Share index up as Bank of England keeps rates at a low November 5, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index closed 0.4 per cent up yesterday, with energy stocks lifted by optimism on the economic outlook as central banks kept rates steady and US data surprised on the upside. The Bank of England kept rates steady at a record low of 0.5 per cent and said it would expand its quantitative [...]
Sir Stuart again failed to tell the City his succession plans November 4, 2009 ONE of the most hotly-debated succession sagas looks set to keep on rolling as M&S yesterday shunned questions about how the search for Sir Stuart Rose’s successor was progressing. Rose furiously batted away questions on the M&S’s succession plans, despite it being a concern weighing heavily on many analysts’ minds. “I’m not answering questions on [...]
FTSE hits a high but sale of Barclays shares prompts dip October 20, 2009 Britain’s top shares fell 0.7 percent yesterday, led down by banks after Qatar sold shares in Barclays while weaker-than-expected US data added to the negative sentiment. The benchmark FTSE 100 closed down 38.14 points at 5,243.40, having hit a fresh high for the year at 5,298.54 earlier in the session. Barclays fell 4.8 per cent [...]
Banks take FTSE 100 lower after US figures disappoint October 15, 2009 THE FTSE 100 closed lower on yesterday as banks fell after US banking earnings failed to meet some expectations, while miners tracked metal prices down. The index ended down 0.6 per cent, or 33.15 points at 5,222.95, retreating from a 56-week closing high set on Wednesday. Although third-quarter earnings from Goldman Sachs and Citigroup came [...]
Tesco starts to close gap on faster growing rivals October 13, 2009 TESCO, the UK’s largest retailer, is closing the gap on faster-growing competitors, market researcher TNS WorldPanel said yesterday. TNS, which tracks sales growth in the grocery sector, said sales at Tesco, which has been growing less quickly than rivals in recent months, rose 4.2 per cent in the 12 weeks to 4 October. This was [...]
Banks and oil lead the markets lower October 7, 2009 EUROPEAN shares closed lower yesterday with banking and oil stocks leading the fallers, as investors booked profits ahead of the US third-quarter corporate results season. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 0.4 per cent at 988.76 points. The benchmark index is up 19 per cent this year and has surged 53 [...]
Insurers fail to lift the FTSE as investors await US results October 7, 2009 BRITAIN’S leading shares closed lower yesterday as falls in oil majors and food retailers offset gains in insurers as investors waited for the start of the earnings seasons in the US to give a fresh direction. The FTSE 100 closed down 29.08 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 5,108.90, after ending 2.3 per cent higher [...]
Tesco set to report slower sales growth October 4, 2009 TESCO, Britain’s biggest retailer, is set to report slower underlying UK sales growth than rival J Sainsbury for the fifth quarter in a row this week, alongside a small rise in first-half profit. But analysts expect Tesco to flag a stronger second-half profit performance, and some see signs it is beginning to close the gap [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 24, 2009 HALFORDS GROUPAhead of Halfords’ second-quarter trading update on 8 October, Investec upgraded its forecasts and its target price to 435p, from 400p. The broker believes a combination of better weather and more “staycations” than last year will deliver a more robust performance than previously expected, and says “buy”. WM MORRISONJefferies International upped its target price [...]
SILVER SHINE MATCHES GOLD’S GLEAM September 14, 2009 DAVID MORRISONCFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFTPLENTY has been written about gold’s recent advance and its break above the $1,000 mark. And if you are bullish on the yellow metal you may also want to look at silver. Until the late 1800s, the gold-silver price ratio was fairly constant at around 15 to 1 due to their [...]