ANALYST VIEWS: CAN DIAGEO SUSTAIN ITS TREND OF RISING SALES? May 5, 2011 IAN SHACKLETON | NOMURA We believe growth of five per cent in 2011 is achievable, and could accelerate in 2012. This combined with a more aggressive attitude to building in emerging markets and in M&A continues to make Diageo shares look attractive. There was further improvement in price/mix in markets. KEITH BOWMAN | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN [...]
Lloyds leads slide in banking stocks as FTSE loses ground May 5, 2011 SLIDING commodity prices thumped energy stocks and miners while Lloyds Banking Group led financials down, pulling Britain’s top share index lower yesterday, with technicals pointing to further weakness. Bearish investors came to the fore as heavyweight commodity stocks Royal Dutch Shell and Lonmin fell 1.8 and 4.1 per cent respectively on lower crude and metal [...]
Stick with Tweed on the Roodee May 5, 2011 WHEN ST Nicholas Abbey won the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster in 2009, he was hailed as racing’s new Messiah and was fully expected to win last season’s 2,000 Guineas, Derby, Arc, Breeders’ Cup and anything else connections could squeeze in along the way! Sadly, his bubble burst in the Guineas (his only run as [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS SAGE OUT OF THE WOODS? May 4, 2011 JULIAN YATES | INVESTEC The results were overall in-line, driven by slightly better revenues but due to higher financing costs, earnings per share were just one per cent ahead. The US remains a concern with underperformance at both the top and bottom line. PAUL MORLAND | PEEL HUNT Growth momentum has continued, but investment in [...]
Frankel to miss Derby but Cecil still favourite May 3, 2011 WORLD DOMINATION has been installed as the new favourite for the Investec Derby after trainer Henry Cecil revealed much-fancied Frankel will not run. Cecil is reluctant to step up 2000 Guineas winner Frankel to a mile and a half next month at Epsom, leaving his stablemate to take top billing. “I think the Derby would [...]
HSBC to sell off $30bn of assets in strategic overhaul May 3, 2011 HSBC is set to announce some $30bn (£18.2bn) in asset sales as part of chief executive Stuart Gulliver’s strategic rebalancing of the bank. Insiders have confirmed the $30bn figure to City A.M., which was estimated by Barclays Capital analyst Rohith Chandra-Rajan in a note to investors. The sales will form part of implementing what Gulliver [...]
ECONOMISTS’ VIEWS: WILL THE BANK OF ENGLAND HIKE INTEREST RATES THIS WEEK? May 2, 2011 MICHAEL SAUNDERS | CITIGROUP “On one side, we believe recent data and surveys do not invalidate the logic of the Bank’s February Inflation Report, which judged that a rate rise around mid-year would be consistent with returning inflation to target over time. On the other hand, we do not actually expect a hike at the [...]
Shell profit jumps on oil price rise April 28, 2011 Royal Dutch Shell has beaten forecasts with a 22 per cent rise in first-quarter profit, thanks to higher oil and gas prices and fatter refining margins. Europe’s largest oil and gas company by market value said the current cost of supply (CCS) net income rose to $6.9bn (£4.2bn) in the first three months of the [...]
Bank likely to hold rates after growth figures April 27, 2011 HOMEOWNERS will be breathing a sigh of relief after economists said the Bank of England would delay any plans for an interest rate rise due to yesterday’s anaemic growth figures. Markets expectations for a rate rise have already been pushed towards well into the summer, and they are likely to move back further after the [...]
FTSE closes at two-month high despite light volumes April 26, 2011 aBRITAIN’S FTSE 100 closed at its highest level in over two months yesterday, albeit in light volumes, as earnings from the US and Europe supported gains ahead of results from UK companies such as ARM and BP. The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed up 0.9 per cent at 6,069.36, with volumes still thin after the four-day [...]