London Report: FTSE climbs after talk of ITV takeover by Liberty Global September 1, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index inched up yesterday, led by gains in broadcaster ITV on talk of a takeover from Virgin Media owner Liberty Global. ITV’s shares hit their highest levels since January 2001, up 3.6 per cent. The speculation was fuelled by a report in The Telegraph saying Liberty was canvassing support from major ITV [...]
Europe Report: Europe gains on drug find September 1, 2014 EUROPEAN shares edged higher to close near a recent one-month peak yesterday, with Novartis leading drugmakers. Novartis, up 4.3 per cent, was the top gainer on the FTSEurofirst 300 index on news a new medicine from the company could replace drugs that have been central to treating heart disease for 25 years. The FTSEurofirst 300 [...]
Dave Lewis begins first day as Tesco boss August 31, 2014 Former Unilever executive Dave Lewis has taken up his role today as chief executive of Tesco – a month earlier than planned – after the troubled food retailer issued its second profit warning in six weeks on Friday. Tesco slashed its interim dividend by 75 per cent and said it would cut its capital expenditure [...]
Charlotte grabs an awards treat to last all night August 31, 2014 The City A.M. awards are fast approaching and with the shortlists being revealed next week, we thought we’d get the ball rolling by announcing the winner of our competition. We offered one lucky reader the chance to win two tickets to the awards and a night’s stay at the venue, Grange St Paul’s Hotel. We’ve [...]
Three things you didn’t know about… August 31, 2014 Chief executive of Nutmeg Nick Hungerford 1 He’s one of the few Brits to have trained with both the US Navy Seals and Top Gun fighter pilots. 2 After a severe neck injury playing rugby he spent a season refereeing, got half-decent at it and ended up being the youngest referee (18) of an age-grade [...]
Best of the Brokers for 01 September 2014 August 31, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com DEBENHAMS N+1 Singer has upgraded to “Buy” from “Hold”, but cut the target price to 80p from 85p. The broker thinks Debenhams revised strategy and disciplined approach offers clear medium term upside potential, and that a “trading buy” looks justified now ahead of [...]
London Report: Economic data to show UK recovery on a steady course August 31, 2014 ECONOMIC data due this week appears to show continuing steady growth in the UK’s economy, with little chance of an interest rate rise when the Bank of England announces its latest decision on Thursday. Mortgage approvals data for July, due today, may have dipped slightly, but analysts expect this weakness to be temporary. Meanwhile manufacturing [...]
New York Report: US coal to rise on Russia bid August 31, 2014 BEATEN-DOWN US coal company stocks may receive a lift in coming weeks if deteriorating relations between Russia and the West push President Vladimir Putin to shut off Europe’s natural gas supply. The crisis in eastern Ukraine has emboldened Europe and the United States to impose broad sanctions on Russia. But Europe finds itself in a [...]
Chilango raises £2.2m with its burrito bond August 28, 2014 London burrito restaurant Chilango has raised a tasty sum through its so-called “burrito bond”, which it funded through crowdfunding platform CrowdCube. The Mexican food chain raised £2.2m, more than double what it was aiming for. Almost 750 investors bought into the four-year mini-bond, which offers a fixed-rate of eight per cent in cash twice a [...]
Abercrombie & Ditch – logos go as sales fall August 28, 2014 ABERCROMBIE & Fitch shares slumped yesterday after it reported its 10th straight decline in quarterly like-for-like sales. The retailer said it planned to shed its traditional logo-centric clothes in a bid to revive the brand as like-for-like sales fell seven per cent in the second quarter.
