FTSE 100 jumps on mining gains September 21, 2012 The blue chip index consolidated gains in Asia and the US this morning, as once again miners headed up the morning leaderboard on improved copper prices. Essar Energy and Ruspetro rose 4.15 per cent and 3.85 per cent respectively. Heavyweight miners Vedanta and Bumi added 3.42 per cent and 3.4 per cent respectively. Elsewhere, Abu [...]
Ashley’s move for JJB thrown by new interest September 18, 2012 SPORTS DIRECT’S bid for JJB has taken a setback as new offers for the retailer have surfaced, with Mike Ashley’s firm no longer considered the frontrunner for the bid. Irish consortium Stafford Group has launched a late bid for JJB, while JD Sports and JJB founder Dave Whelan have pulled out of talks, it emerged [...]
JD Sports profit hit by losses at Blacks Leisure September 18, 2012 JD SPORTS reported an expected 82 per cent drop in first half pre-tax profit yesterday as operating losses from its Blacks Leisure acquisition weighed on the group, but said it remained well positioned to hit full-year targets. The clothing and footwear firm, which sells merchandise from top brands such as Nike and Adidas, said yesterday [...]
JJB carve up set to give the lion’s share to Sports Direct September 16, 2012 THE SALE of doomed sports retailer JJB is set to be completed early this week, with the biggest slice of the firm’s 180 UK stores to go to Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct. Sources close to the deal said last night that the sale to Sports Direct, being handled by KPMG, was nearing completion although talks [...]
FTSE 100 down as BAE and EADS in the spotlight September 13, 2012 The blue chip index was trading slightly down this morning, as the mega-merger between BAE Systems and EADS grabbed the headlines. Investors were also cautious ahead of a key policy decision from the US Federal Reserve, which is expected later. Publisher Centaur was a big riser in early deals, up 11.56 per cent, on news [...]
Best of the Brokers September 5, 2012 JD SPORTS Ahead of interim reports on 18 September, Singer Capital has moved JD Sports back onto its “buy” list from “fair value” with a target price of 790p. The broker expects a fall in profits before tax from £16m to £2.4m after the company absorbed Blacks at the start of the year, but has confidence [...]
UK focus on ECB meeting outcome September 2, 2012 THURSDAY will be the highlight of the week for economists, with all eyes on results of the European Central Bank policy meeting. While the market waits to hear the latest plans to fix the Eurozone’s debt problem, the Bank of England will also be announcing its latest interest rate decision and asset purchase plan. However, [...]
FTSE 100 lower on worries over global economy August 29, 2012 The UK’s blue chip index opened lower this morning, with concerns over the health of the global economy and falling metal prices dragging shares down. Russian oil and gas company Ruspetro led the fallers, shedding 8.41 per cent in early trading as investors reacted negatively to news that it swung to a loss in the [...]
JD Sports sells rugby kit brand Canterbury to Pentland for £1 August 23, 2012 JD SPORTS, the sportswear retailer, has agreed to sell its Rugby brand Canterbury to its majority shareholder Pentland for £1, three years after the group bought it out of administration. Pentland, which owns brands including Beghaus and Speedos and holds a 58 per cent stake in JD Sports, will pay a token £1 for shares [...]
JJB Sports fails to score as Euro 2012 sales drag July 9, 2012 SPORTSWEAR RETAILER JJB blamed poor summer weather and disappointing sales of football shirts during the European Championship for a profit warning yesterday, which sent shares tumbling more than 24 per cent. The company warned “sales have fallen materially short of expectations”, after consumer demand for replica football kit during Euro 2012 “did not materialise to [...]