THE TIPSTER AVOID THE DASH FOR TRASH May 31, 2009 AN economic recovery still remains uncertain so avoid the “dash for trash” and look for stocks that have intrinsic value. The banks have been having a tough time but one that’s stood out is Standard Chartered, which has been making a series of senior appointments to its capital markets team in recent months. The bank’s [...]
Banks and retailers rally to steer the FTSE 100 ahead May 27, 2009 GAINS in banks and retailers outweighed weakness in energy stocks and drugmakers yesterday to leave the FTSE 100 up by 0.1 per cent, or 4.51 points, at 4,416.23. Trade was thin with just 67 per cent of the average of the last 90 days of trading transacted with the absence of concrete data on the [...]
Value lines lift Northern Food’s sales May 27, 2009 A SURGE in demand for value lines helped Northern Foods beat market expectations for full year sales yesterday. But the group’s pre-tax profit still fell 5.4 per cent to £47.5m from £50.1m the year before due to restructuring costs. And it warned on future trading due to the rising price of ingredients and pressure from [...]
Morrisons outstrips its rivals May 27, 2009 Morrisons is growing at the fastest rate of the big four supermarkets with Tesco continuing to lag behind the pack, according to new industry data. Britain’s fourth-biggest grocer clocked up growth of 7.9 per cent in the 12 weeks to 17 May, lifting its market share to 11.6 per cent. Sainsbury’s, with 7.8 per cent [...]
Hop & glory May 27, 2009 MOST people, when they think of a thirst-quenching beer for summer, probably go no further than lager. Now, there is nothing wrong with a good lager, the problem is simply that there are plenty of sub-standard ones about. The pints of fizz flowing from the beer-taps of many pubs are second-rate and suffer from mass-production. [...]
Staff cash in after record Tesco profits May 26, 2009 MORE than 207,000 Tesco employees are to scoop up share bonuses worth a total of £98m, it was revealed yesterday, after the giant retailer posted record annual results. Under the group’s “Share in Success” scheme, checkout workers to store managers that have worked with the supermarket for at least a year by the end of [...]
US consumer confidence boosts late London trading May 26, 2009 BETTER than expected consumer confidence data out of the US gave the FTSE 100 a much-needed boost yesterday afternoon, after Asia’s sell-off – driven by concerns of heightening geopolictical tension on the Korean peninsula – infected the London markets in early trading. “Following the release of the US consumer confidence data there was an immediate [...]
Mandelson may win in reshuffle May 20, 2009 Business secretary Lord Mandelson could be made foreign secretary, it emerged last night, as Gordon Brown plans a cabinet reshuffle for next month. He’s planning the moves as a damage-limitation exercise after the 4 June local and European elections. Mandelson’s grandfather, Herbert Morrison, was foreign secretary, and it is believed to be a dream job [...]
Marks & Spencer is no longer special May 19, 2009 FOR a supposed retail guru, Marks & Spencer boss Sir Stuart Rose is not doing well. His firm is underperforming Tesco, J Sainsbury, Morrisons and Alliance Boots, among others. Yesterday’s grim full year results show that the firm has a lot of hard thinking to do. Its product and pricing mix still isn’t quite right; [...]
No sign of vertigo as banks take the FTSE 100 higher May 19, 2009 THE FTSE 100 continued its upward momentum yesterday, propelled up by financials and miners, although gains were limited by figures that showed new US housing starts fell to record lows. The index closed 0.8 per cent, or 35.80 points, higher at 4,482.25, with investors showing no sign of vertigo from the recent hefty rises. “Despite [...]