LONDON WEEK AHEAD May 20, 2012 GIVEN property developer British Land’s significant presence in the City, its full-year results will be closely watched this morning for signs of how the Eurozone crisis is hitting the company’s retail lettings. Budget airline Ryanair will also release its full-year results, as will outsourcing group Mitie. The spotlight will turn to the UK high street [...]
Mellow yellow: adding warmth to chilly spring May 16, 2012 Mango scarf print dress, £34.99, mango.com Ultra-chic, this belted dress manages to evoke the golden hue of summer while keeping a solid work-worthy respectability. The mosaic is very on trend. Massimo Polomba Ella Narcissus yellow tote, £350, asos.com Hand-crafted in Italy, this gorgeous tote will carry your life in it easily – without looking sloppy. [...]
Stepping into summer with colour and verve May 2, 2012 Carven linen and patent leather slingbacks, £325, netaporter.com The fashion pack’s favourite new label, these multi-texture, multi-colour slingbacks are the perfect way to bring summer to work. Acne Ambrosia tasselled leather sandals, £330, brownsfashion.com A-listers love this Swedish brand, and these tasselled sandals are the latest must-have. Gorgeous earth tones make them versatile and elegant. [...]
Asos hit as rate of growth dips in tough times April 26, 2012 ONLINE fashion retailer Asos yesterday reported a double whammy of a slowdown in sales growth, coupled with a drop in prices due to the reduction in spending power of its teenage customers. In the company’s fourth trading quarter in the three months to 31 March UK sales nudged up by only four per cent year-on-year. [...]
FTSE lifted by Shell and Barclays boost April 26, 2012 The FTSE 100 opened on the front foot today with gains fuelled by the energy sector after Shell reported encouraging fourth quarter profits. In banking Barclays announced a 22 per cent rise in first quarter earnings, which also helped to inject some momentum into the market. Investors shrugged off yesterday’s bleak news that the UK [...]
LONDON REPORT April 22, 2012 UK investors are set for a busy week with a slew of earnings both here and on Wall Street, the release of Britain’s quarterly GDP rate and a decision from the Fed on the US Bank rate. Both the Nationwide Housing Prices report and Nationwide Consumer Confidence report are due out this week and today’s [...]
BEST of the BROKERS April 3, 2012 KCOM JP Morgan has upgraded the communications firm to “overweight” from “neutral” with an 80p target, arguing that its recent share performance is unwarranted. JP Morgan points to the firms’ “attractive returns” and “solid operations”. SHIRE PHARMA UBS reiterates its “buy” rating on the biopharmaceutical firm, with a target price of 2,250p. The bad news [...]
Vive la revolution in online shopping March 29, 2012 It wasn’t long ago that people winced at the thought of ordering a book online, let alone something as complex and personal as a suit. But a new crop of retailers have perfected the formula and online shopping for high-end menswear is amongst the fastest growing areas in the retail sector. The internet now accounts [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 7, 2012 HALFORDS Panmure Gordon has upgraded the car and bicycle parts retailer from “hold” to “buy” and raised its target price to 375p from 300p, despite downgrading its pre-tax profit forecasts by eight and 10 per cent respectively for the next two years. The upgrade is made on the basis that the broker expects Halfords to [...]
ASOS BOUNCES BACK AS IT POSTS STRONG DECEMBER TAKINGS January 19, 2012 ASOS, the online fashion retailer, kicked the retail gloom to report a 46 per cent rise in sales in the third quarter boosted by rapid growth overseas and a solid performance in its domestic market. UK sales growth bounced back to 10 per cent in the second quarter from one per cent in the previous [...]