BEST OF THE BROKERS March 6, 2011 WM MORRISONS Evolution Securities is backing the supermarket retailer ahead of its full-year results on Thursday this week. It sees “little room for any major positive surprise” in the numbers, as the UK consumer environment remains subdued and the food retailers remain under pressure. Yet it is upbeat on possible news of a share buyback [...]
Margin focus boosts Taylor Wimpey profit March 3, 2011 HOUSEBUILDER Taylor Wimpey improved its operating margins to post an underlying annual profit ahead of expectations. Revenues remained flat for the construction firm at £2.6bn in the year to 31 December 2010, whilst the number of homes completed dropped to 14,272 from 15,166 a year earlier. An increase in average selling prices helped the builder [...]
Taylor Wimpey returns to profit March 3, 2011 Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey swung to an underlying annual profit, ahead of expectations, and said it was evaluating proposals for its North American business. The builder is in the process of selling its Taylor Morrison operations to pay down debt and focus on its domestic market, with a growing list of potential buyers, including Canada’s privately-held [...]
Morrison sells off his stake in grocery chain March 1, 2011 SIR Ken Morrison, former chairman of Wm Morrison Supermarkets, has sold off his 6.07 per cent share in the grocers to less than one per cent over the last 18 months, the company has revealed. Wm Morrison said that it was notified yesterday of its former chief’s dealings, which have seen him sell over 130m [...]
Supermarket sales slowing as shoppers rein in spending March 1, 2011 SALES growth at grocers slowed in February, despite higher prices, according to market research published yesterday, adding to signs of growing caution among consumers since the start of the year. Kantar Worldpanel said grocery sales rose 3.9 per cent year-on-year in the 12 weeks to 20 February, down from 4.2 per cent growth for the [...]
Housebuilder nears £584m asset disposal February 28, 2011 HOUSEBUILDER Taylor Wimpey is in the final stages of selling its Northern American businesses, City A.M. can confirm, with a handful of bidders left in the running. US peer Meritage Homes placed a bid for the firm before Friday’s deadline, a source familiar with the deal said yesterday, while privately-held Canadian firm Mattamy Homes is [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 28, 2011 ENRC Morgan Stanley rates the miner “overweight” with a target price of £14. The broker believes that rising ferrochrome spot prices could give a lift to 2011 earnings of between five and seven per cent, and thinks that consensus upgrades could be higher still. Morgan Stanley adds that ENRC’s leverage to iron ore still looks [...]
Banks pull FTSE 100 down while resources make gains February 28, 2011 THE FTSE 100 share index fell slightly yesterday as disappointing results from HSBC and Associated British Foods outweighed strength from miners on optimism about the global economy. The blue-chip index ended 7.19 points, or 0.1 per cent lower, at 5,994.01, after it closed 1.4 per cent higher on Friday at 6,001.20, bouncing back after five [...]
Ocado hit by boss share sale February 21, 2011 OCADO shares took a tumble yesterday after chief executive Tim Steiner sold £5m worth of Ocado stock. Steiner’s move – plus the announcement that Waitrose was planning to revamp its own online delivery service – saw the stock close down 7.75 per cent at 239p. Waitrose, which has a ten-year contract with Ocado to supply the [...]
Hopes of revival for financial sector drives the FTSE higher February 16, 2011 BRITAIN’S leading share index rallied yesterday, powered by banks, on hopes for further upbeat earnings in the sector after Barclays and French peer Societe Generale set the standard. HSBC gained 2.8 per cent, Royal Bank of Scotland rose 4.3 per cent and Barclays, which reported results on Tuesday, was up 1.0 per cent. Societe Generale [...]