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 [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 13, 2011 ITV Nomura rates the media group “buy” with a 115p target price. The broker notes recent press coverage claiming that Simon Cowell might not appear in the X Factor until the final show of the next series, but argues that the show might not suffer severely as a result. It points to the American Idol [...]
Asos profit estimated at top end April 13, 2011 online fashion firm ASOS said full year profit was likely to be towards the top end of expectations after a jump in fourth quarter sales. The fast-growing firm said retail sales increased 70 per cent to £93.4m in the three months to 31 March, its fiscal fourth quarter. That compares with a rise of 59 [...]
‘It would be an injustice if Paula Radcliffe never won Olympic gold’ April 12, 2011 HIS ANSWERS come as quickly as the hurdles he repeatedly conquered over 110m when Colin Jackson is asked which British Olympians he believes will capture gold next summer. Triple jumper Phillips Idowu, heptathlete Jessica Ennis, long jumper Greg Rutherford, Dai Greene, the Welsh 400m hurdler – all get a namecheck. And then the one he [...]
M&S poaches top man from Wm Morrison April 7, 2011 MARKS & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland has poached one of his former Wm Morrison colleagues, Christopher Taylor, to take charge of his convenience stores . Taylor, who was leading Morrisons’ expansion into smaller convenience stores, is the first of Bolland’s former executives to be hired by M&S since Bolland was himself poached as chief [...]
FTSE nears seven-year high as M&S boosts retail sector April 6, 2011 BANKS helped drive Britain’s top shares to a near seven-week high yesterday following a Portuguese debt auction, while Marks & Spencer rose on better-than-expected sales, lifting sentiment in retailers. The FTSE 100 ended up 34.07 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 6,041.13, its highest closing level since 18 February. Lex van Dam, hedge fund manager [...]