhurst – a video of their exploits will feature on the web. The [...]
FTSE funds help raise £1bn for infrastructure February 18, 2013 A HOST of FTSE 100 retirement funds yesterday revealed they had raised £1bn to plough into the UK’s creak- ing infrastructure as inf luential investor Edmund Truell called on government to do more to boost building investment. Pension schemes run by BAE Systems, BT, Lloyds TSB and British Airways are among ten schemes launching a [...]
Currency wars set to expand despite G20 February 18, 2013 THE WORLD’S biggest economies will be able to continue manipulating exchange rates despite reassurances from the G20 leaders it will not happen, analysts warned over the weekend. Although the communiqué from the G20 ruled out the deliberate weakening of currency values, it is still deemed acceptable as long as the change in exchange rates is [...]
US stocks may not continue winning streak February 18, 2013 US stocks could struggle to extend their seven-week winning streak as the quarterly earnings period draws to a close and the market bumps into strong technical resistance. Many analysts say the market could spend the next few weeks consolidating gains that have lifted the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 by 6.6 per cent since the [...]
Guests clear the plates as Sarries celebrate a win February 18, 2013 GUESTS of the Tulip Club box at Saracens’ new home, Allianz Park, saw the club record a 31-11 victory over the Exeter Chiefs on Saturday. It was a full house for the first game since the team moved to the glossy stadium from the old grounds at Vicarage Road. Among the crowd gathered at the [...]
Cameron blows UK’s trade horn on India visit February 17, 2013 LONDON’S transport expertise and Tesco’s expansion plans will be high on the agenda during Prime Minister David Cameron’s trade mission to India this week. Cameron will arrive in Mumbai today with a delegation of ministers and business bosses including Standard Chartered’s Peter Sands to speak with trade partners in India. Transport for London has sent [...]
Bottom Line: Tesco hopes to charm shoppers February 17, 2013 When Starbucks opened its first stores in Mumbai last October, queues around the Taj Mahal hotel stretched almost to the Gateway of India – the imposing arch on the harbour under which Boris Johnson held a bike-riding photo call a few weeks later. America’s frothy coffee seemed, at the time, to go down much better [...]
Patent costs to plummet after Vince Cable signs deal with EU February 17, 2013 THE COST of registering patents in the EU is set to fall from €36,000 (£31,000) to €5,000, following reforms due to be agreed by business secretary Vince Cable this week. At the moment inventors and businesses have to register their innovations separately with all EU member states. The new agreement, which will be signed tomorrow, [...]
Households expect even worse squeeze on finances is coming February 17, 2013 HOUSEHOLD budgets dipped once more in February, and look set to get even worse in coming months. Markit’s headline household finance index was stuck at 37.7 in February, the same level as January and deep below the 50 threshold that indicates no change in households’ situations. And the economics consultancy’s outlook index, which focuses on [...]