Morrisons profit rises in tough market September 6, 2012 Britain’s fourth-largest supermarket Morrisons posted first-half profit towards the top end of forecasts and said it was on track to meet its expectations for the year even though it anticipated no let-up in pressure on the consumer. Morrisons, which trails Tesco, Wal-Mart’s Asda and J Sainsbury by annual sales, said today it made an underlying [...]
FTSE loses 1.5pc with investors not holding breath over ECB’s summit September 4, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index fell yesterday reflecting investor uncertainty over whether this week’s key European Central Bank (ECB) meeting will deliver the goods on a hoped for bond-buying scheme designed to ease the euro debt crisis. The FTSE 100 closed down 86.40 points, or 1.5 per cent, at 5,672.01, ending back below the 5,700 level [...]
Supermarkets enjoy a rare lift during summer September 3, 2012 THE RETURN of the warmer summer weather together with the Olympics and the use of vouchers helped grocers enjoy their best trading performance of the year last month, in a rare bright spot amid the gloom across the rest of the retail industry. According to the latest figures from Nielsen, grocery sales in the four [...]
Best of the Brokers September 3, 2012 ADMIRAL Credit Suisse has cut the insurance firm’s target price to 1250p from 1300p and downgraded its recommendation to “neutral” from “outperform”. The note cited weak car growth. MORRISON Nomura’s rating of the supermarket giant has been slashed to “neutral” from “buy” while the target price is down to 300p from 350p. A refocused Tesco [...]
Elusive Draghi set to keep us waiting September 3, 2012 PREDICTING what central bankers will say, when they will say it – or even whether they will show up to deliver a speech – is becoming an inane pursuit. The banker in question is the elusive Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), who was to deliver a speech at the European Parliament [...]
The Tipster | WM Morrison may get shopped September 3, 2012 THIS week, supermarket chain WM Morrison will announce its latest half-year numbers for 2012. Expectations are for a decline as a result of fiercer competition in its northern heartland. CMC Market’s price on WM Morrison is 276.97-277.63p. Transport firm Go-Ahead reports full-year figures on Thursday, and the general expectation is that the trains and buses [...]
Morrisons faces fresh woe as half-year sales set for decline September 2, 2012 MORRISONS is this week expected to show it has come under further pressure in the first half of the year as a result of gloomy weather conditions and fiercer competition from rival Asda after the rival’s merger with discounter Netto. Analysts are forecasting that like-for-like sales at the supermarket could be down by 0.7 per [...]
UK focus on ECB meeting outcome September 2, 2012 THURSDAY will be the highlight of the week for economists, with all eyes on results of the European Central Bank policy meeting. While the market waits to hear the latest plans to fix the Eurozone’s debt problem, the Bank of England will also be announcing its latest interest rate decision and asset purchase plan. However, [...]
FTSE edges lower with investors still cautious ahead of key EU meetings August 30, 2012 FRESH concerns over demand from China weighed on mining stocks and dragged Britain’s top share index lower yesterday, with investors bracing for a series of meetings that could pave the way for further central bank stimulus. The FTSE 100 closed down 24.08 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 5,719.45, in volumes just 58 per cent [...]
Central Bank elixir isn’t certain – but expect volatility August 27, 2012 THIS weekend’s economic symposium at Jackson Hole has the power to monumentally shake world markets, which is what voracious traders – subdued by the summer’s low trading volumes – will want to see. With both Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), due to speak [...]