Obama has made American brands more popular October 13, 2009 ACCORDING to the Nobel citation, President Obama deserved the Nobel Prize for Peace because of his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”. Was it an absurd award, or a prescient one? Has Obama made America more popular? We have in the past used BrandIndex as a subliminal measure of America’s popularity [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 20, 2009 JD WETHERSPOONInvestec Securities has reiterated its buy recommendation for JD Wetherspoon, noting that potential obstacles should be overcome by the company’s strong cash generation and market share gains. The planned VAT increase is not expected to damage JD Wetherspoon, with price increases and accentuated value relative to peers predicted to compensate.ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLANDEvolution Securities [...]
JD Wetherspoon, Carlsberg unite September 15, 2009 Pub group JD Wetherspoon and brewer Carlsberg UK have announced a new partnership to supply Carlsberg and Tuborg beers in all Wetherspoon’s outlets. The deal was unveiled yesterday at a launch at the new O2 Academy in Birmingham. JD Wetherspoon said the move was timed perfectly to exploit Carlsberg’s sponsorship of the FA and the [...]
Market to eye consumer purse while MPC mulls rates September 6, 2009 THIS week will be all about consumers’ purse-strings and just how tightly they are pulled. Results from across the retail and leisure sectors will go some way to answering that question, while the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee’s decision on interest rates and quantitative easing will tell us what the experts think about any [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 2, 2009 ARRIVANomura downgraded its 2009 earnings estimates for Arriva, but upgraded its estimates for 2010, saying 2009 “looks set to be the earnings low point”. The broker said that the first half results highlighted a solid performance across divisions, and has a “neutral” stance on the stock with a price target of 473.4p. JD WETHERSPOONInvestec said [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 11, 2009 VODAFONENomura said that Vodafone’s European assets declined 2.7 per cent faster than its main rivals in the June quarter and the underperformance has increased over the past year. The broker is concerned that its forecasts assume a sudden return to stable revenue share next calendar year. It fears this is too optimistic and retains its [...]
Wetherspoon is boosted by cheap booze July 15, 2009 PUBS group JD Wetherspoon yesterday said it expected its pre-tax profit for the year to 26 July to come in towards the top end of market expectations, after cost cutting improved margins. The pub chain, known for its low-cost food and bargain booze said in a trading update that like-for-like sales in the financial year to [...]
Hot weather to prove thirsty work and give pubs a boost July 12, 2009 The City has good reason to focus on the pub this week, with numbers from JD Wetherspoon, Enterprise Inns and Mitchells & Butlers all likely to be high on the agenda. The recent hot weather should have provided some welcome business for the hard-hit pubcos. But investors will also look for firms to further defend [...]
Met Office holds the secret to summer success June 14, 2009 I THOUGHT this whole “green shoots” argument was becoming a bit clichéd…then we started getting results from the DIY retailers. In a strictly horticultural sense “green shoots” went a long way towards propping up earnings at Home Retail last week, as sunny weather motivated the great British public to snap up gardening gear, barbecues, bikes [...]