BEST OF THE BROKERS November 29, 2010 RESOLUTION JP Morgan has started coverage of the insurance group with an “underweight” rating and a target price of 254p. The broker believes the firm’s main strength is its excess capital that allows it to make purchases without equity financing, but adds that a share buyback would be more productive. It sees the earnings potential [...]
Apple should look to Nintendo’s past February 6, 2011 THOSE who say Steve Jobs’ eventual departure from Apple could start a terminal decline at the company are wrong. In fact, a glance at the history of another great innovator of the technology world, Nintendo, suggests his exit, whenever it may be, could turn out to be its salvation. Jobs’ strategy with Apple has been [...]
ANALYST VIEWS:?WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF YOUNG’S RESULTS IN THE STRUGGLING PUB SECTOR? June 3, 2010 MARK BRUMBY | LANGTON CAPITAL “The brewery operation Wells & Young has once again turned in a ‘solid’ performance and the tenanted operation has been ‘comparatively strong’ and produced like-for-like revenue growth with volumes little changed. Young’s is well-positioned to meet the challenges that the trade will face during 2010 and beyond.” PAUL HICKMAN | [...]
FTSE climbs up from sluggish start January 24, 2011 From a sluggish start, the FTSE climbed until almost back through the 6,000 barrier, before falling slightly to close up 47.6 points or 0.81 per cent at 5,943.85. Defensive stocks gave the index strength while the market shrugged off early fears about banks after Saturday’s speech by John Vickers, chair of the Independent Commission on [...]
HOW DO YOU RATE THE RESULTS? October 12, 2010 PAUL HICKMAN | KBC PEEL HUNT They set the scene for a clearer identification of equity value in the managed pubs and group cash, while the necessary restructuring of securitisations around tenanted pubs may take its course without prejudice to the equity. SIMON FRENCH | PANMURE GORDON Current trading is better than expected with improved [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS November 29, 2010 POP-UP SWEDISH CHALET AT THE WELL The thought of a Swedish ski lodge sounds wonderfully apt at the (freezing) moment. Well, that’s exactly what you’ll find in the groovy downstairs bit of the acclaimed Well pub in Clerkenwell. It’s been transformed into a world of fake furs, reindeer, fir trees and gingerbread. Abba, Ace of Base [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS November 29, 2010 POP-UP SWEDISH CHALET AT THE WELL The thought of a Swedish ski lodge sounds wonderfully apt at the (freezing) moment. Well, that’s exactly what you’ll find in the groovy downstairs bit of the acclaimed Well pub in Clerkenwell. It’s been transformed into a world of fake furs, reindeer, fir trees and gingerbread. Abba, Ace of Base [...]
Goldman earnings prompt FTSE sell-off January 19, 2011 A surprisingly sharp sell-off on the FTSE this afternoon pushed the index below the 6,000 mark, to close down 79.73 points or 1.32 per cent, at 5,976.70. A bigger than expected fall in earnings at leading US investment bank Goldman Sachs sparked a rout among investors across all sectors. Earlier in the day, more bad [...]
Wetherspoons in sales dip as tough times hit its pubs May 5, 2010 INTERACTIVE INVESTOR PUBS group JD Wetherspoon is feeling the sobering effects of lower consumer spending and tax and duty rises with sales growth slowing in recent months. Same outlet sales for the 13 weeks to 25 April slipped 0.8 per cent. This was much steeper than the 0.2 per cent decline recorded over the nine [...]
Punch pays price for pub bailout plans April 22, 2010 BRITAIN’S biggest pubs firm Punch Taverns yesterday reported a 20 per cent drop in first-half pre-tax profit and said it was paying £2m a month to bail out struggling tenants. The company, which has over 7,100 pubs, said pre-tax profit fell to £66m in the 28 weeks to 6 March compared with £82m the year [...]