SHAREHOLDER VIEWS: WHAT SHOULD SAINSBURY’S DO DIFFERENTLY? July 15, 2009 BERNIE FIELDING“I think they could do more to boost the share price. Despite all the updates and improved trading, it still hasn’t lifted the market value by much. Tesco and Morrisons have achieved that. I don’t understand why Sainsbury’s is lagging and I want answers.” DIANA DENNIS“I think under the current conditions Sainsbury’s have done [...]
Northern Foods jumps as warm weather boosts barbecue sales July 15, 2009 FOOD manufacturer Northern Foods yesterday reported solid first-quarter trade, boosted by warm weather, and said it was optimistic it could beat full-year profit targets, lifting its shares by 12.2 per cent to 61.7p. Northern Foods, which makes food products and ready meals for retailers as diverse as Marks & Spencer and Aldi as well as [...]
Wm Morrison wins OFT approval for deal to purchase 30 Co-operative stores July 12, 2009 WM MORRISON yesterday got the green light from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for its acquisition of 30 stores from Co-operative Group. The shops being acquired will increase the size of the Morrison’s estate by about 10 per cent. Morrison has had to wait for OFT approval since the deal was first announced to [...]
Miners give support as they rise to recoup their losses July 7, 2009 MINERS were the saviour of the FTSE 100 yesterday, offsetting falling oil stocks and disappointing UK industrial output data to keep the index flat, or just 7.91 points lower, at 4,187. Data showed that UK manufacturing output unexpectedly shrank in May, falling 0.5 per cent on the month, making it less likely the economy returned [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS July 7, 2009 MICROGENInvestec Securities reiterate their “buy” recommendation for IT group Microgen, which has issued an upbeat trading statement for the first half of the year. Investec believe that Microgen’s Aptitude branch looks particularly strong, having signed major contracts with blue-chip customers. Full-year earnings are ahead of expectations. WM MORRISONBank of America Merrill Lynch feels that Wm [...]
PREDICTIONS OF A RECOVERY ARE FAR FROM CERTAIN June 29, 2009 DAVID MORRISONCFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT IN these pages yesterday, CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick warned about unemployment ahead of this Thursday’s Non-Farm Payroll number. He pointed out that many economists dismiss jobs data as an irrelevant, “lagging” indicator. But as he pointed out, when consumers account for 70 per cent of US GDP, then unemployment becomes a [...]
THE LONDON REPORT June 24, 2009 MINERS and banks were buoyed by better US durable goods data yesterday, offsetting weaker food retailers and producers and driving the FTSE 100 up by 1.2 per cent, or 49.96 points, to close at 4,279.98. The index has gained more than 23 per cent since hitting a six-year low in March, but is still down [...]
Bad shops are to blame for our withering High St June 24, 2009 THIS week a rare opportunity to watch television saw me glued to a programme presented by the self-styled “Queen of Shops” Mary Portas. Focusing on the death of that great British institution the High Street, Portas probed the decline of traditional retailers and voiced her fears for the future of our nation of shopkeepers and [...]
Aldi and Lidl’s growth rate falling behind June 23, 2009 DISCOUNTERS like Aldi and Lidl are now growing less quickly than British stalwarts such as J Sainsbury and Morrisons in a sign that the traditional supermarkets’ fight-back is succeeding, a survey showed yesterday. Britain’s grocery market grew by a recession-beating 6.5 per cent in the 12 weeks to 14 June compared to the same period [...]
HOW WILL SOLVENCY II LEGISLATION THREATEN UK PENSIONS? June 22, 2009 NIGEL CALLAGHAN HARGREAVES LANSDOWNThis is currently draft legislation and insurers, via the ABI, are pretty strongly lobbying the EU that these rules are way over the top. The current UK rules are pretty well developed. The UK is a far more mature market than some of the European countries. The 20 per cent – that [...]