FTSE buoyed as Draghi speech reverses trend – London Report November 17, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index turned positive late yesterday after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said unconventional monetary policy measures could include buying sovereign bonds. Draghi also told the European Parliament the ECB will continue to do “whatever it takes” within its mandate to save the euro and that the single currency was irreversible. The [...]
Tesco share price up on CEO exit despite profit warning July 21, 2014 Shares in Tesco rallied almost two per cent this morning on the news that boss Philip Clarke is standing down, despite the retailer saying sales and profits would fall below expectations. Tesco's share price jumped 1.8 per cent as investors responded positively to Clarke's departure and his replacement, Unilever's Dave Lewis, the first outsider to take [...]
Diamond Dave Lewis surprises Tesco staff with rare appearance at Birmingham conference September 2, 2014 Twitter was abuzz yesterday with hashtags like #inspired and #TheFutureLooksGreat after the new boss of Tesco paid a surprise visit to a leadership conference in Birmingham. Retail newbie Dave Lewis, who has jumped in to save Tesco, made news headlines after he wrote to his 500,000 employees asking them to email him with ideas [...]
Dave Lewis: Tesco banks on first outsider in its 95-year history. Will he make a difference? July 21, 2014 Tesco’ incoming boss Dave Lewis will have no easy task on his hands when he takes the reins at the UK’s biggest retailer and the world’s third largest chain in October. But while he lacks the Tesco genes that Philip Clarke had from spending 39 years at the grocer, Lewis makes up for it in [...]
George Osborne braced for bad news on deficit reduction – London Report October 19, 2014 Public finance figures due out tomorrow are likely to be a blow to chancellor George Osborne, with tax receipts lowered by very low earnings growth. Economists predict that Osborne is now unlikely to meet fiscal targets for the year, despite improved economic activity, stronger house prices and an improved labour market. Howard Archer, of IHS [...]
Best of the Brokers for 17 July 2014 July 16, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com UNILEVER Oriel Securities has upgraded the consumer goods group to “reduce” from “sell”, raising the target price to 2,600p from 2,190p. The broker thinks while Unilever is strong, earnings per share will be flat. It also sees a lack of consolidation pressure, and [...]
Unilever’s audit goes to KPMG December 2, 2013 KPMG has won the contract to audit consumer goods group Unilever from next year, in an €18m-a-year deal that was previously held by PwC. Unilever said it would part ways with PwC on the audit mandate after 26 years and put the job out to tender in July. The decision followed a rule change forcing [...]
Emerging markets prop up Unilever’s modest growth October 24, 2013 Unilever has announced steady progress in its third quarter results, despite slower markets. (Release) During the quarter, underlying sales grew 3.2 per cent, with emerging markets up 5.9 per cent. Chief executive officer Paul Polman commented that emerging markets continue to be the company's main growth driver, despite the current slowdown. He said that the [...]
Tesco share price timeline: One chart showing the dramatic decline of the supermarket giant December 9, 2014 Since 1919, the rise of Tesco as the dominant supermarket chain has seemed unstoppable. It enjoyed rapid expansion in the 80s and 90s which resulted in a huge market share over the last ten years. This is all now under threat after a series of profit warnings and scandals has cast a bleak shadow over [...]
Unilever to sell trio of haircare brands November 19, 2013 Anglo-Dutch company Unilever, announced on Tuesday it will be selling hair care brands- Soft & Beautiful, TCB and Pro-Line Comb-Thru. The brands are to be sold to Strength of Nature for an undisclosed amount. The sale does not include TCB's African business. President of Unilver North America, said: Soft & Beautiful, TCB and Pro-Line Comb-Thru [...]