Bad shops are to blame for our withering High St June 24, 2009 THIS week a rare opportunity to watch television saw me glued to a programme presented by the self-styled “Queen of Shops” Mary Portas. Focusing on the death of that great British institution the High Street, Portas probed the decline of traditional retailers and voiced her fears for the future of our nation of shopkeepers and [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 24, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES CHIP MAKER MOVES TO QUASH BID SPECULATIONImagination Technologies has reiterated that it expects to remain independent, despite market speculation to the contrary and heavy share buying in the chip designer. Intense buying on the London Stock Exchange saw more than 12m shares change hands and 9.7m sold at 150p a share, amid speculation [...]
THE LONDON REPORT June 24, 2009 MINERS and banks were buoyed by better US durable goods data yesterday, offsetting weaker food retailers and producers and driving the FTSE 100 up by 1.2 per cent, or 49.96 points, to close at 4,279.98. The index has gained more than 23 per cent since hitting a six-year low in March, but is still down [...]
Aldi and Lidl’s growth rate falling behind June 23, 2009 DISCOUNTERS like Aldi and Lidl are now growing less quickly than British stalwarts such as J Sainsbury and Morrisons in a sign that the traditional supermarkets’ fight-back is succeeding, a survey showed yesterday. Britain’s grocery market grew by a recession-beating 6.5 per cent in the 12 weeks to 14 June compared to the same period [...]
CITY VIEWS: how well are the supermarkets coping with the recession? June 23, 2009 ORRAINE NAYLER ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND“I don’t really go to big supermarkets and prefer to shop in my local stores. But I think the budget supermarkets are benefiting from the downturn – the stigma attached to Aldi and Lidl is probably disappearing and people are looking beyond packaging to non-branded goods if they are cheaper.” [...]
THE LONDON REPORT June 21, 2009 THE JUNE gauntlet of retail company statements is set to continue this week, with two UK electronics giants due to issue full-year 2009 results. DSG, Kesa and Inchcape are lining up to report, following last week’s announcements from Tesco, J Sainsbury, Whitbread and Morrison. Kesa Electricals, which runs electronics store Comet among its Europe-wide retail [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 17, 2009 HOLIDAYBREAKKBC Peel Hunt decreased its price target for Holidaybreak from 390p to 384p but retained its “buy” recommendation. The broker said that the firm’s rights issue to fund expansion and accelerate development of its educational business books is well timed and could transform the group, even leading to a re-rating. NATIONAL EXPRESSCollins Stewart downgraded its [...]
Confidence wavers but the drug makers have the cure June 17, 2009 RECENT confidence of a quick global economic recovery wavered yesterday, with commodity stocks down on weaker raw material prices but pharmaceuticals and telecoms gaining. “The bulls have lost their swagger and after a week long stalemate, the bears appear to be winning the recovery debate. Financial markets have now broken out of last week’s unusually [...]
Tesco sells mortgage bond June 17, 2009 There was good news for the global securitisation market yesterday when the supermarket Tesco sold £431m of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) supported by rental income from 12 of its UK stores and two distribution warehouses. The size of the deal, which was three times subscribed, was slightly above initial plans to sell £416m of bonds. [...]
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 [...]