Morrisons fails to convince despite Ocado deal May 16, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. It talks the talk, and a 6 per cent dividend yield is attractive, but can this £50 billion grocer walk the walk? Morrisons (LSE:MRW) offered more evidence of its "ever-improving shape" after a robust trading update and intriguing deal to re-write its online partnership with Ocado. While the supermarket's shares [...]
Storms and abandoned nuclear projects take chunk out of National Grid profits May 16, 2019 Profits fell by a third at National Grid last year it said a day after being thrown into the centre of a debate over nationalisation. The figures The FTSE 100 grid operator lost 31 per cent of its profit before tax, down to £1.84bn in the year ending March, it said this morning. Read more: [...]
Lloyds Bank unveils quarterly dividends payments amid pension pay row May 16, 2019 Lloyds Bank has announced plans to pay dividends quarterly from next year ahead of a potential shareholder revolt at today’s AGM. The bank said the move, beginning in the first quarter of 2020, would allow its 2.4 million shareholders to be paid more regularly and efficiently. Read more: Lloyds Banking Group: Q1 results analysis The [...]
European markets back in red as China shows signs of hurting under trade war May 15, 2019 European stocks have fallen after opening higher this morning, as weaker-than-expected Chinese economic data hinted at the effects of the US-China trade war. Read more: China retaliates with tariffs on $60bn of US goods Official figures today showed China’s industrial output growth slowing to 5.4 per cent year-on-year in April, a worse-than-predicted figure and much [...]
British Land swings to a loss as retail troubles hit property values May 15, 2019 British Land became the latest in a string of property giants to reveal a fall in the value of its assets today, swinging to a loss amid turmoil in the retail sector. The FTSE 100 group, which owns developments such as Broadgate campus in the City of London, reported a £300m loss in the 12 months [...]
While the US and China sneeze, London too risks catching a cold May 15, 2019 The trade dispute between China and the US has escalated. After Donald Trump tweeted that he was imposing higher tariffs on $200bn of Chinese imports to the US, China predictably retaliated, announcing on Monday that it would impose a further $60bn of tariffs on US goods coming into the country. Much attention has been paid [...]
B&Q owner Kingfisher sales tick upwards ahead of CEO’s departure May 15, 2019 B&Q owner Kingfisher saw sales edge higher in its latest quarter thanks to warmer weather and a weaker corresponding period last year. Read more: B&Q owner Kingfisher plans foreign market exit as French sales drag UK and Ireland sales rose 5.4 per cent in the three months to the end of April compared to the same [...]
Landsec: A tale of two portfolios May 14, 2019 Investors trying to work out what the future holds for property giant LandSec, which delivered a dismal set of results to the City this morning, could do worse than take a stroll through its Square Mile development. The complex, aptly named One New Change, is a fitting example of how the FTSE 100 real estate [...]
DCC shares up on double-digit growth and £90m spending spree May 14, 2019 Irish multinational DCC today announced another £90m in new acquisitions as it revealed that strong growth in its natural gas segment helped push up profits. The FTSE 100 company sold 10.8 per cent more liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to 2.1m tonnes in the financial year ending March, helping to push revenue up by 30.5 per [...]
Four ways passive investing has altered the markets May 14, 2019 Ever since the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) listed in Europe 19 years ago, passive investing has proved hugely popular. ETFs are traded like stocks, and simply track the big indices like the FTSE 100 or the Dow Jones, as opposed to having a fund manager cherry-pick individual companies for you. And with the lowest annual [...]