WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 12, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES UNICREDIT CHIEF SIGNALS RIGHTS ISSUE TO INCREASE CAPITAL LEVELS UniCredit has given its clearest signal yet that it will seek to raise its capital buffers as market turmoil continues to hit European bank shares. In his first big interview since becoming chief a year ago Federico Ghizzoni told the Financial Times that details [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 11, 2011 WM MORRISON Deutsche Banks rate the supermarket group as “hold” with a target price of 310p, up from 272p. Following results last week, the broker says Morrisons is in a good place relative to other UK food retailers, but lacks growth potential compared to other stocks in the sector. If the supermarket does not achieve [...]
Home Retail boss expects sales to drop September 8, 2011 THE chief executive of Home Retail Group warned that hopes of an “Olympics bounce” on the high street next year could prove misguided. Terry Duddy told City A.M. that consumer confidence was as low as in early 2009. The Argos and Homebase owner reported a second quarter slump which stopped short of analysts’ worst fears. [...]
Home Retail boss expects sales to drop September 8, 2011 THE chief executive of Home Retail Group warned that hopes of an “Olympics bounce” on the high street next year could prove misguided. Terry Duddy told City A.M. that consumer confidence was as low as in early 2009. The Argos and Homebase owner reported a second quarter slump which stopped short of analysts’ worst fears. [...]
Argos sales fall but pace of decline slows September 8, 2011 Homeware retailer Argos trimmed the fall in its sales in the past quarter but remains under pressure, its owner Home Retail Group said in a trading statement. Consumers have dramatically scaled back their buying of expensive electrical goods, leaving sales at the catalogue specialist down 8.6 per cent in the three months to the end [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 8, 2011 HOME RETAIL GROUP Nomura rates the owner of Argos and Homebase as “reduce” with a target price of 130p, and reduces its full-year forecatss for the group by around 16 per cent. The broker sees profits of £137.4m for February 2012, with like-for-like first half sales at Argos down nine per cent, given tough World [...]
More shop chains winding up July 24, 2011 THE number of retail companies which plunged into administration in the second quarter of this year increased by eight per cent compared with same period last year, according to figures from Deloitte. A total of 43 were affected, with household names like Oddbins and Focus being hit by the downturn in consumer spending. Moben, Habitat [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 18, 2011 HSBC HSBC has promoted Krishna Patel, chief executive of HSBC Africa, to chief executive of its Global Private Banking division, reporting to group chief executive Stuart Gulliver. Patel will start his new role on 1 September, initially based in Geneva, and will focus on strengthening the bank’s presence in the fastest-growing wealth markets. Patel, who [...]
Andy Hornby eyed for Coral June 26, 2011 ANDY Hornby, the former chief executive of Alliance Boots, has been named as a frontrunner for the top job at Coral, the bookmaker. Hornby, 44, stood down from Alliance Boots, owner of the high street chemist, in March, after saying he needed “a few months’ break”. However, according to weekend reports, he is tipped to [...]
Andy Hornby eyed for Coral June 26, 2011 ANDY Hornby, the former chief executive of Alliance Boots, has been named as a frontrunner for the top job at Coral, the bookmaker. Hornby, 44, stood down from Alliance Boots, owner of the high street chemist, in March, after saying he needed “a few months’ break”. However, according to weekend reports, he is tipped to [...]