Euro woes and commodity falls leave FTSE low May 23, 2011 Fears of debt default in Greece, election upset in Spain and weakness in Italy’s economy caused the FTSE to tank to a two-month low today. Commodity stocks led the fallers as the FTSE 100 index plunged more than 100 points to close down 1.9 per cent at 5,835.89. Investors abandoned risky assets after rating agency [...]
M&S set to outline plans for growth alongside profit rise May 22, 2011 HIGH STREET stalwart Marks & Spencer is expected to post a 12 per cent rise in full-year profit tomorrow, as the retailer outlines plans for growth overseas and online. M&S is likely to post a £710m pre-tax profit, according to consensus estimates, which is set to lead to a rise in its dividend to 16.5p, [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD in association with GFT May 22, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● British Land announces its results today. Recent good news includes the fact it has pre-let around a third of its Cheesegrater skyscraper to Aon. ● On Tuesday, Marks & Spencer will deliver its results. In 1941, the Westminster based retailer raised £5,000 to pay for a Spitfire fighter called “The Marksman”. Shareholders [...]
THE TIPSTER May 22, 2011 NO FRILLS airline Ryanair has seen its share price on the up since March, and with oil prices falling, the stock is finding further support. It is due to report figures today and the expectations are that passenger numbers have increased. Capital Spreads quotes 3.54p-3.58p. Optimism has increased about tomorrow’s first quarter Marks and Spencer [...]
Booker cashes in as shoppers look for cheap deals in grim consumer climate May 19, 2011 BRITAIN’S biggest cash and carry wholesaler Booker yesterday said it was benefiting from consumers’ “search for value” as it beat forecasts with a 25 per cent jump in annual profit. The firm, which runs around 172 branches supplying convenience stores, restaurants, pubs, schools and prisons, made a pre-tax profit of £71.4m. Chief executive Charles Wilson, [...]
Former Tory MP Jack gets the Topps job May 18, 2011 FORMER Tory MP Michael Jack has taken over as chairman of Topps Tiles after the company said yesterday Barry Bester had stood down with immediate effect. Jack, who represented Fylde between 1987 and 2010, joined the Topps board in 1999 and was its senior non-executive director. In addition to his role at Topps Tiles, the [...]
THE TIPSTER May 16, 2011 THE Nikkei was sold off a little on Monday following some disappointing consumer confidence data. The country is still struggling back to normality following the terrible earthquake, but for contrarian investors, Japanese stocks could look good value. Capital CFDs quotes a price of 9,540-9,550 for the Nikkei 225. Mothercare reports its earnings on Wednesday. Its [...]
LSE cries foul at rival bid for Canada’s TMX May 15, 2011 THE BID threatening to derail the London Stock Exchange’s agreed merger with Canadian peer TMX Group should raise significant regulatory concerns, the chief of the London bourse has claimed. A consortium of Canadian banks and pension funds, known together as the Maple group, tabled a counterbid to the LSE’s offer at the weekend. But speaking [...]
Morrisons FD gets £1.25m bonus May 11, 2011 Supermarket chain Morrisons gave finance director Richard Pennycook a £1.25m bonus in shares last year according to its annual report. Pennycook was one of the contenders for the chief executive job when Marc Bolland left the company for Marks & Spencer, but he lost out to Dalton Philips. He was paid £981,000 for 2010 before [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 11, 2011 RECKITT BENCKISER Goldman Sachs rates the consumer goods producer “buy” but has taken the firm off its “conviction buy” list, and has cut its 12-month target price by 160p to £41.70. The broker thinks the firm contains an increased execution risk following a change in management, though recent quarterly results were encouraging. Goldman is still [...]