Last Week in the City: Stiff competition in funerals? June 1, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (28 May to 1 June 2018). Shares in listed funeral director Dignity slumped after the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it will examine the pre-paid funeral sector, a move that could see tougher regulation. [...]
Ocado joins FTSE 100 as Marks & Spencer narrowly escapes being kicked off May 30, 2018 Online retailer Ocado officially joined the FTSE 100 today, while embattled department store Marks & Spencer narrowly avoided dropping off the blue chip index. Ocado was promoted from the FTSE 250 in a quarterly reshuffle by index provider FTSE Russell that also saw bookmaker GVC promoted. Ocado’s FTSE jump comes after the retailer’s shares soared [...]
Marks & Spencer’s share price falls as FTSE100 demotion looms May 29, 2018 Pressure is piling on troubled retailer Marks & Spencer, which faces being demoted from the FTSE100 after the index closes today, as its share price tumbled this morning. Officials will reshuffle indices based on close of business market values today, ahead of an announcement tomorrow. As things stand, Mediclinic and G4S both look to be [...]
AA skids off course in mid-cap promotion push as Marks & Spencer swerves blue-chip relegation May 29, 2018 British motoring darling the AA snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, as it is set to narrowly miss out on a return to London’s mid-cap index. Shares in the breakdown firm skidded over seven per cent today taking the firm out of contention for an automatic promotion back to the FTSE 250. Last week, [...]
Last Week in the City: England has an 8.5% chance of winning the World Cup May 18, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (14 to 18 May 2018). UBS has used its City analysts’ predictive firepower to try and work out the winner of the upcoming World Cup in Russia – and England came surprisingly high in its league [...]
Ocado’s tech prowess must be celebrated May 18, 2018 It took a mega deal with a US grocer for Ocado to prove that it’s no basket case. The online grocer saw shares soar more than 80 per cent during trading yesterday after it announced that Kroger, one of the world’s biggest grocery chains with annual sales of $122bn (£90bn), will now use Ocado’s technology to [...]
Mayfair Brexiteer among clutch of hedgies burnt by Ocado’s US-fuelled share surge May 17, 2018 One of Mayfair’s most revered short sellers today took a multi-million-pound hit from Ocado’s rocketing shares. Marshall Wace, which made millions from the collapse of Carillion, has one of the largest punts against the online retailer. With a net short position of one per cent, according to regulatory filings, Marshall Wace booked a paper loss [...]
Sainsbury’s trials London grocery delivery on electric cargo bikes April 19, 2018 Sainsbury’s is trialling a new delivery method in south London this week, as the supermarket looks at new ways to get groceries to customers’ doors. Delivery riders are taking up to 100 orders a day through the streets on electric cargo bikes. The idea is to increase efficiency when delivering groceries by using cycle lanes [...]
Construction activity shrinks in March after unusually bad weather, says IHS Markit, CIPS UK construction PMI April 4, 2018 Activity in the construction sector was chilled in March due to “unusually bad weather”, according to the IHS Markit/CIPS UK construction purchasing manager’s index out this morning. Growth slowed from a reading of 51.4 in February to 47 in March, signalling the first time industry activity fell below the 50 no-change marker for six months. [...]
Last week in the City March 23, 2018 This week, China warned the US that it is not afraid of engaging in a trade war, the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates again, and Facebook shares plummeted after allegations that millions of users' profile data had been harvested. The FTSE 100 was down 3.5% over the course of the week by mid-session on Friday. [...]