RBS pays £165m over mortgage sales in the US February 19, 2014 RBS SETTLED a class action case in the US yesterday, agreeing to pay disgruntled investors $275m (£165m) over mortgage-backed securities sold in the pre-crisis boom years. The bank also suspended a third foreign exchange trader this week as part of its internal probe into alleged abuse of the markets. Separately, RBS announced the sale of parts of [...]
Pets at Home to offer public bite at £1.5bn float February 19, 2014 PETS at Home, the UK’s biggest pet store, yesterday announced plans to offer shares to the animal-loving British public as part of its stock market debut next month. The company, which has 369 stores across the UK, said it intends to raise £275m through the initial share offering and use the proceeds to slash its [...]
Profits at Sports Direct in shape February 19, 2014 SPORTS Direct posted a strong rise in profits over the Christmas quarter yesterday but stayed silent on talks with Debenhams after buying an option in the retailer last month that could see it eventually own a 6.6 per cent stake. The sports chain controlled by billionaire Mike Ashley said it had “no further comment” on [...]
Analyst Views: What was your reaction to Sports Direct’s interim statement? February 19, 2014 SANJAY VIDYARTHI | LIBERUMAs flagged at the interims in December, Sports Direct has reported a slowdown in third quarter sports retail sales, but this has come with strong gross margin expansion, which is key… We think this is a decent performance and we maintain our view that it is well positioned to drive long term [...]
Best of the Brokers for 20 February 2014 February 19, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com GENUS Panmure Gordon sticks to its “sell” rating on the livestock genetics firm ahead of interim results next Tuesday. Earnings per share are predicted to decline by almost five per cent to 24.5p, with some of the slump due to currency headwinds that [...]
London Report: FTSE pauses for breath as sharp rally peters out February 19, 2014 THE UK’S top shares steadied yesterday as analysts bet the strong rally that followed a slump in emerging markets has run out of steam, though Sports Direct gained on robust profits. The FTSE 100 closed up 0.28 points – flat in percentage terms – at 6,796.71 points. It hit 6,810.48, its highest since late January, [...]
Here’s why one analyst is getting excited about M&S February 19, 2014 Marks & Spencer shares have jumped this morning after investment bank Jefferies upgraded the stock to reflect the retailer’s new online street cred. M&S, which has been battling to turn around its clothing business in the face of massive competition on the high street and online, has seriously impressed Jefferies with its new “industry-leading” [...]
Bottom Line: London just needs to wait a bit for lift-off February 18, 2014 ON ONE level and after a superficial look at developments, it might seem as if London is in danger of missing out on the impending flood of new issues that are about to hit the financial markets. Yesterday’s flurry of statements revealed that ISS, the giant services group, is floating in Copenhagen; King.com has chosen [...]
Strong January sales for online stores February 17, 2014 ONLINE retailers have seen in the new year with strong trading, with web sales up 18 per cent on January last year. Figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-retail sales index revealed online sales of around £8.1bn for the month. The travel sector was up 16 per cent year on the year and a record breaking [...]
Rising confidence helps boost demand at Hammerson’s malls February 17, 2014 SHARES in Hammerson climbed three per cent yesterday after the landlord hiked its dividend and said growing consumer confidence was sending more retailers flocking to its shopping centres. The owner of Brent Cross shopping centre said rental income rose by 2.1 per cent last year and that occupancy was now at 97.7 per cent thanks [...]