FTSE 250 movers: Home Retail slumps as Argos misses forecasts
13th Jun 2013 14:42
Home Retail saw shares sink on Thursday after the first-quarter underlying growth figures at its Argos chain missed forecasts. Like-for-like (LFL) sales increased by just 1.9 per cent in the 13 weeks to June 1st, well below the 3.0 per cent expected by analysts. LFL growth at the smaller Homebase di
Read moreLondon midday: Financials pull markets lower after Hester exit from RBS
13th Jun 2013 11:38
Uncertainty regarding central-bank stimulus, reductions in global growth forecasts and the surprise departure of the head of one of the UK's biggest domestic banks prompted a sell-off on the FTSE 100 on Thursday, as volatility continued on markets across the globe. London's benchmark index slumped
Read moreLondon open: RBS leads market sell-off early on after Hester exit
13th Jun 2013 08:33
Markets sunk sharply from the off on Thursday morning as the FTSE 100's losing streak was extended into its fourth day, with RBS in focus after shocking the City with the surprise resignation of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Stephen Hester. Following the impressive rise seen at the start of the ye
Read moreLondon pre-open: Sharp falls expected after volatile session in Asia
13th Jun 2013 07:29
The FTSE 100 is expected to extend its current losing streak into its fourth day following heavy falls on Wall Street and another volatile session for Asian markets overnight. Continuing uncertainty regarding the Federal Reserve's 'exit strategy' from stimulus and a strengthening yen saw Japan's Ni
Read moreArgos owner Home Retail sees sales improve, but margins slump
13th Jun 2013 07:07
Homebase and Argos owner Home Retail has revealed an improvement in like-for-like (LFL) sales at both chains in the first quarter, though margins at both retailers were down sharply on the year before. Chief Executive Terry Duddy said that overall the group's trading has been consistent with the bo
Read moreThursday broker round-up UPDATE
13th Jun 2013 07:01
African Barrick Gold: Citi moves target price from 175p to 124p and maintains a sell recommendation. ASOS: Nomura raises target price from 2970p to 3400p keeping a neutral rating. Exane increases target price from 4200p to 5000p and retains its outperform rating. Citi ups target price from 4400p to
Read moreThursday preview: All eyes on Argos turnaround at Home Retail in Q1
12th Jun 2013 15:44
Home Retail, the owner of the Argos and Homebase chains, on Thursday is to update investors on how it has been trading in its fiscal first quarter. The company saw shares fall sharply at the start of May after disappointing with a 10% decline in underlying profit before tax to £91m in the year to M
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Apple, HSBC, Home Retail...
5th Jun 2013 06:46
Financial Times reports that tech giant Apple is facing an import ban in the US on certain models of its iPhone 4 and iPad 2 (as well as some older devices) after the International Trade Commission said that the devices infringed Samsung's patents. "HSBC failed to comply with New York state laws th
Read moreSector movers: High Street retailers rise but supermarkets fall
30th May 2013 14:00
Retail stocks were putting in a mixed performance on Thursday with High Street stocks making gains and supermarket firms in the red. The General Retail sector was among the best performing categories this afternoon with B&Q owner Kingfisher making solid gains despite a slightly disappointing first-
Read moreSTOXX announces changes to Europe 600 Index
29th May 2013 11:14
STOXX Limited has announced the addition and deletion of UK company stocks from its Europe 600 Index as part of a quarterly review. The global index provider, which covers world markets, will delete Spirent Communications, National Express Group, Vesuvius, Kazakhmys, Eurasian Natural Resources (ENR
Read moreDeputy Chairman at Weir Group buys first stake
13th May 2013 16:27
Weir Group's new Deputy Chairman, Charles Berry, has begun building his stake in the company just two weeks into his new role. Berry, who joined the company at the beginning of the month, purchased 2,000 shares at 2,384.93p each for a total of £47,699. On the same day Berry took up the role, the
Read moreLondon close: Stocks pare gains after US data
1st May 2013 16:40
Disappointing economic from the States saw the FTSE 100 halve its earlier gains by the close on Wednesday as markets waited in anticipation of a policy decision from the Federal Reserve later this evening. The US central bank is widely expected to leave its current stimulus measures unchanged follo
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: NMC Health hit by downgrade
1st May 2013 15:30
NMC Health continued to fall one day after it posted an 11 per cent year-on-year increase in first quarter revenues to 139m dollars, bolstered by demand for specialist clinical services in its healthcare division. The figures failed to impress Numis Securities, prompting a downgrade from 'buy' to 'h
Read moreHome Retail Group's annual profits fall on flat sales
1st May 2013 08:04
Home Retail Group reported a fall in annual profits as a drop in sales at its Homebase subsidiary offset strong results at Argos. Benchmark profit before tax for the year to March 2nd declined 10% to £91m compared to 2012, on the back of flat sales of £5.47bn. Argos revenue rose 1.5% to £3.9bn, dr
Read moreSector movers: Retailers under the weather as snow hits sales in March
18th Apr 2013 15:11
Retail stocks were under pressure on Thursday as the recent terrible weather weighed heavily on retail sales figures, as evidenced by the fall in half-year profits at High Street giant Debenhams. UK retail sales volumes dropped by 0.7% in March, worse than the 0.6% decline forecast, as the snow pro
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