What the other papers say this morning – 25 March 2014 March 24, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Russia braced for £70bn in outflows The Russian government is braced for the country’s capital outflows to soar to $70bn in the first three months of the year as investors seek cover from the fallout of President Vladimir Putin’s Ukrainian land grab. Andrei Klepach, Russia’s deputy economy minister, said capital outflows in the [...]
Japanese bank Sumitomo eyes RBS’s Citizens brand in the US March 24, 2014 RBS’s AMERICAN bank Citizens could be sold to Japanese lender Sumitomo Mitsui after the pair held talks about the unit. The bailed-out bank’s main plan is to float Citizens on the stock market in an initial public offering (IPO), starting this year and completing in 2016. Such a sale would follow the path taken by [...]
City Moves for 25 March 2014 | Who’s switching jobs March 24, 2014 Barclays Business UK The bank has appointed Judith Gage as head of real estate for its business division. She joined the retail team in 1986, and was appointed manager in the business team in 1996. Charles Stanley The investment management firm has hired Simon Davis as a director of wealth management in its financial services [...]
How BHS’ food offerings could unseat Asda and Morrisons March 24, 2014 Sir Philip Green has come knocking at the major supermarkets’ door with plans to launch the first trial food outlet within a BHS department store this week. The retail tycoon, who is eyeing around 150 openings, aims “to be competitive” within the convenience food sector and undercut the big four by around 10 per cent [...]
Best of the Brokers for 24 March 2014 March 24, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com ASOS UBS has kept its “neutral” rating on the online retailer but lowered its target price to 6,200p from 6,660p after a disappointing update on sales and margins last week. The broker expects the sales slowdown to be reversed in the second half, [...]
Wall St The Week Ahead: Federal Reserve chair Yellen in investors’ focus March 24, 2014 FOR US stock investors, the main event will be Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s return trip this week to Capitol Hill. Wall Street will hang on her every word about the weather, of all things, when she goes before the Senate Banking Committee to complete her semi-annual testimony about monetary policy. Yellen will speak to [...]
Sunday trading laws are outdated: We must extend opening hours March 24, 2014 IT’S TIME to reform our outdated, restrictive Sunday trading laws. With online shopping gaining in popularity by the day, the health of the British high street relies on full flexibility to open on Sundays. Three quarters of the public already shop on a Sunday at least once a month. And a recent Comres poll for [...]
UK furniture companies change pricing policy after OFT investigation March 21, 2014 The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has forced five furniture companies to alter their pricing practices. The OFT said in a statement: Reference prices are used by retailers across their sector to advertise a bargain to shoppers, for example by comparing a lower current price against a higher past price such as 'Sale, Was £800, Now [...]
Annuity market to collapse by £8bn because of rule switch March 20, 2014 SAVERS fleeing the pension annuity market will cause it to collapse by two-thirds over the next 18 months, analysts predict, as the fallout from the Budget continued to hit markets. Barclays analysts said the annuity market could shrink from £12bn a year to just £4bn by September 2015, due to changes announced in the Budget, [...]
Profits at Next set to overtake Marks & Spencer March 20, 2014 PROFITS at fashion and homeware retailer Next are set to top those at rival Marks & Spencer for the first time after the group rounded-off a buoyant year of sales with a strong Christmas trading period. The group, which has over 800 shops in the UK and overseas, said sales rose 5.5 per cent in [...]