THE TIPSTER
GLOBAL food and beverage company PepsiCo announced plans to install former Wal-Mart executive Brian Cornell to head its largest and most profitable unit. This is seen as a positive move which could shake up positions within the company, as existing chief executive Indra Nooyi has been unable to bring the share price back to its glory days. Capital Spreads quotes PepsiCo 63.13p -63.22p.
Many investors would say the 61 per cent drop in Home Retail Group’s profits has already been factored into the stock price. There could be further damage to its shareholders’ pockets after the full-year trading update on Thursday, with speculation over a dropped final dividend shaking the nerves of its followers. Capital Spreads quotes a price of 103.2p-103.8p.
The Brazilian Bovespa has been slowly but surely clawing itself back towards this year’s highs, adding to double digit percentage gains so far this year. Despite a surprise fall in GDP by more than expected last week, the bulls still seem to be in control. Capital Spreads offers an April contract with a price of 67,145-67,205.
Ongoing fears of conflict in the Persian Gulf continue to affect oil prices, and investors are looking around for companies which will not be greatly at risk from a US-Iranian spat. Tullow’s African focus means it will be relatively immune, although fears have persisted about the value of its flagship fields off the Ghanaian coast. Fairly upbeat comments from Tullow about production prospects could help shares to recover some of the ground lost in late February. IG Index’s price on Tullow is 1,433p-1,437p.