Retailer share prices are crashing. Here’s what you need to know about the sell-off June 5, 2014 An unexpected profit warning from online retailer Asos has investors very worried about the health of the sector generally. Asos shares opened more than 40 per cent lower after it announced that it had been forced to slash its full-year profit margin guidance. The key paragraph comes from CEO Nick Robertson: The resultant higher mix [...]
Best of the Brokers for 03 June 2014 June 2, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com BELLWAY Numis has upgraded Bellway to “buy” from “add”, with the target price remaining 1,810p. The broker believes that the company will remain prudent with its balanced approach to growth and risk management, while being expected to be at the forefront of revenue [...]
Brand risk top fear for UK boards May 27, 2014 THREE-QUARTERS of UK board members see brand damage from scandals as the biggest risk they face, over direct financial costs or loss of business contacts, according to a new report released today. Twenty-one per cent of UK respondents placed shareholder activism among their top three concerns, almost twice the global average. A number of London-listed [...]
Shareholders revolt over pay at Reckitt and Ocado May 7, 2014 OCADO and Reckitt Benckiser have become the latest companies to suffer an investor backlash over pay for the most senior staff. About 20 per cent of investors in the online grocer voted against the remuneration report while 13 per cent opposed Ocado’s pay policy. A person familiar with the situation said Ocado’s board had consulted [...]
Best of the Brokers for 29 April 2014 April 28, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com DIAGEO Credit Suisse has cut the drinks group from “outperform” to “neutral” with a target reduced from 2,200p to 1,950p. The broker has also lowered its profit forecast for the coming year by eight per cent to reflect weaker growth in the US and emerging [...]
Tech rout slams UK online giants April 8, 2014 BRITISH technology shares were pummeled for a second day yesterday as waves of uncertainty surrounding the sector continued, despite a recovery across similar stocks in the US. The FTSE 100 dropped for the second day in a row, falling over 32 points to 6,590.69, hampered by the poor performance of tech stocks. The top tech [...]
UK tech stocks sink as US bubble fears hit market April 7, 2014 LONDON’S tech stocks stumbled yesterday after US jitters surrounding the sector late last week reached the City, having sent Asia’s tech stocks into freefall overnight. The FTSE 100’s three week rise abruptly ended as the index fell 72.7 points to 6,622.84 after a sell-off on a number of blue-chip tech stocks hurt investor sentiment. Microchip [...]
Inside Track: City’s tech industry hopes are wrapped up in Just Eat April 3, 2014 JUST Eat shares got off to a very decent start in unconditional trading yesterday in a deal that has demolished some people’s reservations about the London new issues market for technology stocks. Contrary to what a number of experts said at City A.M.’s roundtable on the new issues market last June, London does seem prepared [...]
Morrisons employee arrested as grocer suffers payroll data theft March 17, 2014 Morrisons confirmed yesterday that one of its employees has been arrested in connection with the theft last week of payroll data covering thousands of its staff. The arrest by the West Yorkshire police yesterday morning comes after details of about 100,000 employees, including salaries and bank account details, were published on a website on Thursday [...]
Morrisons’ woes wipe £2.6bn off supermarkets March 13, 2014 FEARS of a new supermarket price war wiped around £2.6bn off the combined value of Britain’s major grocers yesterday after Morrisons launched a major assault on its discount rivals. Shares in Morrisons plunged 12 per cent – to their lowest level since 2008 – after it revealed it would invest £1bn in slashing prices over [...]