CITY VIEWS | HAS MARKS & SPENCER LOST ITS SPARK? May 22, 2012 PORTOLEIO MATTHEW CHARTIS I don’t think so. Its retail services are very good so this is just due to reduced profitability in the economy. If you compare it with Sainsbury or Tesco it is a much higher value brand and its bakery is exceptional. NATASHA RUSKINA IG GROUP No. I think this dip is just [...]
BEST of the BROKERS May 22, 2012 DOMINO’S PIZZA Liberum Capital has upgraded the pizza delivery company from “sell” to “hold” with a target price of 414p, and raises its full-year earnings per share by five per cent. The broker says Domino’s should benefit from the recent bad weather, and expects a strong trading update on 23 July. INVESTEC Numis rates the [...]
Investors keep pressure on weak governments’ borrowing May 21, 2012 SPAIN saw government borrowing costs edge up and its stocks slip further again yesterday, as uncertainty over the future of the Eurozone and the stability of the country’s banking sector continued to unnerve investors. Yields on 10-year Spanish bonds rose sharply from 6.266 per cent to 6.322 before dropping back to 6.276 per cent at [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 21, 2012 DFJ Esprit The cross-stage venture capital firm has appointed Peter Keen as its a new venture partner, specialising in medtech and life science investments. Keen joins with 28 years’ experience in the sector. He was co-founder of Chriscience Group, chief financial officer of Arakis, and is currently non-executive director of Horizon Discovery and Q-Chip. Jefferies [...]
As the Eurozone crisis progresses, would a Greek exit lead to a break-up of the euro? May 20, 2012 YES Jason Gaywood The overwhelming likelihood is that Greece will be forced to leave the euro. A stand-off between Angela Merkel and anti-austerity parties in Greece creates a difficult conundrum – if the EU stands firm and Greece defaults, its ejection from the euro will lead to contagion risk. Other members, like Portugal, Italy, Ireland [...]
Markets strive to price in cost of Greek exit May 17, 2012 IMF chief Christine Lagarde has warned that a Greek exit from the euro would be “extremely expensive” as analysts step up their war-gaming of a disaster scenario that would see Athens crash out of the single currency. Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts have estimated that Greece will have just €1.3bn left by the end [...]
Investec cools on acquisitions as profit drops May 17, 2012 INVESTEC is not interested in any more acquisitions for now, managing director Bernard Kantor told City A.M. yesterday, after unveiling what he called “disappointing” results for the last year. The results were hit by higher-than-expected impairments in Australia due to flooding in Queensland, Kantor said. “You can’t be happy with these results, that’s clear,” he [...]
Sepura buys Vienna-based 3T for £6.4m May 16, 2012 SEPURA, a company involved in the design, development and supply of digital radios, yesterday announced the acquisition of Vienna-based 3T Communications. The deal will cost Sepura initial cash consideration of €8m (£6.4m) with further contingent consideration of up to €5m payable dependent on 3T achieving certain targets over an earn-out period. 3T designs and implements [...]
Lamprell shares plunge after it warns over looming losses May 16, 2012 OIL rig maker Lamprell yesterday saw its stock plummet after it warned that it was heading for a first half loss triggered by delays in obtaining key equipment. The bleak outlook sent investors running for cover with shares diving by more than 60 per cent after the emergency announcement. The blow came two weeks after [...]
Babcock sees profits boost from austerity May 15, 2012 DEFENCE services group Babcock International expects a profit boost from austerity measures, as governments farm out more work to the private sector to cut costs. “The current economic climate is favourable to the further growth of our business,” chief executive Peter Rogers said yesterday, adding that 2012-13 earnings should be ahead of Babcock’s previous expectations. [...]