What the other papers say this morning January 1, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Pessimism mars growth expectations Britons should brace themselves for another year of weak growth as the prospects of a recovery remain gloomy, according to the Financial Times’ New Year survey of 94 leading economists. A larger number of those surveyed thought George Osborne should rethink his austerity drive. Sun European set to buy [...]
Profits and market share increase at Sainsbury’s November 14, 2012 Supermarket J Sainsbury this morning beat expectations by reporting pre-tax profit of £373m over the half year to September, up 5.4 per cent year on year. The supermarket chain’s market share ticked up to 16.7 per cent, the highest for almost a decade, following 31 consecutive quarters of like for like sales growth. J Sainsbury [...]
Stage set for more austerity as the chancellor gives Autumn Statement December 2, 2012 THE biggest news of the week will come from chancellor George Osborne on Wednesday, when he delivers his Autumn Statement. Osborne has already revealed he will be continuing Britain’s austerity drive, saying in a television interview that to turn back from the policy now would be “a complete disaster for our country”. His half-yearly financial [...]
FTSE 100 down as US budget deal hopes fade December 21, 2012 The leading share index slipped back this morning – the final full trading day before Christmas – and fell 0.7 per cent in early deals, as a deal on the US budget looked less likely. US Republican lawmakers have rejected party leader John Boehner’s proposal in the fiscal cliff talks, leading to fears that $600bn [...]
Cranswick profits jump as pig prices passed on to customers November 26, 2012 CRANSWICK, the sliced meat and sausage-maker, yesterday reported a 21 per cent rise in half-year profits as it succeeded in passing higher pork prices onto its customer. The Yorkshire-based group warned last month that UK prices were at a three-month high and would continue rising because of high livestock feed prices and the introduction of [...]
Greencore strikes up sandwich deal with Starbucks’ US stores November 27, 2012 GREENCORE yesterday announced it has struck a $50m (£30m) deal to supply Starbucks’ stores in the US, as the food group revealed a 21 per cent rise in full-year profits. The Dublin-based group said the partnership will see it produce sandwiches for all of the coffee giant’s east coast stores except Manhattan, a major coup [...]
New chair for British Land as profits increase November 20, 2012 BRITISH Land, the UK’s second-largest property company by market value, said yesterday that its chairman will step down at the end of December, as it reported a solid growth in profits for the first half of the year. Underlying profit before tax at the real estate investment trust rose 3.8 per cent to £137m in [...]
Fiasco over results tests M&S’s loyalty to Tulchan January 17, 2013 THERE is little more certain in life than this: one firm’s misfortune will be seized on by rivals desperate to take advantage of another’s woes. So it is that a host of financial public relation agencies have been bending the ears of Marks & Spencer executives to test the retailer’s loyalty to its incumbent agency [...]
Best of the Brokers October 4, 2012 TESCO UBS maintains its “neutral” rating for Tesco while raising the target price to 350p from 325p, despite first-half trading profits that slightly missed consensus estimates. SPORTS DIRECT Seymour Pierce has upgraded the athletics retailer from “hold” to “buy,” and raised its target price from 285p to 420p, saying the firm is well placed to [...]
Best of the Brokers October 4, 2012 TESCO UBS maintains its “neutral” rating for Tesco while raising the target price to 350p from 325p, despite first-half trading profits that slightly missed consensus estimates. SPORTS DIRECT Seymour Pierce has upgraded the athletics retailer from “hold” to “buy,” and raised its target price from 285p to 420p, saying the firm is well placed to [...]