Market report: FTSE benefits from caffeine hit as inflation falls June 19, 2012 Coffee and a promise to safeguard the Eurozone from further contagion pushed the FTSE up 0.4 per cent in early trading this morning. As a result London’s blue chip index broke through the 5,500 level – a technical level seen as key for spurring further buying. Last night European leaders at the G20 summit in [...]
Home Retail says sales fall slows at Argos June 19, 2012 Home Retail, Britain’s biggest household goods retailer, said sales at its main Argos business fell at a slower rate in its first quarter, while sales at its Homebase home improvement business were severely dented by wet weather. Sales at Argos stores that have been open for over a year fell 0.2 per cent in the [...]
LONDON THE WEEK AHEAD June 17, 2012 THE world’s leaders will be watching the fallout from the Greek election today from Mexico, at the two-day G20 summit. But despite the focus on the election results this week – plus Spain’s report today on whether €100bn is enough to solve its financial woes – there is also a busy calendar for UK business [...]
BEST of the BROKERS May 30, 2012 HOME RETAIL GROUP JP Morgan believes shares in the owner of Argos, Homebase and Habitat are “overweight” and has a target price of 133p. Although the first quarter has been difficult for the retailers, the upcoming bank holidays along with an accelerated store closure programme should provide some comfort to the markets. WOLSELEY UBS rates [...]
Experian beats forecasts and finally gets rid of PriceGrabber May 10, 2012 CREDIT information firm Experian narrowly beat profit forecasts yesterday as it finally found a buyer for PriceGrabber, its price comparison website. The firm, best known for its consumer credit checks, said pre-tax profit rose five per cent to $689m (£426m). Revenues jumped 15.5 per cent to $4.5bn – around 10 per cent of which was [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 10, 2012 McGuireWoods Philip Newhouse has been appointed managing partner of the international law firm’s London office. He replaces Anders Grundberg, who will continue as partner in the firm’s international transactions and private wealth services practice. Newhouse has previously served as managing partner at Taylor Wessing Bucharest’s office and at Haarman Hemmelrath. Coutts The wealth division of [...]
Small financiers scramble to fill gap left by FSA-regulated lenders May 3, 2012 SMALL-TIME finance companies are seeing explosive growth as banks are priced out of the market for helping small businesses to export their goods. Trade Finance Partners (TFP), which extends credit to small exporters that includes firms supplying Pepsi, Argos and a Tanzanian hydro-electic project, has booked a profit in its first year of trading on a [...]
Home Retail to scrap payout as profit falls 61pc May 2, 2012 HOME RETAIL GROUP, the owner of Argos and Homebase, has scrapped its final dividend for the first time in six years after reporting a 61 per cent slump in full-year profit. Chief executive Terry Duddy continued to defend his strategy for the group, saying there would not be “an en masse store closure programme” of [...]
FTSE shored up by strong blue chip results May 2, 2012 The FTSE 100 was flat in early trading as better than expected US manufacturing figures were offset by the bleak picture in the Eurozone. US manufacturing expanded at its fastest pace for 10 months fuelling confidence in the recovery of the world’s largest economy. However, the Eurozone’s manufacturing sector slipped further into decline last month, [...]
Home Retail profit slumps by 60pc May 2, 2012 Home Retail, the country’s biggest household goods retailer, posted a 60 per cent slump in year profit and axed its final dividend as its cash-strapped consumers bore the brunt of the economic downturn. The owner of catalogue-based Argos stores and the Homebase do-it-yourself chain said on Wednesday it remained cautious about the consumer outlook and [...]