Analyst Views: What was your reaction to Debenhams’ half-year performance? April 16, 2015 DAVID JEARY | CANACCORD GENUITY We remain concerned about Debenhams’ trading prospects for a number of reasons. It remains too early in our view to judge whether Debenhams has been successful in weaning itself and its customers from its traditionally highly promotional high-low pricing strategy. CAROLINE GULLIVER | JEFFERIES Debenhams’ first half results have beaten [...]
City Moves for 17 April 2015 | Who’s switching jobs April 16, 2015 Investec Securities Paul Satchell has been appointed pan-European chemicals analyst at Investec Securities. He joins from Canaccord Genuity, where he has been an equity analyst since 2010. Satchell has almost 19 years’ experience as a sell-side analyst, and has held further equity analyst positions at ING, Merrill Lynch, Flemings and Paribas. He also has 16 [...]
Cricket Comment: Scratching around won’t do, England must find form fast April 15, 2015 IF ENGLAND put a rocky start behind them and win the first Test in the West Indies it will relieve some pressure, but the bigger picture is that they’ve got to be looking ahead to New Zealand and Australia. Both are really tough opponents, so when they visit us this summer England need to be [...]
Flour-miller Carr’s sees raised profits despite sliding revenue April 13, 2015 RISING sales and food production pushed profits for Carr’s Group upwards, despite a decline in revenue, the company reported yesterday. The agriculture, food and engineering firm posted a modest profit before tax of £10.6m for the six months ending 28 February, up by more than 5.4 per cent on the same period last year. Revenue, [...]
General Election 2015: This one chart shows how you should vote based on your investments April 13, 2015 This might be one of the most nail-biting elections in living memory, but that makes things even more difficult for undecided voters. Now the nice people at Investec have made it easier, with a chart showing exactly how you should vote, depending on which sector you invest in. The research shows that while banks, utilities [...]
Investec Comment: How cheap oil is boosting small businesses April 12, 2015 THE extraordinary decline in the price of oil has been one of the most important economic stories of the past year. Brent Crude fell from over $110 per barrel in June 2014 to below $50 in January 2015, slumping to multi-year lows. Prices have increased marginally since then, but with factors like the interim deal [...]
City Moves for 10 April 2015 | Who’s switching jobs April 9, 2015 Payne Hicks Beach Kathryn Bradbury has been appointed partner in the law firm’s private client department. She specialises in immigration, and joins from Gherson. Bradbury has particular expertise in EU free movement cases, and has also worked at the Legal Aid Agency. Peel Hunt The corporate broking, advisory and trading house has announced two senior [...]
Cricket Comment: Pack leader Jimmy can rack up 500 wickets April 8, 2015 ENGLAND seamer Jimmy Anderson is a class act. He got a bit of stick over the winter in the one-day format but he is one of the best bowlers this country has ever produced, if not the best. He has taken 380 Test wickets and only needs another three to equal Sir Ian Botham’s all-time [...]
What pension reform means for small firms April 6, 2015 Yesterday, the most important reforms to UK savings policy in a generation came into force. Anyone aged 55 or over is now free to use their pension pot as they wish. They no longer have to buy an annuity, and can even take out some or all of it in cash. Whereas previously only those [...]
Sanne share price rises 10 per cent on its first day of trading after IPO April 1, 2015 Shares in corporate administration provider Sanne Group surged on their debut yesterday, opening at 221p per share, a 10 per cent premium on its listing price. The company raised £142m when it floated last Friday in a move which valued the company at £232m. Previous majority holder Inflexion Private Equity said the initial public offer [...]