Final salary schemes on the way out June 4, 2009 PENSIONS analysts sounded the death knell for final salary pension schemes yesterday, after supermarket chain WM Morrison became the third major company in a week to end its scheme. The retailer’s decision to bring the curtain down on the scheme follows similar moves by Barclays, which transferred 18,000 staff to a hybrid scheme and energy [...]
Confidence wavers but the drug makers have the cure June 17, 2009 RECENT confidence of a quick global economic recovery wavered yesterday, with commodity stocks down on weaker raw material prices but pharmaceuticals and telecoms gaining. “The bulls have lost their swagger and after a week long stalemate, the bears appear to be winning the recovery debate. Financial markets have now broken out of last week’s unusually [...]
Value lines lift Northern Food’s sales May 27, 2009 A SURGE in demand for value lines helped Northern Foods beat market expectations for full year sales yesterday. But the group’s pre-tax profit still fell 5.4 per cent to £47.5m from £50.1m the year before due to restructuring costs. And it warned on future trading due to the rising price of ingredients and pressure from [...]
Economy fears hit oil, miners and banks but defensives fly June 16, 2009 THE FTSE 100 closed 0.1 per cent higher yesterday, recovering only a small part of Monday’s sharp falls as strength in defensive stocks was countered by falls in oils, miners, and banks. At the close the FTSE 100 was up 2.56 points at 4,328.57, rallying slightly after hitting a six-week closing low on Monday when [...]
Economy fears hit oil, miners and banks but defensives fly June 16, 2009 THE FTSE 100 closed 0.1 per cent higher yesterday, recovering only a small part of Monday’s sharp falls as strength in defensive stocks was countered by falls in oils, miners, and banks. At the close the FTSE 100 was up 2.56 points at 4,328.57, rallying slightly after hitting a six-week closing low on Monday when [...]
THE TIPSTER AVOID THE DASH FOR TRASH May 31, 2009 AN economic recovery still remains uncertain so avoid the “dash for trash” and look for stocks that have intrinsic value. The banks have been having a tough time but one that’s stood out is Standard Chartered, which has been making a series of senior appointments to its capital markets team in recent months. The bank’s [...]
Staff cash in after record Tesco profits May 26, 2009 MORE than 207,000 Tesco employees are to scoop up share bonuses worth a total of £98m, it was revealed yesterday, after the giant retailer posted record annual results. Under the group’s “Share in Success” scheme, checkout workers to store managers that have worked with the supermarket for at least a year by the end of [...]
Fears over Barclays sell-off drag the FTSE 100 down June 2, 2009 THE FTSE 100 ended down 0.7 per cent yesterday, hurt by banks after a major shareholder sold its holding in Barclays, although improving US pending home sales lent some support. The index closed 29.17 points lower at 4,477.02, giving up some of the previous session’s 2 per cent rise. Barclays topped the FTSE 100 losers’ [...]
Banks and retailers rally to steer the FTSE 100 ahead May 27, 2009 GAINS in banks and retailers outweighed weakness in energy stocks and drugmakers yesterday to leave the FTSE 100 up by 0.1 per cent, or 4.51 points, at 4,416.23. Trade was thin with just 67 per cent of the average of the last 90 days of trading transacted with the absence of concrete data on the [...]
US consumer confidence boosts late London trading May 26, 2009 BETTER than expected consumer confidence data out of the US gave the FTSE 100 a much-needed boost yesterday afternoon, after Asia’s sell-off – driven by concerns of heightening geopolictical tension on the Korean peninsula – infected the London markets in early trading. “Following the release of the US consumer confidence data there was an immediate [...]