ANALYST VIEWS: IS PUNCH IN A BETTER POSITION FOR THE FUTURE? June 8, 2011 DOUGLAS JACK | NUMIS SECURITIES The group remains on track in terms of expectations for 2012 and we expect an upgrade next year despite the split. In terms of this year, trading has benefitted from a number of operational initiatives including menu-change and staffing, where the group has invested in more area managers per pub. [...]
NEW WII FAILS TO IMPRESS June 8, 2011 THE launch of Nintendo’s new Wii U failed to address investor concerns that the firm is ceding ground in the so-called “console wars”, sending its shares tumbling to a five-year low. The Wii U, complete with a new touchscreen controller, is aimed at winning back hardcore gamers from rivals such as Microsoft’s Xbox. Nintendo shares closed [...]
Orange JV to expand retail presence June 8, 2011 Everything Everywhere yesterday announced that it plans to launch 30 new stores in the UK this year. The company, which was created from the merger of Orange and T-Mobile, already has over 720 stores and says it is looking to further expand its retail presence. Chief executive Tom Alexander said the stores will be branded [...]
BAE sells remaining stake in Saab June 8, 2011 Defence contractor BAE Systems has sold the final part of its stake in weapon maker Saab, 13 years after first investing in the German company. BAE began selling off shares in Saab in 2005, with the latest sale of 11.2m shares netting the group $254m (£155m). Shares in Saab, which is separate from the well-known [...]
Mitsubishi Estate buys Barings HQ June 8, 2011 Japanese property company Mitsubishi Estate has bought the old Barings headquarters at 6-8 Bishopsgate, paying £95m for the 20-storey tower. The firm has already bought the building next door, 150 Leadenhall Street, with both properties falling within the City of London Corporation’s designated area for tall buildings.
FESTIVALS KING TO FLOAT FIRM ON AIM June 8, 2011 RELIEF at Music Festivals, the new live music venture from Mean Fiddler founder Vince Power, which will this morning announce its intention to achieve a £10m valuation by floating on the alternative investment market (AIM). So no more sleepless nights at Merchant Securities, the adviser on the deal, after Power managed to raise the £6.5m [...]
High demand pushes up Londoners’ rents June 8, 2011 RENTS in London and the south east shot up faster than in all other UK regions in the three months to April, a study revealed today. And rents in the capital are expected to increase more than in any other region in the coming months, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Fifty-nine [...]
CITY A.M. | SHADOW MPC STILL DIVIDED OVER INTEREST RATES June 8, 2011 ALLISTER HEATH | CITY A.M. “Quarter per cent rise. Despite some concerning economic data, the economy is expanding, albeit modestly, and creating jobs. The time for “emergency” low rates has passed, and inflationary pressures persist.” SIMON WARD | HENDERSON “Raise to one per cent. Higher inflation is becoming embedded: the value-added deflator, which excludes import [...]
Fitch to downgrade US if debt repayments missed June 8, 2011 AMERICA could lose its AAA credit rating if the government fails to raise its debt ceiling and subsequently misses interest payments in August, leading ratings agency Fitch warned yesterday. Some Republicans have been flirting with the notion that a brief US default might be an acceptable price to pay if it forces the White House [...]
Failure to cut deficit may see UK’s rating lowered June 8, 2011 STERLING fell to a one-month low against the euro and slid against the dollar yesterday morning, after a Moody’s analyst was quoted saying the UK was at risk of losing its top-notch rating. The UK could lose its AAA rating if growth remained weak and the government failed to meet its fiscal consolidation targets, the [...]
