Retail reporting bonanza set to reveal festive cheer January 12, 2010 TOMORROW promises a reporting bonanza, with Christmas updates expected to reveal robust trading over the festive season. Home Retail Group, owner of Argos and Homebase, is expected to reveal an increase in their 2009/2010 profit forecast after sales growth last year. Meanwhile Halfords, HMV, Mothercare, Premier Oil and Premier Foods, the UK’s largest food producer, [...]
Tesco in line for sales hike January 10, 2010 TESCO is being tipped for a like-for-like sales hike of up to four per cent when it issues its trading update tomorrow. The figures are expected to reflect a healthy seasonal boost as customers splashed out over the holiday. Analysts predict that the supermarket chain’s doubling of Clubcard points over the period would help to [...]
Mining and oil stocks drive London to a 16-month high January 4, 2010 Strength in commodity stocks and banks drove Britain’s leading share index to a 16-month closing high yesterday, the first session of 2010, outweighing falls from real estate firms and life insurers. The FTSE 100 closed up 87.46 points, or 1.6 per cent, at 5,500.34, its highest close since Sept. 2, 2008 – the month when [...]
Bank jitters and commodity weakness hits London stocks December 17, 2009 Jitters in the financial sector prompted by tough new proposed regulations sent banks sliding yesterday while commodity stocks also retreated on weaker raw material prices, pulling the FTSE 100 down 1.9 per cent by close. The FTSE 100 closed down 102.65 points at 5,217.61, having closed 34.49 points, or 0.7 per cent, higher on Wednesday [...]
Christmas will be make or break for our retailers November 8, 2009 WHEN the Christmas lights on Regent Street were switched on last week, it marked the beginning of the most important period of the year for high-street retailers. Many can earn 60 per cent of their annual profits in the peak weeks of Christmas. After a dismal end to 2008 when it seemed like retail chains [...]
Boots backs boss Hornby as sales jump November 3, 2009 ALLIANCE Boots, Britain’s biggest pharmacy chain, yesterday said that it was on track to beat current trading expectations after reporting a jump in sales at its Health & Beauty and wholesale divisions. Chief executive Andy Hornby, who formerly ran near-failed bank HBOS?and supermarket Asda, announced the good news as he unveiled his set of results [...]
Energy stocks keep the FTSE warm despite banking falls October 27, 2009 THE FTSE 100 gained 0.2 per cent yesterday, keeping level after a rally from heavyweight energy issues offset weakness in banks and mining stocks. The index closed 9.23 points higher at 5,200.97, after ending 1 per cent lower on Monday. The blue-chip index has gained about 51 per cent since hitting a six-year low in [...]
HOMEBASE BOOSTS HOME RETAIL? October 21, 2009 HOME Retail Group’s yesterday said its first half-profits rose one per cent to £123m meeting analyst expectations. Total sales rose by three per cent to £2.8bn due to a boost from DIY enthusiasts lifting sales at Homebase by three per cent – offsetting a two per cent decline in sales at Argos
THE TIPSTER MACRO DATA KEY TO THE WEEK AHEAD October 18, 2009 WITH a slew of macroeconomic data on the way, sterling-US dollar – otherwise known as cable – is sharply in focus this week. Although the pound made some solid gains at the end of last week, these may well be reversed on Friday when the UK third quarter GDP figure is released. Forecasts have been [...]
Range of large cap firms set to give markets an overview October 18, 2009 THERE is a mixed bag of companies reporting this week, but the diverse selection will give investors plenty to digest. FTSE 100 software company Autonomy will post its third quarter results tomorrow, though its management have already signalled that it will be another strong performance. It said earlier this month that it expects to report [...]