BEST OF THE BROKERS September 21, 2009 MARKS & SPENCERSociete Generale raised its top-end-of-consensus current year pre-tax profit forecasts for Marks & Spencer by 10 per cent, to £654m. The broker increased its target price to 500p and has a “buy” rating on the stock, following the firm’s trading statement last week. WHITBREADGoldman Sachs removed Whitbread from its “conviction buy” list after [...]
Office rents will start to rise September 21, 2009 Rent for premium offices in the City and the West End will start to rise in 2010, following the correction seen in 2008 and much of 2009, according to Knight Frank. This reflects less than expected distress in the market in 2009, a significant recovery in demand recorded in the summer, the recent rally seen [...]
Punch buys bonds to cut debt September 21, 2009 Pub group Punch Taverns yesterday said it had repurchased more than one third of its convertible bonds, reducing the amount outstanding to just over £100m. The pub owner has bought a total of 33.9 per cent of the original nominal value of the five per cent convertible bonds due 2010. This is the latest measure [...]
CABLE’S PLANS?FOR 1M HOME TAX SLAMMED September 21, 2009 PROPERTY experts yesterday ridiculed Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable’s pledge to introduce an annual levy on homes worth more than £1m, warning that the measure would lay waste to an already fragile housing market. The so-called “mansion tax”, proposed by Cable at the Lib Dem annual party conference yesterday, would see some 250,000 households [...]
DELL SNAPS UP PEROT FOR $4BN September 21, 2009 PCGIANT Dell announced yesterday that it plans to buy computer services firm Perot Systems for about $3.9bn (£2.4bn), in a bid to compete with Hewlett-Packard and IBM. Dell intends to pay a steep 67.5 per cent premium to expand its technology services business into higher margin IT services, thereby securing more stable and recurring revenues [...]
Cadbury’s boss admits there is some sense in Kraft’s takeover ambitions September 21, 2009 CADBURY chief executive Todd Stitzer has softened his stance on a possible takeover by US food giant Kraft, admitting that there are some “complementary elements” in the two companies’ portfolios. “I would never say there’s not some strategic sense in these businesses coming together,” said Stitzer yesterday. He added that in areas such as Europe, [...]
Turner urges City reform September 21, 2009 ADAIR Turner will tonight issue a call to arms to the City’s business leaders, urging them not to miss the opportunity to reform the country’s financial services sector following the recent banking crises. The chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), who has faced criticism in the past few days after labelling the City as [...]
Why Vince Cable’s tax plans are wrong September 21, 2009 HERE is something that will tell you everything you need to know about Vince Cable’s astonishing popularity. Yesterday, when the BBC was looking for independent commentators to talk about his controversial tax and spending plans, they could only find two non-aligned journalists who were willing to mount a robust critique of his record. I, needless [...]
Willis to leave Bermuda September 21, 2009 Insurance broker Willis Group announced yesterday that it will move its global headquarters from Bermuda to Dublin, amid fears of a US crack-down on tax-havens. The world’s third-largest insurance broker is the latest in a line of firms with large US operations to relocate from the island to other locations with low corporate tax rates. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 21, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES VINCI CHIEF DOWNBEAT ON SECTOREurope’s construction market is likely to fall further next year, despite billions injected by governments in stimulus plans and emerging signs of recovery in the region’s two largest economies, Xavier Huillard, chief executive of Vinci, has warned. In an interview with the FT, Mr Huillard warned of further pain [...]
