Britain’s Facebook is already here but we lack the tools to identify it February 18, 2013 IT’S been described as “the $4.2 trillion (£2.7 trillion) opportunity”. According to the Boston Consulting Group, there will be 3bn internet users globally by 2016. If it were a nation, the internet-based economy would rank in the world’s top five. And the UK sits at the forefront, with 8.3 per cent of GDP now online [...]
The Tipster | Punch Drunk January 14, 2013 ALTHOUGH shares in J D Wetherspoon are up by 24 per cent over the last year, continued pressure on its margins, and no major sporting events in 2013, mean that it may not be a cheerful year for the pub chain. ETX Capital quotes a price of 516.22p-519.78p. Shares in ASOS more than doubled in 2012. [...]
G7 fails to halt currency wars February 12, 2013 INTERNATIONAL leaders yesterday failed in their attempt to reassure investors that a currency war would not be allowed to escalate, after a joint-statement failed to convince analysts and prompted sharp fluctuations in the foreign exchange markets. Finance ministers of the Group of Seven leading nations, known as the G7, sought to reaffirm their “commitment to [...]
Markets lap up Irish debt as state recovers January 8, 2013 THE EUROZONE’S bailout fund raised funds successfully yesterday, issuing three-month debt at negative yields, indicating strong support for the paper. And Ireland’s government took a big step towards recovery, easily covering a €2.5bn (£2.04bn) issue of debt maturing in 2017. It received orders totalling over €7bn, a strong reception for the state’s first long-term issuance [...]
THE TIPSTER | ASOS hoping for a change of look May 21, 2012 ASOS took something of a beating when it released its trading statement last month, dropping 17 per cent. The hitherto-relentless growth in sales was revealed to have slowed somewhat, even though international sales continued to show excellent growth. ASOS has become a slave to its own excellent performance, and it will need a strong showing [...]
Asos profit surge fuelled by overseas sales May 24, 2012 Online fashion retailer ASOS met forecasts with a 43-per cent rise in year profit as stellar growth overseas offset a weaker home market. The firm, which targets 16 to 34-year-old women looking to emulate the designer looks of celebrities such as Alexa Chung, Tulisa Contostavlos and Kate Moss, said on Thursday it made a pretax [...]
Reflections on Tulchan’s demise at Marks & Spencer February 14, 2013 FOUR weeks ago I asked Andrew Grant of Tulchan a simple question. Had his firm been fired from the retailer Marks & Spencer as its external financial public relations adviser, following the leaking of its annual results which forced their rushed and premature publication? Grant, rightly known for being courteous, well-informed and straightforward, responded that [...]
Best of the Brokers December 9, 2012 ASOS Panmure Gordon has reiterated its “buy” rating on the fashion retailer and upped its target price from 2800p to 2875p after an analyst site visit, saying it had “enormous potential”. BERKELEY GROUP Northland UK has a “buy” rating with a target price of 1750p, adding cash generation at the firm’s sites left it well [...]
Best of the brokers December 5, 2012 WILLIAM HILL Nomura rates the bookie “reduce” with a target price of 260p. The broker thinks the firm’s exit from Greece will cost one per cent of 2013 earnings, and believes a deal to buy Sportingbet would be “excellent”. HOME RETAIL Morgan Stanley has an “overweight” rating on the Argos owner and a price target [...]
UK consumer price index is forecast higher January 13, 2013 UTILITY prices are expected to have lifted the UK’s consumer price index (CPI), the household spending index due out tomorrow along with a swathe of housing and retail data. “We expect CPI inflation to have edged up to 2.8 per cent year on year in December from 2.7 per cent, and retail price index (RPI) [...]