Wetherspoon margins hit by VAT costs January 18, 2012 JD WETHERSPOON reported better-than-expected sales in the Christmas period but its chairman Tim Martin called on the chancellor to rethink “punishing” tax increases levied on the pub sector. Martin said the company is still on course to open around 50 pubs in the current financial year but warned that it may scale back future expansion [...]
City’s lawyers see rise in pay and bonuses January 18, 2012 CITY lawyers enjoyed an average increase of almost £10,000 on annual bonuses last year, up 25 per cent from the previous year, according to research out this morning from legal recruiter Laurence Simons. The 2011 average was £35,500 – up from £26,500 in 2010. However, the number of lawyers who received a bonus fell last [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HOW HAS WETHERSPOON FARED AGAINST RISING COSTS? January 18, 2012 PATRICK COFFEY | LIBERUM CAPITAL Despite JD Wetherspoon’s investment for the future, we believe the company’s valuation is inconsistent with a sector under pressure from rising costs and macro-uncertainty… We reiterate our “sell” recommendation. PAUL HICKMAN | PEEL HUNT Posting a good second quarter result shows Wetherspoon robustly on course for our modest earnings growth [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 18, 2012 Aberdeen Asset Management Peter Elston, an Asian investment strategist based in Singapore, has been promoted to the newly created role of head of Asia Pacific strategy and asset allocation. Elston has been a member of the global strategy team and the Asia Pacific multi-asset fund tactical asset allocation team since 2009. He joined Aberdeen as [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 18, 2012 ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND Goldman Sachs rates the bank “neutral” and has raised its target price from 25p to 30p. The broker thinks the plans to restructure RBS Global Banking and Markets could hit earnings per share by six per cent, but raise returns on equity by 1.2 per cent by 2014. But it notes [...]
Miners and banks push FTSE to highest end since October January 18, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index nosed ahead yesterday to close above 5,700 points for the first time since the end of October 2011, as strength in heavyweight miners and banks countered falls in integrated oils. The FTSE 100 ended the day up 8.42 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 5,702.37, just below the intra-day peak of [...]
US stocks jump on word of IMF plans January 18, 2012 US stocks jumped to their highest since July yesterday as the International Monetary Fund sought to help countries hit by the European debt crisis, while forecast-beating earnings from Goldman Sachs dispelled some worries over bank profits. The stronger-than-expected earnings from Goldman Sachs followed disappointing results from Citigroup on Tuesday and JPMorgan Chase last week. Goldman [...]
England launch fightback with two late strikes January 18, 2012 Swann and Anderson rein in Pakistan as Broad urges batsmen to learn from their mistakes and create the platform for a dramatic turnaround ENGLAND fast bowler Stuart Broad insists his side can begin to target an unlikely victory in the first Test against Pakistan after a disciplined bowling performance culminated in two vital breakthroughs at [...]
No way back from batting shambles January 18, 2012 ENGLAND’S fightback in Dubai yesterday featured many of the qualities you’d expect of a side ranked No1 in the world, but I fear Andrew Strauss’s men may have forfeited any hope of winning the series with their substandard efforts with the bat on day one. Having won the toss England would have been looking to [...]
Sticky Andy prepares for Vasselin test January 18, 2012 BRITAIN’S Andy Murray admits he is facing an unexpected challenge from the elements at the Australian Open: soaring temperatures that cause the courts to melt. Murray, who meets Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin in round two this morning, found his feet sticking to the acrylic surface in his opening win on Tuesday. “The court is incredibly sticky [...]
