London Report: Lacklustre trade leaves FTSE 100 treading water September 12, 2013 SUPERMARKET chain Wm Morrison was among the top gainers on the UK’s FTSE 100 yesterday after posting its first-half results but the index continued to toil around the 6,600 level. Wm Morrison Supermarkets rose 1.8 per cent with traders citing dividend, outlook, and valuation attractions as a trigger for short covering after the firm’s first-half [...]
Inside Track: My top tip for 2014: Deutsche Post will buy Royal Mail December 18, 2013 IT wouldn’t be the final column of a calendar year without some predictions for the next 12 months. Here are my top three: Royal Mail will complete a journey from being wholly-owned by the UK state to wholly-owned by a German enterprise within little more than 12 months. Deutsche Post won’t get it delivered cheap, [...]
What you need to know before the open – 07/10 October 7, 2013 Markets continue to be muted by ongoing shutdown in Washington – we're now on day seven – with fingers crossed for an agreement on the raising of the debt ceiling in time for the 17 October deadline. Asian markets closed down on US concern, and it is expected that the deadlock will mean sanguine European [...]
AMEC wins £200m Welsh contract September 9, 2013 FTSE 100-listed engineering firm AMEC yesterday said that it has been awarded a five-year £200m contract extension with its partner, utility service contractor Morrison Utility Services, to maintain gas distribution networks for Wales & West Utilities until 2018. “This successful alliance will remain focused on delivering WWU’s business objectives,” said Marc Boulter, MD of AMEC’s [...]
What you need to know before the open – 11/10 October 11, 2013 European markets are expected to build on yesterday's sizeable gains today, with asian markets seeing a three-week high, following US markets' second best day for the year. The optimism comes as debt talks get underway, with anticipation of a near agreement being made to extend the deadline for raising the US debt ceiling. Moreover, politicians [...]
Sainsbury’s to take Tesco ad fight to court October 29, 2013 J SAINSBURY has announced it is to take Tesco to court to seek a judicial review, after the UK’s advertising watchdog twice rejected the retailer’s complaint against Tesco’s price comparison campaign. Tesco’s Price Promise scheme, launched in March, compares the cost of thousands of own-branded products against Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s and offers a money-off [...]
Morrisons buys 49 Blockbuster shops to grow convenience unit February 17, 2013 SUPERMARKET chain Morrisons yesterday snapped up 49 stores from defunct video chain Blockbuster, proving its commitment to the UK high street as it seeks to expand its offering of smaller shops. Blockbuster collapsed into administration last month, and advisers Deloitte are planning to close 332 stores across the UK. Morrisons, which earlier this month bought [...]
Sainsbury’s to open dark store to meet online demand October 13, 2013 J SAINSBURY is to open its first dark store to support fast-growing demand for its online grocery service in London and the south east. The dark store – so-called because it is not open to the public and only fulfils online orders – will open in Bromley-By-Bow, east London, within the next few years, the [...]
London Report: Recovery looks on track in busy reporting week November 3, 2013 SERVICES figures due out this week, plus the latest updates on industrial and manufacturing production, look set to show continued recovery for the British economy. “September’s industrial production figures are likely to show that overall output partially recovered from its surprise 1.1 per cent monthly fall in August,” said Martin Beck, of Capital Economics. “Manufacturing [...]
Supermarkets in fuel pricing wars September 26, 2013 THE SUPERMARKET price war on petrol escalated yesterday, when some of Britain’s largest chains slashed costs for the second time in a matter of days and Sainsbury’s became the latest grocer to enter the fray. Asda said that it would cut unleaded petrol by 3p to 128.7p per litre and diesel by 2p to 135.7p [...]