Miners push up FTSE 100 May 22, 2012 Britain’s leading share index jumped yesterday, driven by gains in mining stocks as the demand picture for metals was brightened by hopes of fresh moves by China to boost its economy. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was up 98.80 points – or 1.9 per cent – at 5,403.28 points, adding strongly to Monday’s 0.7 per cent [...]
Manduca in line for chairman’s role at the Pru May 20, 2012 PAUL MANDUCA, one of the City’s best-known fund managers, is set to become the new chairman of Prudential, putting an end to a five-month search for Harvey McGrath’s successor. Manduca, 60, joined the board of Prudential, the UK’s biggest life assurer, as a senior independent director in October 2010 and has been overseeing the search [...]
Asda market share up as it lures shoppers with price guarantee May 17, 2012 ASDA, the British arm of supermarket giant Walmart, said it continued to gain market share in the first quarter of the year as its focus on low prices and a revamping of own-brand ranges helped drive sales growth. The UK’s second-biggest supermarket chain behind Tesco, said like-for-like sales excluding fuel and VAT accelerated in the [...]
Excelebration may well ruffle Frankel’s feathers May 17, 2012 THE freak that is Frankel returns at Newbury tomorrow where he bids to defend his unbeaten record and make it a perfect 10 in the JLT Lockinge Stakes at 3.40pm. However, it hasn’t all been plain sailing in the run-up to this race as Sir Henry Cecil’s superstar suffered an injury on the gallops last [...]
BEST of the BROKERS May 16, 2012 GLENCORE UBS has downgraded the commodities giant from “buy” to “neutral” and lowered its target price from 475p to 400p following Glencore’s first quarter trading update. The bank said it still sees Glencore as the most dynamic company in EU mining over the next three years, but is concerned about the operational leverage of its [...]
FTSE falls as fear stalks markets May 16, 2012 Commodity stocks took a hammering this morning as investors ran for cover with the prospect of fresh Greek elections adding to the uncertainty stalking markets. The prospect of Greece exiting the Eurozone were mounting as the country struggles to avoid economic meltdown. But in positive UK news official figures showed a drop in the unemployment [...]
Supermarkets kick off petrol price drop wars May 15, 2012 TWO of the UK’s top four supermarkets have said they will cut fuel prices from today, passing on savings to customers as the cost of wholesale oil continues to fall. Sainsbury’s and Morrisons – the third and fourth biggest supermarkets by market share respectively – both confirmed yesterday they will cut petrol prices by up [...]
So many characters and so much to watch at MINT Polo May 10, 2012 FLANKING the rather anxious polo team captains, I witnessed the model and avid polo player Jodie Kidd draw the teams for Friday 8 June’s opening matches. I am absolutely thrilled to be part of MINT Polo in the Park and particularly as things are looking set to be even more spectacular than ever before! Even [...]
ANALYST VIEWS HOW IS SAINSBURY’S FARING IN A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT? May 9, 2012 JAMES GRZINIC JEFFERIES Sainsbury’s full-year results were nearly two per cent better than expected…Crucially, the group has confirmed that it expects core capex to decline from the 2011-12 peak of £1.24bn to £1bn in 2012-13. We expect yield merits to be better underpinned given better cashflow dynamics, but Morrisons and Tesco are a 20 per [...]
The Hindenburg Omen isn’t a hit May 7, 2012 NAMES for technical indicators don’t get much more dramatic than the Hindenburg Omen – simultaneously referencing the German airship tragedy of 1937 in which 36 people lost their lives and bringing to mind haunting visions of the psychotic Damien from the infamous horror film, the Omen. Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG Markets, believes a [...]