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 [...]
Oreo and Cadbury owner Mondelez International acquires Tate’s Bake Shop May 7, 2018 International junk food giant Mondelez International announced an approximately $500m (£369.48m) deal to acquire Tate’s Bake Shop yesterday. Tate’s, an American cookie company famed for its thin cookies, will join the ranks of Oreo, Cadbury Dairy Milk and Trident under Mondelez’s umbrella. But the crispy cookie makers will continue as a standalone business and keep [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
Sainsbury’s boss Mike Coupe apologises for singing “we’re in the money” as concerns grow over Asda merger April 30, 2018 Sainsbury’s boss Mike Coupe was left embarrassed this evening as he was caught on camera singing “We’re in the Money”, on the day the supermarket announced details of a merger with Walmart-owned Asda. Coupe’s little ditty came as unions and MPs raised concerns that the deal could result in job losses and a squeeze on [...]
Opinion: Why Gibraltar is a rock solid investment, despite being caught in Brexit’s cross-hairs April 30, 2018 Lesser known than some of its European counterparts, the British overseas territory of Gibraltar has hit the headlines recently. A few weeks ago, the British government guaranteed Gibraltar’s access to UK financial markets until 2020 – with a framework being developed to take it beyond that against the backdrop of Brexit. Earlier in January, Gibraltar’s [...]
The weather outside is frightful: Insurer launches digital weather insurance policy April 30, 2018 Insurer Beazley has launched a digital-only insurance policy aimed at allowing events organisers to protect against extreme weather conditions. The new product, Weather Guard, is aimed at organisers of outdoor events that may be affected by severe weather or retailers insuring weather-related sales promotions. The digital policy can be accessed via a mobile device and [...]
Sainsbury’s to announce details of talks for £10bn Asda merger April 30, 2018 Details of a proposed £10bn mega-merger between Sainsbury’s and Asda will be revealed today, after it emerged that the two giants are locked in takeover talks. Sainsbury’s will issue a statement to the market this morning after confirming on Saturday that it was in advanced discussions regarding the tie-up with Wal-Mart owned Asda. City observers [...]
Brexit’s impact on UK GDP has been “relatively muted” since referendum, says Moody’s April 27, 2018 Ratings agency Moody’s said today that Brexit’s impact on UK economic growth had been “relatively muted” since the referendum vote in June 2016. Today, UK GDP growth undershot expectations considerably, edging up at 0.1 per cent, making it the slowest rate of growth for five years. Moody’s has updated its latest Brexit Monitor, a regular [...]
UK GDP: Pound sterling (GBP) falls after UK economy grows more slowly than expected in the first quarter April 27, 2018 The UK economy grew more slowly than expected in the first quarter, with 0.1 per cent growth in GDP reported by the Office for National Statistics this morning. UK quarterly growth was tipped to fall to 0.3 per cent from the 0.4 per cent recorded from October to December. The 0.1 per cent growth in [...]