What are the UK’s most shorted stocks? January 29, 2019 Hedge funds made millions from short-selling Carillion shares after the construction firm collapsed a year ago. That’s hardly a surprise, but what’s telling is that many short-sellers were predicting its failure even before the company issued its first profit warning back in July 2017. Short-sellers borrow shares from other investors, typically large institutions like pension [...]
A tie-up with Ocado could signal a long overdue step into food delivery for M&S January 28, 2019 If 2018 was the year of profit warnings for retailers, 2019 looks set to be the year of closures. Last week it was the turn of Paperchase to be reportedly mulling a possible sale and store closures, joining the likes of HMV and French Connection in search for a rescue bidder. It is within such [...]
‘A farce!’ Tories react to Theresa May’s plan to back a change to her Brexit plan January 28, 2019 Theresa May is set for a showdown with the hard Brexit wing of her party on Tuesday as the war over her withdrawal plan intensifies. The Prime Minister will order her MPs to support a plan calling for the unpopular Irish backstop to be replaced with “alternative arrangements” to avoid a hard border on the island. [...]
Ocado and Marks & Spencer see shares rise on reports of food delivery partnership January 28, 2019 Shares in Marks & Spencer and Ocado were up this morning following reports the firms are in talks over a possible food delivery partnership. Ocado and Marks & Spencer saw their shares rise five per cent and one per cent respectively in early trading after it emerged the retailer could sign a deal to use [...]
Waitrose and Morrisons to crack down on plastics in recycling boom January 28, 2019 Two of the UK’s largest food retailers, Morrisons and Waitrose & Partners, will today announce new measures to tackle high quantities of plastic pollution and waste both within stores and nationwide. Waitrose has established a £1m grant fund, raised through 5p carrier bag sales, for organisations pursuing projects designed to reduce unnecessary plastic waste and [...]
FTSE risers and fallers: US-China breakthrough gives markets a pre-weekend boost January 18, 2019 The FTSE soared upwards today as China signalled it would be willing to break the impasse in relations with the US. The markets reacted well to reports that the country was offering to go on a six-year buying spree to ramp up US imports to over $1tn a year. Officials made the offer, which would [...]
Retail round up: What’s happening on the high street? January 11, 2019 Not as bad as it could have been. That’s the general feeling about high street performance over Christmas after major retailers and the supermarkets published their festive figures this week. The British Retail Consortium says that 2018 was the worst Christmas for retails for 10 years but, as ever, the figures show there are winners [...]
Every Lidl helps: German discount chain boosts sales in bumper Christmas trading January 11, 2019 German discount supermarket Lidl boosted sales eight per cent over the Christmas period, it revealed today. In the six weeks to 30 December sales were up eight per cent on the same period last year with Saturday 22 December the busiest day. Lidl’s results were aided by a 33 per cent jump in sales for [...]
Aisle be damned: The knives are out for big UK grocers January 9, 2019 Aldi and Lidl’s tills jingled all the way in December – handing them their highest-ever combined market share for the festive season, data from Kantar Worldpanel showed this week. All the major supermarkets lost market share in the 12 weeks to 30 December as Aldi’s sales jumped 10.4 per cent while Lidl’s were up 9.4 [...]
Aussie PM Morrison red-faced as photoshop gaffe gives him two left feet January 9, 2019 It’s official, Australia’s Prime Minister has two left feet. PM Scott Morrison was left red-faced by his body parts yesterday as sharp-eyed Twitter viewers spotted a photoshop gaffe. Keen to cover up his scruffy footwear in a family portrait, the Prime Minister’s aides airbrushed out his shoes, accidentally giving him two left feet in the [...]