Retail sales fall less than expected September 15, 2011 Retail sales fell slightly less than expected in August, but the underlying trend remained flat, as consumers continued to rein in spending at a time of great economic uncertainty, official data showed. The Office for National Statistics said sales volumes including automotive fuel fell 0.2 per cent last month, slightly better than forecasts for a [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 11, 2011 WM MORRISON Deutsche Banks rate the supermarket group as “hold” with a target price of 310p, up from 272p. Following results last week, the broker says Morrisons is in a good place relative to other UK food retailers, but lacks growth potential compared to other stocks in the sector. If the supermarket does not achieve [...]
Home Retail boss expects sales to drop September 8, 2011 THE chief executive of Home Retail Group warned that hopes of an “Olympics bounce” on the high street next year could prove misguided. Terry Duddy told City A.M. that consumer confidence was as low as in early 2009. The Argos and Homebase owner reported a second quarter slump which stopped short of analysts’ worst fears. [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: ARE THINGS LOOKING UP FOR HOME RETAIL GROUP? September 8, 2011 DAVID JEARY | INVESTEC Our initial estimates suggest that Argos is likely to make a small operating loss in the first-half. This is certainly not conducive to more positive sentiment and the debate on its weak performance… will not therefore abate. PHILIP DORGAN | PANMURE GORDON It looks likely that group profits will fall for [...]
Argos sales fall but pace of decline slows September 8, 2011 Homeware retailer Argos trimmed the fall in its sales in the past quarter but remains under pressure, its owner Home Retail Group said in a trading statement. Consumers have dramatically scaled back their buying of expensive electrical goods, leaving sales at the catalogue specialist down 8.6 per cent in the three months to the end [...]
Insurers hit out at no win no fee claims September 5, 2011 AMBULANCE-CHASING lawyers came under fire from major UK retailers and insurers demanding reform of the booming market for personal injury claims yesterday. Businesses led by the Association of British Insurers are fighting back against a surge in “no win no fee” legal actions behind a 72 per cent jump in the number of bodily injury [...]
Mothercare joins shorted UK retailers September 1, 2011 INVESTORS stayed sceptical on the UK’s mid-market retailers in August, new figures from Data Explorers show. Mothercare and Ocado both joined the list of the most shorted stocks on the FTSE All-Share as hedge funds bet their shares would fall. Publishing group Yell, Argos owner Home Retail and Dixons were among the most shorted for [...]
King of Shaves valued at £25m August 14, 2011 SHAVING paraphernalia firm King of Shaves has been valued at almost £25m after selling an increased stake to Japanese investor Kai Industries. The blade manufacturer tripled its holding from seven per cent to 21 per cent, according to the Sunday Telegraph. Kai and King of Shaves have had a successful relationship in the past, with [...]
SABMiller prepares new assault on Foster’s August 10, 2011 Global brewer SABMiller is set to renew its assault on Australian bid target Foster’s later this month with a slightly higher offer likely to succeed after rival bidders fail to appear, bankers and investors told Reuters. The London-based brewer will wait for Foster’s full-year results on 23 August, which will make dismal reading with beer [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 8, 2011 HOME RETAIL GROUP Nomura rates the owner of Argos and Homebase as “reduce” with a target price of 130p, and reduces its full-year forecatss for the group by around 16 per cent. The broker sees profits of £137.4m for February 2012, with like-for-like first half sales at Argos down nine per cent, given tough World [...]