BEST OF THE BROKERS July 5, 2009 HEINEKENBroker JP Morgan yesterday raised its price target for beer brewer Heineken from €23.00 (£19.70) to €26.00, forecasting an improvement in beer volumes during this year and next. JP Morgan added it did not believe that Heineken is again the “cheap value, recovery player” in the sector, but said that the worst is over in [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS THE WORST OF THE DOWNTURN OVER? June 15, 2009 DANIEL OLLIVER LIFE ASSURANCE“I think we are coming out of the downturn, but that recovery will be slow. Everyone is nervous about saying we’re coming out of the slump, as they don’t want to be seen overreacting to a market blip.” DOUGLAS CHU NYSE EURONET“The institutional credit market still isn’t working, and until it does [...]
Greene King buys seven pubs as it reports increase in profit December 1, 2009 GREENE King, the brewer and pubs chain, has continued to weather the economic storm, reporting a three per cent rise in half-year profits. The firm, which brews the Abbot Ale and Old Speckled Hen brands, posted pre-tax profits of £62.4m for the six months to 18 October. Like-for-like sales in its retail business were up [...]
Apple jumps as Dow Jones rallies May 26, 2009 US stocks climbed more than 2 per cent yesterday as data showing the biggest monthly jump in consumer confidence in six years lifted hopes of an economic rebound, and a brokerage upgrade of Apple drove sharp gains on the Nasdaq. Apple’s shares closed nearly 7 per cent higher after Morgan Stanley said the iPhone will [...]
Investors reckon recovery will continue November 2, 2009 THE share price recovery is set to roll into next year thanks to government efforts to kick-start economies, a poll showed yesterday. More than 75 per cent of investors were confident of a neutral or positive equity market outlook in 2010, according to the Global Investor Review survey of 150 major investment banks. The driver [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS THERE HOPE FOR THE PUB INDUSTRY? November 26, 2009 JAMES DAWSON CHARLES STANLEY SECURITIES“M&B has echoed the positive news from most of the other players in the market – Capital, Young’s and Fullers – and its result has reinforced this confidence. But the consumer market is quite fickle and until they are sure about the state of their personal wealth then drinkers will still [...]
Home loans surge but British consumer remains subdued October 29, 2009 MORTGAGE approvals soared to their highest levels in 18 months but credit card lending remained subdued as recession-hit consumers paid back their debts for the third successive month. Data from the Bank of England showed that a total of 56,215 mortgages were approved in September, up from 52,970 in August and above expectations, indicating that [...]
Home loans surge but British consumer remains subdued October 29, 2009 MORTGAGE approvals soared to their highest levels in 18 months but credit card lending remained subdued as recession-hit consumers paid back their debts for the third successive month. Data from the Bank of England showed that a total of 56,215 mortgages were approved in September, up from 52,970 in August and above expectations, indicating that [...]
Dubai reminds traders that stocks are on fragile ground November 29, 2009 DUBAI’S inability to meet its debt payments rattled stock markets across the world last week as the shock announcement sparked new worries about the health of the global economy and governments’ abilities to service their debt. The FTSE 100 index dropped 171 points on Thursday before regaining some of its losses in Friday’s trading. Financial [...]
M&S has best performance in two years July 1, 2009 MARKS & SPENCER (M&S) said yesterday that its 125th anniversary celebrations, a late Easter and the arrival of summer had all helped drive it to the best quarterly performance in nearly two years. M&S reported a drop in UK like-for-like sales of 1.7 per cent for the first quarter, ending 27 June, compared to a [...]