Best of the Brokers for 02 May 2014 May 1, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com BARCLAYS UBS has upgraded the bank from “neutral” to “buy”, upping its target price from 280p to 305p. Following reports that Barclays is setting up a bad bank, the broker believes Barclays’ management is showing willingness to shift away from loss-making parts of [...]
London Report: Reports of new Pfizer Astra bid pushes up FTSE August 21, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index yesterday rose on gains in healthcare stocks, led by Astrazeneca on speculation that previously rejected US suitor Pfizer might make another bid. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up 22.18 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 6,777.66 points. Astrazeneca rose three per cent to 4,411.50p, while domestic rival Glaxosmithkline advanced 1.2 [...]
Retail insolvencies hit five-year high as corner shops squeezed June 16, 2014 RETAIL insolvencies have unexpectedly risen to their highest point in five years, as 1,287 businesses went under in England, Scotland and Wales in the last financial year. The figure, for the 12 months to the end of March, was up 12 per cent on the previous year’s 1,149 casualties, according to a report today from [...]
London Report: Miners lead way as second half kicks off with a jump July 1, 2014 LONDON’S leading shares yester-day kicked off the month and the second half of the year on a positive note, as investors looked to a mixed bag of global manufacturing surveys. The FTSE 100 ended up 0.87 per cent at 6,802.92. The FTSE 100 is still 1.3 percent off its 2014 peak of 6,894.88 in May, [...]
And the nominees are… September 7, 2014 TOMORROW: ACCOUNTANCY FIRM OF THE YEAR ALDI The German discounter has taken the British high street by storm. Aldi now has a 4.6 per cent share of the UK market, up more than one third in a year due to consumers choosing its quality and low prices over the more established retailers. It has even [...]
London Report: Supermarkets’ results to show split in fortunes May 5, 2014 THE varying fortunes of the UK’s supermarkets will be revealed this week as Morrisons gives its quarterly results while Sainsbury’s announces full-year figures. Sainsbury’s annual results are forecast to show that underlying pre-tax profits rose 3.5 per cent to £782m. However investors will be anxious to see the company’s plans for the next year, especially [...]
Analysts to the fore in big sectorial shakeups September 9, 2014 ANALYST of the year The role of the analyst has become increasingly important at such an uncertain time in the economy, when everyone is looking for guidance. With the UK retail sector in turmoil over the decline of Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s, Waitrose and especially Tesco – caused mainly by the rise of the German discounters – their views [...]
City Moves for 09 July 2014 | Who’s switching jobs July 8, 2014 Universities Superannuation Scheme Jeremy Hill will be returning to the pension scheme trustee company, taking up the role of group general counsel. A qualified solicitor, Hill first worked for the firm between 2009 and 2011. He has previously held leadership roles at Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Merrill Lynch Investment Management, along with positions at [...]
Allardyce: Still time for Hammer Morrison to nail World Cup spot October 17, 2013 WEST Ham manager Sam Allardyce believes rebel-turned-rising star Ravel Morrison could still force his way into England’s World Cup squad. Morrison capped a landmark few weeks with two goals as England Under-21s thrashed Lithuania 5-0 on Tuesday. It followed the 20-year-old attacking midfielder’s lauded solo strike at Tottenham last week, which took his tally to [...]
Tesco market share sinks to a 20-year low June 3, 2014 TESCO boss Philip Clarke is under renewed pressure after figures out yesterday showed that customers abandoning its stores have caused the chain to suffer its worst loss in market share in 20 years. Analysts lashed out as data from Kantar WorldPanel revealed that Tesco’s sales slipped by 3.1 per cent year-on-year in the 12 weeks [...]