New man is from the Leahy mould April 19, 2011 THE son of a Tesco store manager in the Wirral, Philip Clarke has moved into the hot seat 36 years after he did his first shelf-stacking shift for the supermarket as a schoolboy. Like his predecessor Sir Terry Leahy, who also grew up in Liverpool, he has been one of the backbones of the company [...]
FTSE shares rebound but debt worries still dog bank stocks April 19, 2011 STRENGTH in oversold commodity issues fuelled a modest rally by Britain’s top share index yesterday, while sovereign debt worries continued to dog banking stocks. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was up 26.79 points, or 0.5 per cent at 5,896.87, having dropped 2 per cent on Monday to hit its lowest level since March [...]
Tesco profit up thanks to Asian markets April 19, 2011 Tesco said it would step up innovation in a bid to improve its performance in a tough UK market, as it met forecasts with a rise in annual profit driven by Asian markets. New chief executive Phil Clarke, who took over from Terry Leahy last month, said on he was setting six objectives for the [...]
FTSE to break through 6,000 on M&A rumours April 17, 2011 ALTHOUGH clearly nervous around the psychologically significant 6,000 barrier, London’s blue chip index looks set to build on Friday’s gains, with defensive stocks providing the momentum. In 24-hour trading, GFT is forecasting the UK index to open up 20 points from last week’s close, at around 6,016. The German DAX is quoted to open up [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD in association with GFT April 17, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● On Tuesday, RBS will hold its AGM. The Treasury, on behalf of British taxpayers, still owns the majority of its shares. ● Tesco will report on Tuesday. Every little helps. Fellow FTSE 100 companies Reed Elsevier and Hargreaves Lansdown will be posting first quarter and third quarter results respectively. It’s a busy [...]
THE TIPSTER April 17, 2011 EARNINGS get into full swing this week. Tomorrow sees retail giant Tesco reporting its prelims. Most retail stocks have had it hard recently, with profit warnings being issued left right and centre, but in the last couple of weeks buyers have been attracted back into these stocks, believing the weakness presents a buying opportunity. Capital [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 14, 2011 ASOS JP Morgan rates the online retailer “neutral” but has raised its target price from £13.20 to £19. The broker was pleasantly surprised by ASOS’s sale growth in the last three months of the financial year, which more than offset extra investment in promotional offers. JP Morgan thinks the rise in expenditure is already paying [...]
FTSE falls with investors still cautious ahead of US results April 14, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index fell yesterday, led by Reckitt Benckiser after the company said its chief executive was retiring, and with banks weaker on renewed worries about sovereign debt levels. The FTSE 100 fell 46.64 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 5,963.80, its lowest close since 31 March. The index is up 1.1 per cent [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 13, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES LANSLEY TAKES NURSES’ MEDICINE A contrite Andrew Lansley promised nurses a larger role in the commissioning of healthcare after the Royal College of Nursing passed the first vote of “no confidence” in a health secretary in its history. Attending a “listening” exercise with 65 nurses on the fringe of the RCN’s annual congressl, [...]
Tesco rapped over Asda claim April 13, 2011 Supermarket giant Tesco has been reprimanded for making misleading claims about rival Asda prices. In a national press advertisement, Tesco featured a selection of fresh food products displaying their in-store prices, and those of the same or equivalent products at Asda. Tesco was hitting back at Asda’s price guarantee campaign which guarantees the price of [...]