Is Sir Mervyn King right to excuse failure to meet deficit targets on economic problems? September 23, 2012 YES Philip Shaw August’s borrowing figures were a little better than expected, but the seriousness of the UK’s public finances remains plain to see. Stripping out one-off factors shows that, so far in 2012-13, the deficit is running at £2.6bn per month higher than last year, leaving George Osborne struggling to achieve his aim of [...]
What did you make of Imperial’s trading update? September 20, 2012 DAMIAN MCNEELA | PANMURE GORDON Imperial’s in line trading statement should come as a relief, given the degree of nervousness ahead of the statement. The shares continue to trade at 15 per cent discount to its international peer group which given the firm’s cash generation is undeserved. We repeat our “buy” recommendation. MARTIN DEBOO | [...]
Enticing rich smokers to light up won’t be enough in the long run September 20, 2012 SPARK up a celebratory cigar – Imperial Tobacco has managed to offset the shift towards cheaper brands in recession-hit countries by upping prices elsewhere. The firm has taken a gamble that richer customers – already resigned to paying steep taxes to fulfill their nicotine craving – won’t balk at an extra premium on their favourite brands. [...]
We must start with Lazio win, says Dembele September 19, 2012 TOTTENHAM forward Moussa Dembele believes that anything less than victory tonight against Lazio will undermine their Europa League ambitions and that his team-mates should be targeting European success. Manager Andre Villas-Boas on Tuesday underlined his belief that Europe’s secondary competition is “very important” and having won it in 2011 with Porto, admits that he wants [...]
Lloyds first bank to use cheap funds from state programme September 19, 2012 LLOYDS became the first bank to use the government’s new Funding for Lending scheme (FLS) yesterday, drawing down £1bn from the Bank of England. It pledged to lend the money on to businesses and households. However analysts said they do not expect Lloyds’ overall lending to rise, as the bank is still rebalancing in the [...]
Wages crushed as inflation set to rocket again September 18, 2012 HARD-PRESSED workers took another blow in August as inflation stayed persistently above wage rises for the 27th consecutive month. Economists fear inflation will jump yet again towards the end of this year and could even hit three per cent again in 2013, increasing the pressure on household budgets even further. Consumer price inflation came in [...]
FTSE feels pain from Spain as the Eurozone waits for a bailout plea September 18, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index eased for a second day yesterday, retreating further off recent six-month highs on uncertainty over whether steps taken by the US and Europe will be enough to kick-start the global economy. In UK’s top trading partner the Eurozone, a big hurdle is Spain. Madrid’s reluctance to make a formal request for [...]
Best of the Brokers September 17, 2012 RBS Investec has cut the bank from “hold” to “sell” with a price target of 245p. The broker believes RBS’s return on equity is too weak to prop up its current share price. ADMIRAL Espirito Santo has lowered its rating to “sell” with a fair value price of 900p. The broker thinks the insurer is [...]
Best of the Brokers September 16, 2012 KIER Liberum has cut its rating on the construction and property group from “buy” to “hold” with a target price of 1,400p. The broker remains impressed by the firm’s management team and strong balance sheet, but has downgraded the stock to reflect a soaring share price. Liberum also points out that Kier’s aim of expanding [...]
StanChart has a silver lining says Investec September 10, 2012 MARKETS have yet to recover from Standard Chartered’s Iranian sanction-breaking scandal, and so are failing to recognise the bank’s underlying strengths, analysts from Investec said yesterday. Although the bank’s share price has recovered roughly 30 per cent in the last month, it is still feeling the effects of US regulatory action – even though the [...]