Price war prompts a record high of bets against Supermarket giants June 9, 2015 HEDGE funds are making record bets against the health of the supermarket sector, with the average interest in the UK’s four listed grocers breaking the 11 per cent barrier for the first time. Sainsbury’s and Morrisons are now the two most-shorted constituents of the FTSE 100 behind oilfield services provider Petrofac, according to a report published [...]
Supermarket price war attracts short sellers to record positions in sector June 9, 2015 It's no secret UK supermarkets have been under the cosh both in terms of the ongoing price war with discounters Aldi and Lidl, as well as several problems of their own making. Now it seems short sellers are making hay while the sun shines. The sector has attracted record interest from short sellers, with [...]
Morrisons back on the offensive: Has the retailer put its darkest days behind it? June 8, 2015 David Potts wasted no time in stamping his mark on Morrisons when he took the helm of the retailer in March. After years of haemorrhaging sales, the ailing supermarket was in urgent need of a turnaround. And for the 58 year-old retail evangelist, that meant not only making sweeping changes at the top – including [...]
FTSE dips despite Diageo gains after takeover reports – London Report June 8, 2015 TAKEOVER speculation sent some FTSE shares higher but overall the UK’s top index was offset by poorer performances elsewhere in the market yesterday. It finished near the previous session’s two-week low The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed 0.2 per cent lower at 6,790.04 points after falling to a two-month low in the previous session. Diageo [...]
Morrisons cuts prices on 200 items as boss David Potts swings the axe in supermarket price wars June 8, 2015 Morrisons is the latest supermarket to swing the axe in the ongoing price wars, with price cuts on hundreds of products. David Potts, the former Tesco executive who replaced Dalton Phillips at the top, has made his first move in the battle of the supermarkets as it tries to compete with discounters and its big [...]
From the “Gatwick gusher” to Greece via Alton Towers: Five charts that sum up the week June 5, 2015 Greece missed a huge repayment to the IMF, there was an update from Gatwick's answer to Dallas and a new study showed love doesn't come cheap. Here are five charts that sum up the week: Greek stocks suffered after Athens missed its deadline The Greek debt crisis riled European markets as the cash-strapped country hovered [...]
Fifa imploded and Morrisons bumbled through: Here’s what got us talking this week June 5, 2015 Fifa imploded. Greek talks went on (and on) and on. And somewhere in the Surrey hills, even more oil was found. Here's what got us talking this week 1. Working nine to five… but not if you're at the top If your office starts to look a bit thin on the ground [...]
Tesco: What assets has it sold off and what’s heading to the checkout as billion-pound South Korea sale considered? June 5, 2015 Streamlining, belt tightening, slimming down: call it what you will, but Tesco assets are making their way through the checkout at a swift pace, as the troubled supermarket attempts to raise funds for its turnaround. The latest item heading for the bagging area after reporting its biggest ever loss, is part of its large and [...]
Morrisons is the only big four grocer “currently on right track”, says Nielsen June 5, 2015 Morrisons waits for good news for months and then three come along at once. The supermarket – which has, until now, been one of the more unloved – has already had one set of figures prove it's the only one of the big four in growth, which in turn prompted a share price rally, [...]
Investors revolt over Morrisons’ ex-chief Dalton Philips’s pay June 4, 2015 Morrisons’ new management pledged to review its pay policies after the supermarket faced a shareholder revolt yesterday over the size of the bonus awarded to its ousted chief executive Dalton Philips. More than a third of shareholders (35.6 per cent) rejected the retailer’s remuneration report, according to proxy voting results revealed at its annual [...]