CITY VIEWS: HAVE YOU NOTICED THAT CONSUMER PRICE INFLATION HAS INCREASED? January 19, 2010 JONATHAN RANDLE | PTS CONSULTING “Not particularly. In my general shopping I haven’t seen any difference, though I’m quite frivolous with my money anyway. Inflation is something I expect to see going forward, when quantitative easing is reversed. I sold my car to get a cheaper one earlier this year, to save a bit of [...]
Retailers fear long hangover following Christmas splurge January 14, 2010 BRITONS defied the recession to splash out on laptops, TVs, food mixers and robotic hamsters at Christmas, but retailers fear cutbacks this year as real incomes are trimmed by taxes rise and unemployment. Analysts rushed to upgrade 2009-10 profit forecasts for firms including electricals group DSG, household goods retailer Home Retail and bicycles-to-car parts chain [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 14, 2010 XSTRATA Investec Securities yesterday initiated coverage on what it called “the predator of the mining industry”. The broker put a “buy” recommendation on the stock, saying that looking beyond Xstrata’s M&A capabilities, the firm has excellent organic growth prospects and the best leverage of its peer group to rising commodity prices. BOVIS HOMES Panmure Gordon [...]
ARE THE TESCO FIGURES A SIGN OF BETTER TIMES AHEAD? January 12, 2010 SAM HART | CHARLES STANLEY “We continue to believe that conditions in the UK food retail industry remain relatively benign and expect a tail wind of higher food price inflation to return later in 2010. As such, we expect Tesco to continue to deliver high single/ low double-digit growth for at least the next three [...]
Sainsbury’s in festive feast as sales rise January 7, 2010 J SAINSBURY was given a festive boost with sales rising by 3.8 per cent as shoppers snapped up food and drink for Christmas. The like-for-like sales figures at Britain’s third largest supermarket chain, revealed yesterday, beat the forecasts of City analysts who had predicted a 3.5 per cent gain. Sainsbury’s slashed prices on its beer, [...]
Sainsbury’s reports “record” Christmas performance January 7, 2010 SUPERMARKET chain J Sainsbury was given a festive boost with sales rising by 3.8 per cent as shoppers snapped up food and drink for Christmas. The like-for-like sales figures for the 12 weeks to Boxing Day beat the forecasts of City analysts who had predicted a 3.5 per cent gain. The data also show that [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 4, 2010 CARNIVAL Cruise operator Carnival’s full year results were ahead of market expectations and Charles Stanley expects yields to continue to recover with the US economy in 2010. It believes cruising remains a structural growth industry with good prospects for growth in Europe and Asia. Booking and occupancy levels remain strong, it said. J SAINSBURY Shore [...]
Inflation continues to accelerate, fuelled by bumper energy prices December 15, 2009 INFLATION accelerated in November to a six-month high of 1.9 per cent as higher energy costs fuelled price rises and pushed the rate closer to the Bank of England’s two per cent target. The retail prices index (RPI), on which many wage negotiations are based, moved back into positive territory for the first time since [...]
BRC: solid start to Christmas despite weaker sales growth December 7, 2009 BRITISH retailers saw weaker growth in sales values last month after experiencing their best October since 2002, the latest survey from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) will show today. Retail sales rose 1.8 per cent on a like-for-like basis in November compared to the same period last year when sales volumes fell 2.6 per cent [...]
Sales grow at Morrisons November 19, 2009 WM Morrison yesterday unveiled strong third quarter sales, a day after the City and investors were left reeling from the shock departure of its chief executive Marc Bolland. The group said like-for-like sales rose 4.3 per cent in the 13 weeks to 1 November, just below expectations, as slowing food inflation pegged back growth from [...]