More steam left in the bond rally August 22, 2010 IT’S A case of how low they can go for bond yields. After another week marked by disappointing jobs and manufacturing data in the US, investors ploughed into the relative safety of government debt, pushing yields to record lows. But is this an opportunity for spread betters? While it’s true that bonds have been in [...]
More steam left in the bond rally August 22, 2010 IT’S A case of how low they can go for bond yields. After another week marked by disappointing jobs and manufacturing data in the US, investors ploughed into the relative safety of government debt, pushing yields to record lows. But is this an opportunity for spread betters? While it’s true that bonds have been in [...]
M&S defends £15m pay deal for new boss July 14, 2010 SIR STUART ROSE, the outgoing executive chairman of Marks & Spencer (M&S), along with the British retailer’s board faced investor revolt yesterday over the pay package handed to incoming chief executive Marc Bolland. With some shareholders calling his £15m deal “obscene” at its annual meeting, senior executives were left defending Bolland’s pay. Rose, who faced [...]
Don’t bet on strong bank earnings July 18, 2010 REACTIONS were mixed as the first of the season’s US bank earnings rolled in last week. Some analysts – like GFT’s David Morrison – were blaming poor revenue growth reported by Citigroup and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch (BoA-ML) on Friday for the subsequent dip in the S&P 500 as it plunged 2.09 per cent in [...]
FTSE falls to lowest level in a month on US jobless figures August 19, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index fell to its lowest close in a month yesterday, as weak US labour and other data cast further doubt on the strength of the global recovery and as oil stocks fell on lower crude prices. The FTSE 100 fell 91.58 points, or 1.7 per cent, to 5,211.29 points, the lowest close [...]
Sainsbury’s supermarket to shuffle top jobs June 21, 2010 J SAINSBURY became the latest supermarket to shuffle its management team yesterday, in an attempt to cement its plans for long-term growth. The UK’s third-biggest grocer has promoted chief financial officer Darren Shapland to the post of group development director, overseeing business development and group strategy. Mike Coupe, currently trading director, will become the group’s [...]
Results fall short as executive pay surges July 4, 2010 REMUNERATION committees at the UK’s largest companies are demonstrating a marked failure to adequately link executive pay with performance, according to a damning new survey to be published today. While the median remuneration for chief executives at FTSE 100 companies has risen five per cent to £3.1m in the past two years, earnings per share [...]
Tesco chief’s exit is a blow but shares still good buy June 8, 2010 AND so the curtain falls on Terry Leahy’s remarkable reign at Tesco. Most investors will be shocked by his departure; the received wisdom was that Leahy would stick around until 2014, when its troubled Fresh & Easy US venture started to come good. His exit is a major loss for the grocer, there is no [...]
Sales grow at Morrisons November 19, 2009 WM Morrison yesterday unveiled strong third quarter sales, a day after the City and investors were left reeling from the shock departure of its chief executive Marc Bolland. The group said like-for-like sales rose 4.3 per cent in the 13 weeks to 1 November, just below expectations, as slowing food inflation pegged back growth from [...]
Bolland takes the helm as M&S chief May 4, 2010 A NEW era was ushered in at Marks & Spencer yesterday as former Morrisons chief Marc Bolland took the hot seat at the retailer. The Dutch executive faces the pressure of living up to a £15m remuneration package as he takes on the challenges of shaking up the company’s clothing range. Modernising the stock while [...]