Festive trading is slow for UK supermarkets as sales weaken December 19, 2012 SUPERMARKET grocery sales have slowed in the past four weeks, held back by weak general merchandise sales and the continued squeeze on consumer budgets. According to the latest data from Nielsen, grocery sales in the four weeks to 8 December rose 1.3 per cent year-on-year. That compared with a two per cent growth in the [...]
Banks steal spotlight despite weakness in FTSE 100 January 7, 2013 The FTSE 100 stalled this morning after closing at its highest level since February on Friday, with miners dragging down the index. In early deals, it was down around 0.25 per cent. A relaxation in bank liquidity rules dominated the headlines this morning, as regulators said last night that banks will have longer to build [...]
On the rack January 9, 2013 MARKS & Spencer was hit by a worse-than-expected drop in general merchandise sales over the Christmas quarter, the retailer was forced to reveal last night after figures were leaked after trading hours. Britain’s biggest clothing retailer said like-for-like sales at UK stores open for more than a year fell 1.8 per cent in the 13 [...]
FTSE 100 up on US earnings optimism January 9, 2013 Engineers and financial stocks led the blue chip index up in early trading, as a solid start to the US earnings season boosted investors’ appetite for stocks. Miners also advanced as investors welcomed news that Alcoa, the US’s biggest aluminium producer, forecasted a positive outlook for 2013. The FTSE 100 – trading around 0.4 per [...]
Morrison rules out any further discount plans May 3, 2012 WM MORRISON’S chief executive said yesterday the supermarket would not succumb to offering more vouchers after aggressive discounting by rivals like Tesco hurt its first quarter sales. Dalton Philips warned that, as economic conditions remained uncertain, squeezed consumers would continue to seek out even more promotions. But he brushed off concerns that the grocer was [...]
New bidder circles Stansted Airport November 25, 2012 THE sale of Stansted Airport is believed to have attracted fresh attention from Malaysia. Stansted’s owner BAA, which recently renamed itself Heathrow, is being forced to sell the airport by competition authorities, after losing its final appeal in August. Suitors so far include Manchester Airports Group, New Zealand-based investment manager Morrison & Co, Australia’s Macquarie [...]
Best of the Brokers November 18, 2012 COMPASS Panmure Gordon has a “buy” rating on the outsourcing firm and an 820p price target ahead of results on Wednesday. The broker expects eight per cent operating profit growth. WM MORRISON UBS has cut its rating from “buy” to “neutral” and slashed its target from 340p to 270p. The broker thinks the supermarket’s trading [...]
FTSE 100 rallies on US fiscal cliff deal January 2, 2013 Investors welcomed in the first trading day of the new year with a sharply higher blue chip index this morning, as the FTSE 100 rose around 90 points in early trading as US policymakers approved a deal to prevent the so-called fiscal cliff. Miners led the rally, with Eurasian Natural Resources, Rio Tinto, Anglo American [...]
Wincanton swings back to profit November 12, 2012 Supply chain company Wincanton returned to profit in the six months to September, posting pre-tax profits of £13m, up from a loss of £13.6m over the same period in 2011. Over the past six months, it has won several contracts in the retail sector, notably with B&Q and with Morrisons to operate a convenience distribution [...]
Hughes shrugs off sack talk as QPR stay winless November 4, 2012 QPR 1 vs READING 1 QUEENS Park Rangers boss Mark Hughes insists he is still the man to turn around the Hoops’ fortunes, despite leading the club to their equal worst ever start to a top flight season. Kaspars Gorkss put Reading 1-0 up after a quarter of an hour of yesterday’s clash, and although [...]