Analyst Views: What did you think of Morrisons’ first quarter performance? May 8, 2014 DAVE MCCARTHY | HSBC A seven per cent like-for-like decline is as bad a statement as we can recall. Morrisons is suffering from its own specific problems and from structural issues…If like-for-like sales do not improve soon, we could be facing another profit warning or downgrade. Things could get worse. MIKE DENNIS | CANTOR FITZGERALD [...]
London Report: Morrisons forecast and plans for cuts at Barclays lift FTSE May 8, 2014 BRITAIN’S top shares neared nine-week highs yesterday led by Barclays after it announced a revival plan, while investors also welcomed the possibility of more stimulus steps from the European Central Bank in June. Barclays was the standout gainer on the FTSE 100, up 7.9 per cent after it announced 19,000 job cuts in the next [...]
What you need to know before the open May 8, 2014 A higher open is expected for European markets, following yesterday’s bumpy trading. A more appeasing message from President Putin yesterday, urging Ukrainian separatists to postpone plans for a referendum, has helped buoy markets. On top of that, better than predicted trade data from China – although expectations were very low – has caused some optimism. [...]
Analysts fear for Morrisons as sales plunge 7.1pc May 8, 2014 Morrisons has reported a 7.1 per cent drop in like-for-like sales in the 13 weeks to 4 May. That’s considerably worse than expected – and worse than the 5.6 per cent fall it saw over the festive season. Jefferies had forecast a seven per cent decline, whereas Barclays was predicting one of 6.3 per cent. [...]
Clipper Logistics plans London float as it eyes European growth May 6, 2014 LOGISTICS firm Clipper yesterday unveiled its plans to float on the London Stock Exchange, as it looks to accelerate its European expansion drive and take advantage of the growing online retail market. The company provides tailor-made logistics solutions for pure-play online retailers such as Asos and traditional high street retailers adopting multichannel strategies such as [...]
Best of the Brokers for 06 May 2014 May 5, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com BRITVIC Barclays has cut the drinks maker from “overweight” to “equalweight”, after a strong share price rise over the past year. The broker remains confident in Britvic’s management and its credentials as a safe haven investment, but sees the stock as well-priced with [...]
London Report: Supermarkets’ results to show split in fortunes May 5, 2014 THE varying fortunes of the UK’s supermarkets will be revealed this week as Morrisons gives its quarterly results while Sainsbury’s announces full-year figures. Sainsbury’s annual results are forecast to show that underlying pre-tax profits rose 3.5 per cent to £782m. However investors will be anxious to see the company’s plans for the next year, especially [...]
Best of the Brokers for 02 May 2014 May 1, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com BARCLAYS UBS has upgraded the bank from “neutral” to “buy”, upping its target price from 280p to 305p. Following reports that Barclays is setting up a bad bank, the broker believes Barclays’ management is showing willingness to shift away from loss-making parts of [...]
Morrisons steps up battle with fresh price cuts April 30, 2014 MORRISONS has launched a fresh assault in the supermarket price war after unveiling price cuts on 1,200 products as part of its £1bn programme aimed at winning back customers defecting to cheaper rivals. Britain’s fourth largest supermarket said that from today it will slash the price of branded products such as Jammie Dodgers and Morrisons [...]
Ankle operation rules Townsend out of World Cup April 30, 2014 TOTTENHAM winger Andros Townsend will miss this summer’s World Cup after the club confirmed he will undergo an ankle operation today. The 22-year-old suffered the injury during a late cameo appearance in Spurs’ 1-0 win at Stoke at the weekend, though limped through the remainder of the match having been the third and final permitted [...]