Comics: where to start May 12, 2014 So you’ve visited the British Library’s exhibition and now you want to know more. Here are three seminal comics from British authors to get you started. Watchmen, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons, is one of the titles responsible for convincing people that comics aren’t just for kids. It’s a bleak look [...]
How comics reflect a very British psyche May 12, 2014 ARTS COMICS UNMASKED British Library | By Steve Dinneen Four Stars FOR AN art form that is seen as quintessentially American, we Brits have a disproportionately large influence on the world of comics. It wasn’t always so: for decades our publications evolved as largely insular, unmistakeably British alternatives to the musclebound US titles. But in [...]
Morrisons insists its price cuts will win back custom May 8, 2014 MORRISONS chief executive Dalton Philips insisted yesterday that its price-cutting plan will win over customers defecting to discount rivals despite the decline in like-for-like sales worsening in the first quarter of the year. Total sales excluding fuel fell 4.2 per cent in the 13 weeks to 4 May while like-for-like sales slumped 7.1 per cent, [...]
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 [...]