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 [...]
Tesco retreats as Clarke puts the brakes on February 25, 2014 Supermarket pulls out of the space race with plans to slash spending and cut prices TESCO’S chief executive pledged yesterday to put the brakes on its UK expansion and spend £200m slashing prices as Britain’s biggest grocer seeks to revive sales and win back falling market share. Speaking at an investor conference, Philip Clarke laid [...]
Tesco to scrap profit target to revive UK sales February 23, 2014 TESCO is set to abandon its industry-leading profit target as it attempts to win back customers and revive flagging UK underlying sales. At an investor event tomorrow, chief executive Philip Clarke is expected to announce it will not stick to its 5.2 per cent margin guidance – the highest in the country – so it [...]
Metro Bank: First London – next, the rest of the UK February 23, 2014 Metro Bank’s chairman and founder tells Tim Wallace he wants to take the Southern-focused lender out to a national audience IT HAS shaken up London’s retail banking scene, with bright new branches on busy high streets, and a bold American-style service ethos. But although Metro Bank startled the market as Britain’s first lender in more [...]
The week in brief February 23, 2014 Coca-Cola to reinvest $1bn in marketing after fall in sales The soft drinks company – one of many struggling to deal with declining demand – plans to make an extra $1bn (£600m) in productivity savings by 2016, most of which will then be reinvested back into marketing. Earlier this month, it announced a drop in [...]