WH Smith raises dividend after profits boost April 22, 2010 WH Smith has raised its dividend after a jump in first-half profits. The newspaper, books and stationery retailer reported a pre-tax profit of £62m for the six months to 28 February. It hiked its dividend by 13 per cent to 6.1p. The company which has shops on in stations airports and hospitals as well as [...]
THE TIPSTER April 21, 2010 UK GDP figures for the first quarter of this year are released on Friday morning and analysts suggest that the economy could have stagnated after a weak showing in the fourth quarter of 2009. Uncertainity surrounding the impact of the volcanic ash cloud on some UK companies combined with weak growth figures could see the [...]
Supermarket boom will continue April 19, 2010 WHILE retailers on the high-street have been struggling with adverse weather conditions and consumers cutting back on spending during a downturn, their supermarket counterparts have been going from strength to strength. Giant grocer Tesco has seen its share price rise 10 per cent over the past six months and today’s full-year results are expected to [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 28, 2010 PUNCH Merrill Lynch selects Punch as one of its top pub picks for 2010. It notes that peer Enterprise, its other top pick, recently posted a much improved trading update, and expects Punch to follow suit in early March. Reiterates its “buy” rating, adding that valuations across the sector look “attractive”. HSBC UBS reiterates its [...]
WH Smith is still upbeat in spite of drop in sales January 27, 2010 WH SMITH yesterday reported a four per cent drop in group like-for-like sales as customers bought fewer books. The figures for the 21 weeks to last weekend showed that the retailer’s High Street stores saw a comparative sales fall of five per cent while sales at its travel-based outlets dipped by two per cent. WH [...]
WH Smith sales dive January 26, 2010 WH Smith have reported a 4 per cent drop in like-for-like sales as customers bought fewer books. The figures for the 21 weeks to last weekend showed that the retailer’s High street stores saw a fall of 5 per cent while its travel-based outlets dipped by two per cent. WH Smith has been concentrating on [...]
THE TIPSTER January 24, 2010 US PRESIDENT Obama’s plans for the banking sector are expected to continue to dominate this week and put further pressure on banks’ share prices across the world. This might make it well worth taking a short out on the UK banking sector. IG Index is offering a spread of 4,466-4,486. But downward pressure on share [...]
Borders in emergency talks November 23, 2009 High street books and CD chain Borders is holding emergency rescue talks as it fights to stay in business. The group, which also includes the Books Etc brand, is understood to be in discussions with firms including Waterstones’ parent HMV as fears mount it could be forced to call in administrators this week. WH Smith [...]
Borders in talks to sell off more stores November 22, 2009 BORDERS, the ailing bookseller, was showing further signs of floundering yesterday, as it entered into rescue talks and looked to sell off further stores. As the threat of failure looms, the private equity-backed retailer is understood to be in talks with record store HMV and stationers WH Smith to buy up its stores. Borders wants [...]
THE TIPSTER CHRISTMAS HAS ARRIVED EARLY IN THE MARKETS November 16, 2009 THE FTSE 100 smashed through 5,300 yesterday, rising 86 points to close at 5,382.67. For weeks the blue-chip index had been struggling to get through this resistance level but yesterday, it was firmly back on the upward trend. Has the traditional Santa rally started early? If so, the next target level would be the 5,500 [...]