BEST OF THE BROKERS December 15, 2009 F&C ASSET MANAGEMENT Singer Capital Markets trimmed estimates on F&C yesterday following a pre-close briefing with the company, to reflect slightly higher variable staff costs. But the broker said the share price remains at a discount within the sector after a year of strong fund performance. It kept its “buy” rating with a target price [...]
THE TIPSTER December 14, 2009 SPORTS retailer Sports Direct is continuing to do well, rising to as high as 110p last week after opening Monday’s trading session at 102p. The stock lost some ground towards the end of the week, but there could be another recovery to come in the run up to Christmas. ShortsandLongs.com has a rolling spread of [...]
SFO in Icelandic bank probe December 13, 2009 THE SERIOUS Fraud Office (SFO) is preparing to announce a formal investigation into collapsed Icelandic banks that operated in the UK. The inquiry, which will examine Kaupthing, Glitnir and Landsbanki, follows months of intelligence gathering by officials at the SFO and is expected to be announced soon. The SFO has been in close touch with [...]
THE TIPSTER TESCO COMES UNDER SELLING PRESSURE December 6, 2009 THERE’S no doubting supermarket Tesco’s market dominance nor its ability to make billions of pounds worth of profit. But its share prices has come in for a little profit taking ahead of its third quarter sales, which are due tomorrow. From a technical point of a view, the chart suggests that a head and shoulders [...]
Ashley hires new chair to Sports Direct November 24, 2009 SPORTSWEAR retailer Sports Direct, has ended its two-and-a-half year search for a permanent chairman, by appointing Keith Hellawell, the government’s former drugs tsar. The position has been vacant since David Richardson quit the post in May 2007, having decided he could not work with billionaire Mike Ashley, who owns 71 per cent of the group. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 16, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES MOBILE MAKERS ACT TO CURB FAKE PHONESThe global mobile phone industry is trying to rein in the rapid worldwide spread of illegitimate handsets by introducing a stricter regime for the allocation of handset identification numbers. The move comes as unlicensed Chinese handset manufacturers have started flooding the world market with exports in a [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPER SAY THIS MORNING November 15, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday TelegraphUK FACES MAJOR OBSTACLES IN BID TO BE A LOW-CARBON LEADERThe UK risks missing out on its slice of the £4.5 trillion low-carbon industry, the manufacturers’ trade body has warned. The EEF said the country faces major obstacles to becoming a leading centre for so-called “cleantech” products and services, “most notably question [...]
St James’ gets Sports Direct branding November 4, 2009 NEWCASTLE fans reacted with dismay yesterday after chairman Derek Llambias announced their historic stadium is to be re-branded as sportsdirect@St James’ Park. Owner Mike Ashley, who also owns the retailer Sports Direct, last week declared his intention to sell the naming rights to the club’s home of 117 years. The change will be effective for [...]
Sports Direct will fight to keep its Blacks holding October 27, 2009 Sportswear retailer Sports Direct is ready to defend its claim to a 28.5 per cent stake in outdoor goods firm Blacks Leisure, rejecting a counter claim by administrators of Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander. “Sports Direct is in the process of taking an action against Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander and its administrators, Ernst & Young,” Sports [...]
Sports Direct races ahead October 22, 2009 Mike Ashley’s budget sports retailer Sports Direct gave an up beat pre-close trading update, saying it is still confident of achieving earnings before interest, tax and depreciation of at least £150m in the current financial year. Ashley also said the board is comfortable the company could reduce its net debt to below £400m. The company, [...]