Ben Hardy on EastEnders and his new LGBTQ film Unicorns: We’re all multi-faceted. Why stick to one label?
What you need to know before the open April 22, 2014 A higher open for European markets is expected this morning, following the S&P 500 posting its best winning streak so far this year. With markets over here closed yesterday, it finished higher for the fifth day in a row. Investor focus will likely be on the latest earnings reports from companies both sides of the [...]
London Report: Osborne likely to have missed financial target April 21, 2014 UK PUBLIC borrowing figures this week are expected to show that the chancellor George Osborne narrowly missed his target for this year. And while future revisions may bring the figures back within Osborne’s target, the figures are likely to bring further scepticism about whether the UK can continue to meets its fiscal targets. “We expect [...]
Card Factory to deliver £700m float in London April 22, 2014 CARD Factory boss Richard Hayes said yesterday that it hopes to emulate the success of other value retailers such as Poundland after announcing plans for float that could value the group at around £700m. The budget greetings chain, which has 700 stores, intends to raise £90m through an initial public offering that will allow its [...]
Travis Perkins announces new CEO as cold weather sees profits fall July 25, 2013 Builders merchant Travis Perkins has announced the appointment of a new chief executive officer – John Carter – who will replace the incumbent Geoff Cooper on 1 January 2014 (release). Geoff Cooper has been CEO since 2005, and retires as he approaches his 60th birthday next March. Commenting on the succession, non-executive chairman, Robert Walker [...]
What you need to know before the open February 26, 2014 Markets are set to open mixed this morning ahead of UK GDP data, and with China fears pulling down metal prices. US markets finished a touch lower yesterday, but have weathered well the string of unimpressive data the country’s seen. Over in Asia, the Nikkei came down from a 4-week high, tainted by US data, [...]
Carphone and Dixons dial up £3.8bn merger May 15, 2014 DIXONS Retail and Carphone Warehouse shares slid into the red yesterday after the high street giants’ plans for a £3.8bn merger was given a mixed reception. The new group, which will be named Dixons Carphone, aims to exploit the ever-growing presence of smartphones in people’s lives and the so-called internet of things – where household [...]
London Report: Insurance firms start a deluge of UK earnings February 23, 2014 A BUMPER week for UK earnings kicks off today with results from Hiscox, one of the big home insurers reporting full-year figures. Figures from Hiscox, RSA and Direct Line could give more detailed estimates of losses for UK industry and themselves after recent flooding and storms. Aviva and L&G are also set to give end [...]
Best of the Brokers for 05 December 2013 December 4, 2013 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com RECKITT BENCKISER UBS has reversed its rating on the consumer goods group from “buy” to “sell” and cut its target to 4,550p from 5,210p. The broker thinks the company’s excess cash flow will be used for acquisitions and not paid out to investors. [...]
Publisher Informa to move tax base back to the UK next year December 10, 2013 PUBLISHING firm Informa Group yesterday said it would shift its tax base back to the UK, four years after it moved to Switzerland to escape former chancellor Alastair Darling’s proposal to tax foreign profits. The group, which publishes titles including Lloyd’s List, plans to change its tax base in 2014, subject to shareholders voting through [...]
Travis Perkins slams Osborne over economy February 21, 2013 THE GOVERNMENT needs some radical thinking to get the economy moving, the boss of the country’s biggest supplier of building materials, Travis Perkins said yesterday. “The trouble at the moment is that people are thinking of conventional solutions and I’m afraid we’re not in conventional economic times, so we’ve got to think more radically to [...]