Best of the Brokers October 11, 2012 JD SPORTS Seymour Pierce upgraded its rating for the sports retailer from “hold” to “buy,” a and rose its target price from 800p to 1000p. The broker made the change in light of its acquisition of Blacks and JJB’s passing into administration, as well as Sports Direct’s plans to develop in e-commerce. The progress is [...]
FTSE breaks its losing streak as US jobless data provides some cheer October 11, 2012 BRITAIN’S top shares snapped a three session losing streak yesterday, led higher by gains in commodity and financial stocks as a fall in US jobless claims fuelled recovery hopes. The weekly claims figure was the lowest for four years and complemented last week’s fall in US unemployment, providing another piece of evidence that the economy [...]
Apple share drop erases market gains October 11, 2012 US stocks ended flat yesterday after gains brought by a sign of improvement in the labor market were erased in part by a drop in Apple shares after a legal setback in a court ruling. Apple fell two per cent to $628.10 after a US appeals court overturned a preliminary injunction on the sale of [...]
Lack of capital and onerous HMRC rules are restraining tech start-ups October 11, 2012 THE chancellor’s announcement this week that employees could get a stake in their companies in exchange for waiving certain employment rights was a rare flash of creativity from the Treasury. But it will come as no surprise if, in a year’s time, the opposition starts impishly asking how many businesses have made use of the [...]
Cameron’s conservative ideal of striving is holding back the big society October 11, 2012 DAVID Cameron’s conference speech this week was supposed to be a defence of conservative values. But by defining the Tories as “the party of the want to be better-off,” he revealed the limit of his ambitions. Striving is all very well. A nation caught on the treadmill of striving might well be the beau ideal [...]
Why bashing the wealthy will not raise tax revenue October 11, 2012 IT’S a curious state of affairs when tax is wielded as a stick with which to beat the affluent. Whether it’s capping tax reliefs, limiting pension contributions or increasing stamp duty to 7 per cent for £2m homes, it is noticeable that the constant stream of new tax measures is no longer about raising revenue, [...]
Was sloppy leadership at BAE to blame for the company’s failed merger with EADS? October 11, 2012 YES David Buik Although the merits of this ambitious merger were always clear, many will not be aware of the technical nuances involved with a deal of this magnitude, such as stock exchange etiquette and share price protection. It seems rather sloppy to me that BAE chairman Dick Olver and chief executive Ian King did [...]
Rapid responses October 11, 2012 Domestic security [Re: Should home owners have the right to use disproportionate force against intruders? Wednesday] The current law provides homeowners with more than enough protection, and genuine mistakes about the need to use force are allowed for. A threat to property cannot outweigh the value of human life, but the burglary situation is different, as [...]
A fascinating, brutal and, in this case, very personal look at a post-Leveson media landscape October 11, 2012 THEATRE ENQUIRY Barbican | *** Being close to the subject of a play doesn’t necessarily make you any better equipped to review it. A soldier may be on first name terms with the horrors of war but that doesn’t always make him the best person to appreciate the artistic merits of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse [...]
Theatre: Damned by Despair and Scenes from an Execution October 11, 2012 THEATRE DAMNED BY DESPAIR The National Theatre | By Naomi Mdudu ** THE LAST time I saw Oliver award-winning actor Bertie Carvel he was playing Miss Trunchbull in childhood classic, Matilda: The Musical. Last night we were reacquainted as he took to the stage as Enrico, a similarly vile character, in Frank McGuinness’ take on Tirso [...]
