Morrisons keeps income investors happy March 18, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. After flagging another special dividend with annual results, there are opportunities for this grocer. In an eventful and turbulent period for the grocery sector, Morrisons (LSE:MRW) continues to hold its own after unveiling further robust profits growth and another special divi for investors. Today’s full-year results, despite drifting back [...]
Asda to stop selling single knives by end of April March 9, 2019 Asda has announced plans to remove single kitchen knives from sale in response to growing concerns over knife crime. The supermarket chain said the knives would be removed from all stores by the end of April following a rise in knife-related deaths across the UK and in London. So far this year at least 39 [...]
Sainsbury’s shares crash as Asda merger torpedoed February 27, 2019 | City Talk A strongly worded report from the regulator appears to have torpedoed this supermarket mega merger. What a difference a day makes. Until this morning, Sainsbury's (LSE:SBRY) was the best-performing supermarket stock over the past 12 months by some margin. Now, after the regulator's report on its proposed merger with Asda, it's the worst! After months [...]
Lord Tyrie says consumers must be put at heart of competition law regime February 25, 2019 The chair of the competition regulator Lord Tyrie today said consumers would be put at the heart of a new competition law regime to help fix the “erosion of trust” between the public and the authorities. Speaking in London at the launch of a set of proposed reforms, Tyrie said there is a “growing sense that [...]
Competition regulator set to launch reforms to beef up consumer protection February 24, 2019 Consumer protection is set to be beefed up with bigger fines and disqualification for company directors under a new set of proposals to be announced tomorrow by the competition watchdog. The chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Lord Tyrie will announce a set of proposed reforms at an event with the business secretary Greg [...]
Private equity player KKR reportedly circling Asda following Sainsbury’s deal setback February 24, 2019 US private equity house KKR is reportedly mulling a bid for Asda after a ruling last week by the competition regulator that could stymie its proposed tie-up with fellow big four supermarket Sainsbury’s. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said last week that a deal between the two supermarkets could lead to "a substantial lessening [...]
Chickens come home to roost for Mike Coupe as Sainsbury-Asda deal dies February 22, 2019 | City Talk Mike Coupe was a happy chappy back in April. Notably he was caught on camera humming the lyrics to the gold digger's song – 'we're in the money' etc, after announcing a supermarket mega merger like no other. This week however the companies' complete lack of understanding of the Competition and Markets Authority has come [...]
The UK’s best and worst supermarkets: How did Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi and Lidl do? February 22, 2019 The big four supermarket chains have lost ground to budget rivals in a survey of shopper satisfaction, as customers grow increasingly dissatisfied with the the quality of in-house labels. Read more: Watchdog may block Sainsbury's-Asda merger Aldi and Lidl outperformed the big four with customer satisfaction scores of 68 and 66 per cent respectively, according to [...]
Iceland Christmas sales fall despite furore over banned palm oil advert February 20, 2019 Iceland is set to reveal a decline in underlying sales over the festive period after its controversial Christmas advert failed to boost business. A report prepared for bondholders, obtained by the Financial Times, showed underlying sales fell by one per cent in the 16 weeks to 4 January. Read more: Iceland mulls bid for potential [...]
CMA may block Sainsbury’s-Asda merger, finding deal could push up prices and reduce quality February 20, 2019 Sainsbury's suffered a 15 per cent drop in its share price this morning after the grocer's £12bn proposed merger with Asda was thrown into doubt following a swathe of concerns raised by Britain's competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the tie-up could lead to "a substantial lessening of competition at both a national and local [...]