Asda joins the petrol price war June 27, 2011 ASDA yesterday cut its fuel price for the second time in a week, sparking talks of a war at the pumps. The supermarket cut 2p from the cost of a litre of petrol, taking it down to 128.7p and 132.7p for diesel. Sainsbury’s quickly matched the cut, taking 2p a litre off from last night. [...]
Ocado hit by broker downgrade June 23, 2011 Shares in online shopping service Ocado tumbled by more than six per cent after JPMorgan Cazenove downgraded its rating for the shares and J Sainsbury hired the group’s head of retail Jon Rudoe to run its online operation. JPMorgan downgraded its rating on the online retailer to “neutral” from “outperform”. But the broker added: “We [...]
Ocado hit by broker downgrade June 23, 2011 Shares in online shopping service Ocado tumbled by more than six per cent after JPMorgan Cazenove downgraded its rating for the shares and J Sainsbury hired the group’s head of retail Jon Rudoe to run its online operation. JPMorgan downgraded its rating on the online retailer to “neutral” from “outperform”. But the broker added: “We [...]
Asda loses market share as Lidl and Aldi shore up their position June 21, 2011 ASDA’S share of the UK grocery market fell from 16.7 per cent to 16.3 per cent in the 12 weeks to 13 June, according to figures from Kantar Worldpanel. The figures show that the Wal-Mart-owned chain is now only marginally ahead of Sainsbury’s, which held its share steady at 16.2 per cent. Discount stores Aldi [...]
High street gloom twice as bad as expected… June 16, 2011 THE plight of the UK consumer returned to the fore yesterday as new official data showed retail sales slumped more than twice as much as anticipated in May. Retail spending dropped off sharply with the end of April’s sunny weather and public holidays, leaving sales down 1.4 per cent in May, or 1.6 per cent [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 16, 2011 BARCLAYS Deutsche Bank rates the bank “buy” with a target price of 386p. The broker notes that Barclays was keen to stress its flexibility in the face of regulatory shifts at a recent investor day, forecasting a 15 per cent return on equity for BarCap in 2013 even if revenues are subdued by rule changes. [...]
UK retail sales fall more than expected June 16, 2011 UK retail sales fell more than twice as expected in May, new data has shown, deepening concerns over the health of the high street. Sales fell 1.4 per cent in May compared with April, against economists’ expectations for an 0.6 per cent increase. The fall reversed April’s 1.1 per cent rise as rising job insecurity, [...]
Sainsbury’s sales rise but fuel costs bite June 15, 2011 UK SHOPPERS are spending £10 per week less on food now than two years ago because of the cost of petrol, Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King (pictured) warned yesterday, as the supermarket said sales rose 0.9 per cent in the past quarter. Sales excluding petrol but including VAT rose 1.9 per cent, while sales ex-VAT [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS THERE ANYTHING TO FEAR IN SAINSBURY’S RESULTS? June 15, 2011 CLIVE BLACK | SHORE CAPITAL Its recent de-rating was broadly justified as its outperformance against the pack had ended. But performance convergence at a time of material capital investment must be a growing cause for concern. It needs a stronger momentum if margins are to build and returns grow to justify its capital expenditure. DAVE [...]
Weak banks help drive FTSE to three-month closing low June 15, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares ended lower yesterday, weighed down by banks on worries over the UK government’s drive for tougher regulation and Europe’s debt crisis, while commodity stocks also pressured the index. The FTSE 100 closed down 60.58 points, or 1.0 per cent, at 5,742.55, its lowest finish since March 18. Banks fell ahead of chancellor [...]