Fears over consumer climate send retailers and FTSE down November 3, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index closed lower yesterday, with retailers weak as Next posted falling sales, while banks gained ground after Lloyds Banking Group poached Santander UK’s head as its new CEO. Investors were reluctant to take big positions ahead of a Federal Reserve decision on further monetary policy easing later yesterday. Markets are pricing in [...]
Morrisons: jobs for the homeless October 31, 2010 Supermarket chain WM Morrison said yesterday it plans to create 1,000 jobs nationally for homeless and vulnerable people over the next three years. The country’s fourth-largest supermarket said the initiative aims to train and provide jobs for disadvantaged people, giving them the skills and opportunity to develop a career in retail. The programme has been [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 28, 2010 NATIONAL GRID Standard & Poor’s has downgraded the utility to “sell” from “hold”, with a target price of 516p. The broker notes National Grid’s 10.7 per cent share price rise in the last year, resulting in a 12.4 per cent outperformance of the sector, which could lead to profit-taking soon. Planned capital expenditure is also [...]
The true scale of QE is n still cloaked in mystery October 19, 2010 EXPECTATIONS about quantitative easing (QE) have now been driven so high – with the market anticipating between $500bn and $1 trillion of extra liquidity – that someone was soon bound to call a halt to the party. That killjoy has arrived, in the form of US broker BTIG’s Mike O’Rourke. “There are many who have [...]
Ocado still overvalued, says analyst October 14, 2010 OCADO’S stock fell another 3.5p yesterday to 123.5p, despite its announcement this week that it has begun work on its new warehouse in Warwickshire. It is now trading 46 per cent below the mid-point of its initial IPO price range. But yesterday another analyst released a note warning the stock could still have a long [...]
Sainsbury’s October 6, 2010 SAINSBURY’S was a little more low key about its sales rise and consumer sentiment than Tesco which posted sales figures earlier in the week. With Sir Terry Leahy signing off with his last set of results it is hardly surprising that Tesco has stolen some of Sainsbury’s thunder. However, Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King echoed [...]
Class action hopes quashed by ruling October 5, 2010 FAEGRE & BENSON Since the financial crisis of 2008, shareholders in several companies including RBS, Northern Rock, Lloyds, BP and Porsche have pursued the possibility of suing for fraud in the American courts, where class actions are far easier. But a recent Supreme Court decision could scupper these plans. The verdict in Morrison v National [...]
Clearing away spread betting misconceptions October 3, 2010 SPREAD BETTING has become much more mainstream over the past decade but there still exist plenty of myths and misconceptions about how providers actually operate, leaving traders liable to be confused and frustrated. Here we clear away the some of the confusion surrounding the industry. It is certainly not the case that the whole system [...]
THE TIPSTER September 29, 2010 GOLD has continued to rally strongly. With increased uncertainty ahead of companies’ October quarterly figures and the current weakness in the US dollar, we could still see further upside in the precious metal. If it dips down to $1,305, it might well be worth picking up some long positions with a view to closing the [...]
PwC first to add senior City figures to the board September 26, 2010 ACCOUNTING firm PwC is set to become the first accountancy practice to add independent directors to its board after the appointment of three senior businessmen as non-executive directors. Former Rio Tinto chairman, Paul Skinner will be joined by WM Morrison chairman Sir Ian Gibson and Cable & Wireless chairman Sir Richard Lapthorne as independent directors [...]