Kraft flexes its muscles in Cadbury fight September 8, 2009 KRAFT Foods chairman and chief executive Irene Rosenfeld yesterday hinted the US food giant is ready to get tough in its bid to take over Cadbury, a day after the chocolate maker rejected its initial £10.2bn indicative offer. Rosenfeld told US analysts in a conference call that Kraft “has been and will continue to be [...]
Kraft flexes its muscles in Cadbury fight September 8, 2009 KRAFT Foods chairman and chief executive Irene Rosenfeld yesterday hinted the US food giant is ready to get tough in its bid to take over Cadbury, a day after the chocolate maker rejected its initial £10.2bn indicative offer. Rosenfeld told US analysts in a conference call that Kraft “has been and will continue to be [...]
Poor sales in Europe drag Kesa down September 10, 2009 KESA, the group which owns Comet, said yesterday its first quarter sales had slumped 3.9 per cent year on year, as the downturn in Europe outweighed a slight UK recovery. Sales at Comet went up 0.3 per cent, compared to the same period last year, but the company’s French unit Darty saw sales drop by [...]
DO MICHAEL PAGE’S RESULTS SPELL BETTER NEWS FOR THE JOBS MARKET? August 17, 2009 ROBERT MORTON INVESTECToday’s announcement covers another very difficult trading period, with activity continuing to weaken across the group. But, as with its peer group, Michael Page’s share price rests on recovery prospects rather than current trading, and we continue to rate the stock a “hold”. PAUL JONES PANMURE GORDONThe results were as expected. In terms [...]
HOW DID THE MARKET REACT TO RIO TINTO’S RESULTS? August 20, 2009 IVOR PETHER ROYAL LONDON ASSET MANAGEMENTThe results were a bit below consensus, and that was largely to do with the short fall in iron ore. But it is more about the outlook from here than the results that they reported. If you factor in current commodity prices they could see a substantial lift moving forward, [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 17, 2009 AEGONNomura said that it sees Aegon’s capital position as being very solid and views the firm as having a “belt and braces” approach to capital management. The broker thinks that the firm’s economic rationale for early repayment to the Dutch government is compelling and rates the stock a “buy” with a €7.00 target price. HAMPSON [...]
WILL FEWER PEOPLE BE TAKING A WINTER BREAK IN THE RECESSION? August 12, 2009 SAM HART CHARLES STANLEYWinter 2009/10 is expected to be the toughest period in the current downturn, as winter holidays tend to be more discretionary than summer holidays. Bookings for winter appear to have got off to a slow start, but it remains early in the booking cycle and trading has strengthened in the last four [...]
WILL FEWER PEOPLE BE TAKING A WINTER BREAK IN THE RECESSION? August 12, 2009 SAM HART CHARLES STANLEYWinter 2009/10 is expected to be the toughest period in the current downturn, as winter holidays tend to be more discretionary than summer holidays. Bookings for winter appear to have got off to a slow start, but it remains early in the booking cycle and trading has strengthened in the last four [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 5, 2009 NATIONAL EXPRESSInvestec has retained its “buy” recommendation for National Express. It says that a month of high drama including takeover approaches and a profits warning has left the company fighting for its future. But the broker still believes that despite a likely break-up, the group is trading in line with its peers and therefore risks [...]
CITY MOVES Who’s switching jobs September 8, 2009 LazardThe financial advisory and asset management group has appointed Charles Foreman as a managing director in the UK capital markets advisory and M&A team. Foreman, 47, joins from Deutsche Bank, where he was a managing director in the UK coverage team. His recent assignments include advising the government on stabilising the UK banking system in [...]