Miners and debt concerns leave FTSE lower January 10, 2011 EXCITEMENT over takeover talks at joint replacement specialist Smith & Nephew was not enough to keep the FTSE in positive territory as miners weighed on the index today. The FTSE 100 closed down 37.39 points or 0.6 per cent at 5,946.94 as worries over demand for copper in China and the impact of floods in [...]
Debenhams markets share “on the rise” January 10, 2011 Debenhams has claimed it is winning market share from rivals as it posted a small rise in sales over the key Christmas trading period that was hit by December’s snow. Chief Executive Rob Templeman said he was pleased with the department store group’s Christmas performance given the adverse weather that gripped the nation last month [...]
Virgin mulls legal action over Heathrow disruption January 10, 2011 Virgin Atlantic may take legal action against airport operator BAA over the part closure of London’s Heathrow airport last month and will withhold fees until a probe into the disruption is complete. “We’re exploring our legal options but will continue talking to BAA and want the inquiry into what happened last month to be both [...]
Persimmon beats forecasts January 10, 2011 Housebuilder Persimmon said underlying pre-tax profit for 2010 will be at the top end of market views, despite bad weather knocking sales before Christmas. The UK’s largest homebuilder by market value said it completed 9,384 homes in the year to 31 December, against 8,976 last year. Prices rose by six per cent to 167,000 pounds, [...]
Morrisons in slim Xmas sales rise January 10, 2011 Wm Morrison Supermarkets posted a modest rise in Christmas sales – held back by disruption from severe weather and a tough consumer backdrop. Britain’s fourth-biggest grocer behind market leader Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s said sales at stores open at least a year rose one per cent excluding fuel and VAT sales tax in the six [...]
Tesco and Sainsbury’s boost UK market share January 9, 2011 THREE of the UK’s big four supermarket chains are reporting Christmas figures this week, with analysts expecting Tesco and J Sainsbury to have boosted their market share. Research company Kantar suggests that Sainsbury’s advanced its share of the British grocery market by 0.3 per cent to 16.4 per cent while Tesco saw a lift of [...]
Analyst views: What is the outlook for retailers’ figures this week? January 9, 2011 NICK BUBB | ARDEN “The resilience of trading at the premium end of the High Street, as evidenced by John Lewis, is still striking. Investors can’t buy shares in John Lewis, but they can buy shares in M&S, which is the best proxy for the strength of middle-class spending on food and clothing.” KEITH BOWMAN [...]
Online sales boost for House of Fraser January 9, 2011 UK department store House of Fraser saw same store sales jump 8.5 per cent in the five weeks to 8 January, reinforcing the success of multi-brand retailers over the Christmas period. It follows similar results last week from the John Lewis Partnership, which saw sales up 8.9 per cent compared to last year. But House [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD January 9, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● WM Morrison release its Christmas trading update today. ● Tomorrow the US National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon incident release their final report on the causes of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. ● Marks & Spencer, the iconic British department store, will publish its third quarter interim management statement tomorrow. ● Supermarket [...]
Cost of snow hitting home January 6, 2011 BRITAIN’S economy took a hammering from the winter freeze, with the service sector contracting in December and retailers being hit, it was revealed yesterday. The country’s largest sector experienced its first decline for 20 months, stalling the recovery. The business activity index, compiled by Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS), dropped [...]