Nestl boss says he should have seen off rivals November 2, 2009 NESTLE, the world’s biggest food group, should have reacted faster to competitors’ price cuts to avoid slowing sales, chief executive Paul Bulcke said in an interview. Bulcke said the group, whose sales growth this year lagged that of competitors such as Unilever, Danone and Kraft Foods, should have seen the danger of losing market share [...]
HOW WILL THESE RESULTS AFFECT KRAFT’S PLANS TO BUY CADBURY? October 21, 2009 MARTIN DEBOO INVESTECCadbury have come out fighting. But, for us, the quality of the third-quarter and first-half growth is not premier cru. However, we think this will be enough to cause Kraft et al to think hard about a fair exit valuation. GRAHAM JONES PANMURE GORDONWe think this statement, plus confidence expressed about 2010 and [...]
Pick the right defensive firm to protect your stock portfolio October 19, 2009 DESPITE analysts’ continued calls for a much-needed pullback in global equity markets, the FTSE 100 has stubbornly risen to the 5,200 mark. And if you believe that equities are due a correction, then you might want to bulk up your portfolio with a few defensive stocks as they tend to remain relatively stable, even in [...]
Cadbury will aim to paint a defensive Q3 picture October 18, 2009 CADBURY, currently under siege from a bid by Kraft, will look to paint a picture of growth at this week’s update and try and see off the predator by highlighting its sales, volumes and margin trends. The world’s second largest confectionery group is due to issue a third quarter update on Wednesday after rejecting a [...]
Ad industry to fight back October 18, 2009 Advertising Association chief executive Tim Lefroy will this week urge members to retaliate against dwindling public trust in advertising, after a survey found that only 15 per cent of adults “generally” trust advertising. Lefroy blames lobbyists for the lack of trust. Advertisers such as Barclays, Unilever and Diageo are uniting to provide a fund into [...]
Range of large cap firms set to give markets an overview October 18, 2009 THERE is a mixed bag of companies reporting this week, but the diverse selection will give investors plenty to digest. FTSE 100 software company Autonomy will post its third quarter results tomorrow, though its management have already signalled that it will be another strong performance. It said earlier this month that it expects to report [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 4, 2009 ForestersThe friendly society has hired industry heavyweight Graham Berville to the board as a non-executive director. Berville was formerly director of the Association of Friendly Societies and chairman of the Association of Mutual Insurers, as well as a member and chairman of various Association of British Insurers (ABI) committees. Prior to joining Foresters, he spent [...]
The world’s biggest hotelier won’t let the downturn stop expansion September 20, 2009 At 6’3”, the chief executive of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Andrew Cosslett has broad shoulders – and with the battering the travel sector has taken over the last year it is just as well. Not surprisingly, the economic downturn has hurt the world’s largest hotel group, which boasts 630,000 rooms across more than 4,300 hotels [...]
Slaughters and friends feel the heat September 15, 2009 CITY solicitors are hooked on league tables, and the latest one feeding their addiction is a new ranking that details which law firms are bagging FTSE 100 instructions. Movement at the top has got tongues wagging, as the historically dominant Slaughter and May has seen its position challenged for the first time in years, triggering [...]
J Sainsbury names Tyler September 13, 2009 SUPERMARKET chain J Sainsbury has appointed former GUS finance director David Tyler to become its next chairman. Tyler will be taking over the role of Sir Philip Hampton as head of Britain’s third largest supermarket group. Hampton earlier this year said he would relinquish the position to allow him to concentrate on his chairmanship of [...]