Morrisons earnings preview: Grocery chain faces uphill battle amid Asda-Sainsbury’s merger May 7, 2018 Grocery chain Morrisons is set to announce its first quarter trading results on Thursday, and the company may have a lot to prove. Analysts at Barclays forecast sales growth of 1.7 per cent, below the company’s figures for the fourth quarter of 2017. If so, it would be the lowest sales growth since the end [...]
Amazon eyed buying Waitrose but was held off by John Lewis Partnership May 6, 2018 Amazon considered an acquisition of Waitrose last year, but was blocked from entering formal talks, reports suggest. A senior executive at the online shopping giant’s UK arm pushed for a meeting with the John Lewis Partnership but was “shut down” by the board, the Sunday Times reported today. The tech company’s acquisition of Whole Foods [...]
City of London Police launch Cyber Griffin initiative to fight online crime in Square Mile May 2, 2018 The City of London Police have launched a new initiative to help protect businesses in the Square Mile from cyber attacks. Called ‘Cyber Griffin,’ the new programme will see specially-trained officers lead a series exercises which will include threat briefings, incident response training and more. The initiative is aimed at businesses within the City and [...]
Sainsbury’s growth falls behind big rivals in latest Kantar figures as it eyes Asda merger to halt Tesco’s march May 1, 2018 The latest grocery market share figures out today from Kantar Worldpanel report strong showings from Tesco and Morrisons while Sainsbury’s growth lags behind. The much-discussed Sainsbury’s merger with Asda, confirmed in detail yesterday, would nab a potential share of 31.4 per cent. For the 12th consecutive period, Tesco has grown more than two per cent, [...]
DEBATE: Would the Sainsbury’s-Asda merger be good for consumers? May 1, 2018 Would the Sainsbury’s-Asda merger be good for consumers? Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, says YES. Large deals such as these will always result in winners and losers, with suppliers and some of the competition potentially falling into the losers camp. However, it is difficult to see that consumers would be anything other [...]
Sainsbury’s Asda merger makes Mayfair live worse for more after delivering £140m blow April 30, 2018 Some of Mayfair’s best-known hedge funds were today delivered a blow by Sainsbury’s as shares in the supermarket giant surged following a weekend confirmation it was holding merger talks with rival Asda. Along with other retailers, the grocer is one of Britain’s most heavily shorted stocks. Some 14.55 per cent of Sainsbury’s share capital is [...]
US non-farm payrolls: Pound up against the dollar as the number of jobs added in the US came in below forecast at 103,000 for March (GBPUSD) April 6, 2018 The US created 103,000 jobs last month as growth slowed following a strong February that had trumped expectations. This time round, the news wasn’t quite so bright, as analysts had been looking for March non-farm payrolls to come in at around 190,000 keeping the six-month average around 186,000. David Morrison, senior market strategist at GKFX, [...]
The fintech revolution is democratising finance, and London is leading the way March 26, 2018 It has been a busy seven days for those who work in fintech or follow its developments closely. A week ago today, we saw unlikely partners come together at the start of the Innovate Finance Global Summit. The City’s 800 years of Gothic grandeur of the Great Hall played host to leading innovators, investors, politicians, [...]
Rihanna roils markets as China bags a key element March 21, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (March 12 to March 16, 2018). This week, Barbadian singing sensation Rihanna managed to wipe $1bn off the valuation of tech group Snap, the Chinese secured a major cobalt deal to help it produce electric [...]
Rihanna roils markets as China bags a key element March 16, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (March 12 to March 16, 2018). This week, Barbadian singing sensation Rihanna managed to wipe $1bn off the valuation of tech group Snap, the Chinese secured a major cobalt deal to help it produce electric [...]