Subtle signals are crucial in business November 2, 2014 Even the smallest actions can make a huge impression – think carefully before asking questions. Subtle signals exist in all of our interactions, and the best businesspeople have a firm command over the messages they are sending. New Tesco boss Dave Lewis, for example, quickly decided to sell the firm’s fleet of private [...]
From Danish sperm and Ukip voters to banking stress tests and Tesco’s criminal probe: 10 things we learned this week October 31, 2014 There was plenty keeping us busy this week, and not all of it was Halloween related. What were the top 10 things we learned? 1. An inadvertent comment by a Royal Bank of Canada employee cost the firm several million dollars. The bank had been working on the record-breaking Alibaba IPO but voluntarily withdrew [...]
Why did Tesco’s share price barely register the SFO criminal investigation? October 30, 2014 Not only did Tesco's share price hardly move when it was confirmed that the Serious Fraud Office had launched a formal criminal investigation into the supermarket, it actually ended the day higher. It closed 1.4 per cent up at 173.3p per share yesterday, with the SFO announcement registering as a minor blip in what, [...]
Pumpkin shortage threatens to ruin Halloween October 30, 2014 If you've left it until today to pick up a pumpkin to carve for Halloween, you might be out of luck. Owing to what farmers have described as the worst harvest in years, some shops have started reporting that they have sold out of the seasonal squash. Apparently it is this year's wet [...]
Fraud squad to probe Tesco’s accounting hole October 29, 2014 THE SERIOUS Fraud Office (SFO) announced yesterday that it would take over from the Financial Conduct Authority in investigating a £263m hole in troubled Tesco’s accounts. The retail giant previously said the profits had been overstated due to erroneous timings in accounting for supplier rebates. It is the latest major case to land on the SFO’s plate, [...]
Intertek leads the way as FTSE buoyed by data – London Report October 29, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index yesterday rose to its highest level in nearly three weeks on the expectation that the US Federal Reserve would signal that it was in no rush to raise interest rates. However, late last night – after the London close – investors elsewhere in the world were betting that a US rate [...]
Tesco share price rises as it confirms Serious Fraud Office has launched a criminal investigation October 29, 2014 The Serious Fraud Office has launched a formal criminal investigation into accounting errors at Tesco which led to a £263m profit black hole. Despite that, shares rose 2.6 per cent in mid-afternoon trading. The SFO had previously said it was “following developments at Tesco with interest” after the supermarket’s profit overstatement was first revealed in [...]
Why companies fail when success becomes routine October 27, 2014 The corporate landscape is littered with companies like Tesco, HP and Sony. Once business trailblazers, they have somehow become pedestrian and their performance has suffered. But why didn’t they spot the signs before their market share and profits started to slip? The simple answer is that, when firms perform well, they try to hardwire the [...]
Tesco’s falling share price eats away at Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart’s bonuses October 27, 2014 Here's another reason for Dave Lewis to be concerned about Tesco's tumbling share price – it's already cost him around a quarter of the bonus accrued at his previous employer Unilever. Tesco bought out awards that both Lewis and new chief financial officer Alan Stewart forfeited from leaving their previous employment, which in the [...]
Best of the Brokers for 27 October 2014 October 26, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com PEARSON Westhouse Securities reiterated its “sell” recommendation following Pearson’s update for the nine months to September which showed declining sales and revenues. The broker said Pearson is “a quality company that should benefit from long-term growth in global learning spend”. SHIRE S&P Capital [...]