Sainsbury’s in the spotlight July 12, 2009 J SAINSBURY is hoping, according to insiders, for a “plain old AGM” this Wednesday as shareholders gather around chief executive Justin King for the yearly meet. Sainsbury will be hoping the meeting will largely be an opportunity for investors to laud its current trading efforts, which has seen it outperforming rivals. But shareholders may want [...]
THE TIPSTER NEW SHARES PLACING LIFTS SAINSBURY’S July 12, 2009 SUPERMARKET chain Sainsbury’s had been doing well in the first months of 2009 despite consumers tightening their belts, and its share price reached a high of 347.25p in the middle of May. But its share price then slipped to around 309p and the stock has been trading broadly sideways since then. However, the announcement of [...]
Ericsson signs deal at Cable & Wireless July 8, 2009 TELECOMS giant Cable & Wireless said yesterday it had signed a three-year contract with equipment maker Ericsson, to provide “voice solutions” for 600 of the latter’s staff in Coventry. As part of the deal, Fixed Mobile Convergence will allow Ericsson staff to use their mobiles for all calls. Mobiles can be routed to a landline [...]
Miners give support as they rise to recoup their losses July 7, 2009 MINERS were the saviour of the FTSE 100 yesterday, offsetting falling oil stocks and disappointing UK industrial output data to keep the index flat, or just 7.91 points lower, at 4,187. Data showed that UK manufacturing output unexpectedly shrank in May, falling 0.5 per cent on the month, making it less likely the economy returned [...]
Freshfields is City’s top legal firm July 2, 2009 FRESHFIELDS Bruckhaus Deringer has overtaken rival Clifford Chance to clinch the top spot among the UK’s highest-grossing law firms. Profit per equity partner – considered the best measure of a law firm’s profitability – remained broadly constant for the 2008/09 financial year at £1.44m, outperforming rivals who saw profits slump. Revenue hit £1.29bn, an increase [...]
Britain’s transport policy in deep crisis July 1, 2009 BRITAIN’S transport policy is in chaos. This is hardly news, you might say, but the issue is once again at the fore. It is clear that there is a big problem with the way the rail franchises have been allocated. Firms have an incentive to bid too much for a franchise because they know that [...]
Rock cleared to write loans July 1, 2009 NORTHERN Rock has been cleared by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to keep lending, despite breaching its minimum capital requirements. The FSA had already granted the nationalised mortgage lender a waiver to write new mortgages despite its low levels of capital, permitting the bank to include tier two capital – a riskier type of cash [...]
Tesco Finance linked to bid for Northern Rock June 30, 2009 TESCO has emerged as a potential bidder for nationalised bank Northern Rock. Britain’s biggest retailer has shown provisional interest alongside private equity funds and Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. Tesco is eager to cash in on growing disillusionment with traditional banks and in March announced plans to open bank branches in 30 of its stores. Buying [...]
Energy groups must modernise June 28, 2009 Executives from top UK companies including Tesco, Rolls Royce and BT have warned the big six energy groups that their draconian contract terms will lead to more job losses unless they are massively overhauled. The Major Energy Users’ Council will hold a crisis meeting tomorrow.
McBride beats City forecasts June 24, 2009 McBride, Europe’s biggest maker of retailer own-brand household products, said yesterday full-year underlying profit would beat analysts’ forecasts following a pickup in growth in the fourth quarter. The firm, which supplies supermarkets like Tesco with own-label goods, said operating profit before one-off items and goodwill would be at least £35m for the year ended 30 [...]