Tesco shares slump on BoAML downgrade March 17, 2014 Analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch have downgraded Tesco today to “underperform” on the back of rival Morrisons’ announcement last week to invest £1bn in slashing prices, causing the grocer’s share to fall to the bottom of investors’ shopping lists. The bank said the implications of the shock announcement from Morrisons were “substantial” and [...]
Morrison employee arrested over staff data theft March 17, 2014 After confirming on Friday that personal data of a large number of its staff had been stolen – a day after announcing a dire profit warning – supermarket Morrison today said that an employee has now been arrested in connection with the theft. Names, addresses and bank details from its staff payroll system were published [...]
Best of the Brokers for 17 March 2014 March 17, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com MORRISONS Cantor Fitzgerald keeps its “buy” rating and puts its target under review after the supermarket’s profit warning last week. The broker thinks the shares will be supported by the prospect of a takeover by the likes of Amazon or a grocery rival [...]
Morrison confirms staff personal data theft March 14, 2014 Another big blow for supermarket Morrison. After yesterday’s profit warning, the store’s now had to admit that data from its staff payroll system, including bank account details, has been stolen and published on the internet. In an email seen by Sky News, the company described to staff an “illegal theft” of data. The information has [...]
Morrisons’ woes wipe £2.6bn off supermarkets March 13, 2014 FEARS of a new supermarket price war wiped around £2.6bn off the combined value of Britain’s major grocers yesterday after Morrisons launched a major assault on its discount rivals. Shares in Morrisons plunged 12 per cent – to their lowest level since 2008 – after it revealed it would invest £1bn in slashing prices over [...]
Morrisons cuts prices after new profit warning March 13, 2014 MORRISONS sent shockwaves through the food retail industry yesterday after warning that underlying profits would halve this year and announced plans to spend £1bn on cutting prices over the next three years. Chief executive Dalton Philips said it will invest £300m this year to narrow the price gap with discounters, following similar moves by Tesco, [...]
Bottom Line: This is the end of the big four supermarkets March 13, 2014 DALTON Philips kicked off more than just a price war yesterday. By promising to slash prices in an effort to turn around Morrisons’ fortunes, he also exposed a growing schism at the heart of the British grocery market. For years, supermarket analysts have talked about the big four (Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons) but with [...]
London Report: Supermarket fears lead FTSE to a fifth consecutive drop March 13, 2014 BRITISH shares fell for a fifth straight session yesterday, dragged down by supermarket stocks after WM Morrison cut its profit outlook, as well as by escalating tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine. Morrison’s was the worst performer on the FTSE 100 index, plunging 11.9 per cent, and its revised outlook triggered a sell-off [...]
Letters to the Editor – 14/03 – Splitting debts, Best of Twitter March 13, 2014 Splitting debts [Re: The big independence lie: Scotland could keep the pound, Wednesday] Is Scotland walking away from its “share” of UK debt really that absurd? Did the Baltic states take any Russian debt after the breakup of the Soviet Union? No. Of course, independence supporters have proposed that Scotland would indeed take on its [...]
What you need to know before the US open March 13, 2014 US stock futures are pointing to a slightly better open for markets today, and no doubt the slew of data just out – all of which is better-than-expected – means investors have plenty to digest. Bonds have slipped after the encouraging data, with the dollar gaining ground against the euro, too. Initial jobless claims fell [...]