Discount stores feast on Tesco’s market share March 11, 2014 TESCO’S market share has fallen to its lowest level in almost 10 years as the supermarket and its mid-market peers lose ground to hard discounters Aldi and Lidl. Britain’s biggest supermarket, which announced plans earlier this month to win back shoppers by cutting prices, saw its market share decline to 28.7 per cent in the [...]
Here’s why the UK’s food sector has a rocky road ahead March 11, 2014 With some dire Christmas sales, heavy discounting and a ramping up of online shopping, the UK food retail sector feels unloved. That’s according to Barclays, which points out that the UK’s sector is now trading at a clear price-to-earnings discount when compared with continental Europe. It hasn’t always been like this for UK companies. Expansion [...]
Asda and Tesco kick off latest fuel price war March 10, 2014 SUPERMARKET chain Tesco kicked off another fuel price war yesterday, swiftly followed by Asda, following a decline in the wholesale cost of petrol and diesel despite escalating political unrest in Ukraine. Tesco cut the price of its petrol and diesel by one pence per litre (ppl) from yesterday afternoon. Asda is lowering its diesel by [...]
Letters to the Editor – 11/03 – Tax reform, Best of Twitter March 10, 2014 Tax reform [Re: Stop acquisitive politicians forever with a max tax guarantee, Thursday] I wish I thought a max tax would work, but it would likely be far worse than useless, and open the way for a British alternative minimum tax. Recall the political grandstanding that accompanied the withdrawal of allowances from higher-earning income taxpayers, [...]
Bottom Line: Price wars can come and go but real estate is permanent March 10, 2014 FOUR pints of milk and a warehouse near Stockton-on-Tees, please. Morrisons’ latest special offers will be welcomed by shoppers and property buyers alike, though the latter have a bit longer to enjoy the spoils of the investment. Cutting the price of everyday groceries doesn’t look like a sustainable strategy on its own for Morrisons, with [...]
Best of the Brokers for 5 March 2014 March 4, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com TESCO Cantor Fitzgerald has cut the supermarket from “hold” to “sell” and slashed its target from 333p to 282p. The broker thinks rivals can easily beat Tesco’s recent price promises, meaning the firm erodes its margins in the UK to little benefit. Cantor [...]
Tesco slashed the price of milk. Here’s how dairy farmers have responded March 3, 2014 Dairy farmers have accused Tesco of sparking a price war with its supermarket rivals that will cause further damage to an already fragile dairy industry, after the retail giant slashed the price of milk. Britain’s biggest food retailer delivered a fresh broadside in the battle for customers’ loyalty after cutting the price of a four [...]
Buffett not so sage after S&P outclasses him March 3, 2014 STOCK picking guru Warren Buffett failed to beat America’s S&P 500 again last year, marking the first time he has lost to the index over a five-year period since he started in 1965, results show. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway saw its book value per share rise by 18.2 per cent in 2013, while the S&P 500 [...]
London Report: Tesco drags FTSE lower as analyst downgrades hit February 26, 2014 ANALYST cuts prompted a rush to the exits for investors in retailer Tesco, weighing on the blue-chip FTSE 100 yesterday and dragging it further away from a recent multi-year high. Nomura, Oriel, Cantor and Jefferies were among those brokers yesterday that cut ratings or price targets on Tesco, the world’s third-largest retailer, just a day [...]
Here’s what 3 banks are saying about Tesco’s latest turnaround plan February 26, 2014 Tesco’s shares are down more than four per cent, after the supermarket chain scrapped its profit margin target and laid out plans to invest in lowering its prices, prompting analysts cuts their ratings and price targets. Deutsche Bank cut its earning before interest and tax (EBIT) forecast of a £50m decline in the year to [...]