FTSE drops after Spain downgrade April 28, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index closed lower yesterday, extending the previous session’s steep falls, after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s cut Spain’s credit rating to AA, overshadowing strong corporate earnings. The FTSE 100 index closed down 16.91 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 5,586.61, after it tumbled 2.6 per cent on Tuesday — its biggest one-day [...]
Start-ups secure funding as recovery kicks in April 26, 2010 For those of us on the ground building businesses, a new reality is emerging as the recovery sets in. Ariadne has won funding for five companies in 2010 including Everyclick, which has secured a hefty sum from new and existing investors. Why are so many start-ups getting funded – in our portfolio and elsewhere – [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 25, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES TOSCAFUND HAS EYE ON £500M OF MORTGAGES Toscafund, the London-based hedge fund founded by ex-Credit Lyonnais star analyst Martin Hughes, is raising capital to acquire up to £500m of UK residential mortgages. The group has already closed a £250m fund of UK sub-prime mortgages, launched late last year, sources told the Financial Times. [...]
Tesco beats volcano with record profits April 20, 2010 TESCO yesterday reported record pre-tax profits of £3.2bn – while escaping the impact of the volcanic ash crisis because so little of its produce is imported by plane. The company saw its net profit up 10.4 per cent up on the previous 12 months. The supermarket giant said the reason for the gains included an [...]
Tesco April 20, 2010 THE LATE Jack Cohen, who founded Tesco in 1924, was fond of telling staff “you can’t do business sitting on your arse”. It’s a slogan that clearly resonates with the current management team, who show no sign of losing their expansionary zeal. Tesco has grown much further and faster than domestic rivals like J Sainsbury [...]
Tesco sees £3.4bn profit after Clubcard boost April 20, 2010 TESCO has reported pre-tax profits of £3.4bn – 10 per cent up on the previous 12 months. The supermarket giants said the reasons for the gains included an 18 per cent rise in the use of Clubcards Group sales, excluding petrol, went up by 6.8 per cent to £62.5bn in the 52 weeks to 27 [...]
Supermarket boom will continue April 19, 2010 WHILE retailers on the high-street have been struggling with adverse weather conditions and consumers cutting back on spending during a downturn, their supermarket counterparts have been going from strength to strength. Giant grocer Tesco has seen its share price rise 10 per cent over the past six months and today’s full-year results are expected to [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 18, 2010 THE SUNDAYS The Sunday Telegraph BARCAP TO RAID ECM BANKERS Barclays Capital, the investment banking arm of barclays bank, is creating a bold plan to catapult its equity capital markets (ECM) business into a global top-three player in under five years. The ambitious strategy just 18 months after its $1.85bn (£1.2bn) acquisition of Lehman Brothers’ [...]
The Tipster April 18, 2010 INVESTMENT company the Alliance Trust has been a solid performer in the FTSE 100 over the past 12 months, gaining 31 per cent in value, which should please most shareholders when its final results are announced today. It is currently trading at the upper resistance of an 18-month-old bull channel, so any pullback to the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 15, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES INVESTORS RAISE FEARS ON “STEWARDSHIP CODE” As the Financial Reporting Council prepares to issue a shareholders’ best practice code, industry groups and institutional investors say they are worried it will become another list of boxes to tick. The FRC’s consultation on the world’s first official “stewardship code” closes on Friday and it expects [...]