M&S chairman Sir Stuart Rose sets departure date as he takes a pay cut March 18, 2010 Marks & Spencer chairman Sir Stuart Rose is to give up his executive duties and take a 25 per cent pay cut in July with a view to stepping down by March 2011, the company announced yesterday. Under fire since taking on the dual roles of chief executive and chairman two years ago, Rose had [...]
THE TIPSTER March 14, 2010 GREGGS, the bakery chain, has had stellar sales during the economic downturn, as their good value products have appealed to price-conscious consumers. Greggs announces its results later this week, and they should show strong profit growth. IG Index offers a June spread of 419.24p-424.24p. ARM Holdings has seen its share price rise steeply since the [...]
Morrisons in bid to expand March 11, 2010 SUPERMARKET chain WM Morrison yesterday pledged to open more smaller stores after new openings last year helped it to record a 30 per cent rise in full-year pre-tax profit. In 2009, pre-tax profits surged to £858m as turnover rose by six per cent to £15.4bn. The company, Britain’s fourth largest supermarket, raised its annual dividend [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS THE HIGH STREET CRISIS OVER? March 11, 2010 TONY SHIRET | CREDIT SUISSE RETAIL “Home Retail Group’s results were pretty poor. They were worse than expected but we had been forewarned about that. Overall sales should improve but recovery in sales are more likely in 2011 and 2012.” SAM HART | CHARLES STANLEY RETAIL “The Morrisons results were bang in line with expectations. [...]
DIAMONDS ARE AN INVESTOR’S BEST FRIEND March 11, 2010 WE’VE all heard a lot of novel investment advice over the course of the last two bumpy years, but investing in your own diamond mine has got to be a new one. Investment firm Capital Alternatives has set up a new venture, Capital Mining, which plans to do just that, having recently snapped up the [...]
Morrisons raises dividend after profits surge March 11, 2010 SUPERMARKET chain Morrisons saw a 21 per cent surge in profits last year to £767m. The company, Britain’s fourth largest grocer, raised its full year dividend 41 per cent to 8.2 pence a share on the strength of the results. Morrisons new chief executive Dalton Philips starts later this month. Former chief executive, Marc Bolland, [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 9, 2010 PETROFAC Morgan Stanley reiterates its “underweight” rating on?Petrofac despite income for 2009 coming in eight per cent ahead of its expectations. Says the strong outlook for the firm is already priced into the shares, making its valuation pricey compared to peers. Believes investors will find better value elsewhere in the sector. BOVIS HOMES Citigroup advises [...]
Axed Moody’s reassured as Worsley gets nod for Scots March 9, 2010 ENGLAND coach Martin Johnson insists the door is not closed on Lewis Moody after the Leicester flanker was dropped for Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland. Moody was withdrawn after just 55 minutes of Saturday’s defeat to Ireland, and has now been replaced in the starting line-up by Joe Worsley, who returns for the first [...]
Oil and minerals bolster FTSE index despite banking and drugmaker lows March 8, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index hit an 18-month closing high yesterday, led by oil stocks and miners, while drugmakers fell with AstraZeneca pressured after its cancer drug failed in trials. The FTSE 100 ended up 6.96 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5,606.72, its highest close since 2 September 2008. The index gained 4.6 per cent [...]
VIX SUGGESTS TRADERS ARE NOT WORRIED March 8, 2010 DAVID MORRISON CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT THE first week of March saw stock markets strengthen further, taking us back up through significant retracement levels for a number of major global indices. Investors cheered on a successful Greek bond auction, boosted by the country’s newly-proposed austerity measures. Concerns over sovereign risk contagion have been brushed aside [...]