Banks are becoming more popular despite crisis June 9, 2009 AS a pollster, it’s not so often that survey results fly in the face of your expectations, but preparing some BrandIndex data for a talk at the Association of British Insurers conference, I had two surprises. Looking at the “buzz” tracking for three baskets of brands – banks, utilities, and separately financial services (providers of [...]
Large cap index flat as lack of direction stalls progress June 4, 2009 Gains in energy stocks, pharmaceuticals and banks outweighed losses in miners yesterday, leaving the FTSE 100 0.1 per cent, or 3.52 points, higher at 4,386.94. “The market’s evenly balanced. It’s discounting good news so although it may go higher over the next few weeks, it is slightly overvalued,” said Graham Secker, equity strategist at Morgan [...]
Oil stocks push FTSE 100 lower for second day in row June 3, 2009 THE large cap index lost 2.1 per cent yesterday, dented by weakness in commodity stocks, banks and index heavyweight Vodafone, which traded ex-dividend. At the close, the FTSE 100 was down 93.60 points at 4,383.42, albeit above the session low of 4,359.33. Oil producers were the standout losers, retreating after recent gains in line with [...]
Economic cheer sees FTSE break through 4,500 barrier June 1, 2009 THE FTSE 100 ended 2 per cent, or 88.25 points, higher yesterday at 4,506.19 as some unusually upbeat data saw optimism about the global economy rise. Mining stocks led the charge, as metal prices firmed, bolstered by hopes for increased demand particularly following bullish Chinese data. China’s official purchasing managers index for May stayed above [...]
THE TIPSTER AVOID THE DASH FOR TRASH May 31, 2009 AN economic recovery still remains uncertain so avoid the “dash for trash” and look for stocks that have intrinsic value. The banks have been having a tough time but one that’s stood out is Standard Chartered, which has been making a series of senior appointments to its capital markets team in recent months. The bank’s [...]
Banks and retailers rally to steer the FTSE 100 ahead May 27, 2009 GAINS in banks and retailers outweighed weakness in energy stocks and drugmakers yesterday to leave the FTSE 100 up by 0.1 per cent, or 4.51 points, at 4,416.23. Trade was thin with just 67 per cent of the average of the last 90 days of trading transacted with the absence of concrete data on the [...]
Morrisons outstrips its rivals May 27, 2009 Morrisons is growing at the fastest rate of the big four supermarkets with Tesco continuing to lag behind the pack, according to new industry data. Britain’s fourth-biggest grocer clocked up growth of 7.9 per cent in the 12 weeks to 17 May, lifting its market share to 11.6 per cent. Sainsbury’s, with 7.8 per cent [...]
Hop & glory May 27, 2009 MOST people, when they think of a thirst-quenching beer for summer, probably go no further than lager. Now, there is nothing wrong with a good lager, the problem is simply that there are plenty of sub-standard ones about. The pints of fizz flowing from the beer-taps of many pubs are second-rate and suffer from mass-production. [...]
Staff cash in after record Tesco profits May 26, 2009 MORE than 207,000 Tesco employees are to scoop up share bonuses worth a total of £98m, it was revealed yesterday, after the giant retailer posted record annual results. Under the group’s “Share in Success” scheme, checkout workers to store managers that have worked with the supermarket for at least a year by the end of [...]
US consumer confidence boosts late London trading May 26, 2009 BETTER than expected consumer confidence data out of the US gave the FTSE 100 a much-needed boost yesterday afternoon, after Asia’s sell-off – driven by concerns of heightening geopolictical tension on the Korean peninsula – infected the London markets in early trading. “Following the release of the US consumer confidence data there was an immediate [...]