Centrica shares dive on profit warning May 8, 2014 Shares in Centrica have shed well over four per cent this morning, after it slashed its earnings outlook for this year. The Big Six energy firm now expects full year adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of 22p-23p, with growth returning next year. The average British Gas residential energy bill was about [...]
General Election 2015: Shares, bonds and the pound all end higher after shock Tory win May 8, 2015 Shares, bonds and the pound all rallied today after the Tories swept to a shock win in the General Election, sparing investors from the inevitable uncertainty which would have come with a round of coalition negotiations. The FTSE 100 closed up by 2.2 per cent at 7,035 points this afternoon as the Tory party prepared [...]
HSBC needs to re-learn its ABCs, or better still, its KYCs February 18, 2015 PLAC, CRD-4, the FCA and the PRA: but for HSBC, the most important acronym in the banking lexicon right now is KYC (Know Your Customer). Since inheriting the reins of Europe’s largest bank four years ago, Stuart Gulliver has rarely been out of his firefighter’s overalls. On many of those occasions it was the bank’s [...]
Balls joins Ford exec in warning against Brexit March 3, 2015 SHADOW chancellor Ed Balls last night described the prospect of Britain leaving the EU as the greatest threat to London – echoing warnings from some business leaders. “The whole of Britain benefits from London’s growth and dynamism,” Balls told London First, a business group in the capital. “We should have no truck with the argument [...]
Centrica boss Laidlaw gets cold feet over top job at BG Group June 16, 2014 CENTRICA chief Sam Laidlaw will not be moving to take the vacant top spot at BG Group, according to reports that he has privately ruled himself out of the position. The chief executive has been regularly named in connection with the opening at BG group. Laidlaw indicated earlier this year that he wishes to step [...]
Centrica slides after surprise profit warning May 8, 2014 CENTRICA’S share price dropped yesterday, after the energy giant issued its second profit morning in six months. The FTSE 100 firm, which owns big six supplier British Gas, said lower energy consumption due to mild winter weather in the UK and losses from its UK gas-fired power stations had caused the company to lower its [...]
FTSE rises ahead of Osborne’s pre-poll Budget – London Report March 17, 2015 BRITAIN’S top share index edged higher yesterday to extend a recent rebound from last week’s lows, with gains coming in ahead of key policy announcements from the UK and the US. The FTSE 100 rose 0.5 per cent to 6,837.61 points, as shares of natural-resources producers ticked up and utilities pushed higher, led by a [...]
11 of the world’s 100 most sustainable companies are in the UK: Marks & Spencer, BT, and the London Stock Exchange January 22, 2015 The UK is home to 11 of the world's 100 most sustainable companies with Marks & Spencer, BT, and the London Stock Exchange all making it into the prestigious ranking. The other UK-based companies listed were Reckitt Benckiser, Centrica, Unilever, British Land, Sky, Pearson, BG Group and Electrocomponents. Each year media company Corporate Knights produces the ranking which measures companies' sustainability in terms [...]
Best of the Brokers for 19 November 2014 November 18, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com CENTRICA Whitman Howard reiterated its “buy” rating. The broker said Centrica remained well placed, as it was financially sound and the negatives to the company were “already reflected in the current low rating”. It added: “The positive movements in managerial progression is also [...]
Britain close to deflation as oil drags on prices – London Report February 15, 2015 CONSUMER price inflation is expected to have fallen to a record low, with figures out this week likely to show it reached 0.3 per cent in January. The rate was 0.5 per cent in December – at a low since comparable records began in 1989 – and it is forecast to have fallen further, as [...]