Home Retail Sales Fall; Outlook Uncertain
10th Jun 2010 07:17
By Simon Zekaria Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--General merchandise retailer Home Retail Group PLC (HOME.LN) Thursday posted falling first-quarter same-store sales, warned the economy remains uncertain and reiterated that it targets similar profitability this fiscal year to last
Read moreHome Retail sales slip as Argos suffers
10th Jun 2010 07:05
Home Retail Group complained of shoppers' reluctance to part with their cash in uncertain economic times as it reported a decline in like-for-like sales at both its Argos and Homebase stores in the 13 weeks to 29 May. Argos, the retailer where customers choose items from catalogues, was hit partic
Read moreUPDATE: Asos In Talks For High Street Pick-Up And Returns
9th Jun 2010 17:17
(Adds detail, analyst comment, Alliance Boot reaction) By Hannah Benjamin Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Online fashion retailer Asos PLC (ASC.LN) Wednesday revealed it is in talks with several big-name high-street retailers about using their stores to operate a pick-up and r
Read moreThursday preview: Home Retail, Halfords, UK interest rates
9th Jun 2010 16:00
Argos and Homebase owner Home Retail gives a trading update a week after its big rival in the DIY business, B&Q owner Kingfisher, had a moan about adverse weather conditions hitting first quarter performance, and Home Retail is likely to voice similar grumbles. "The UK home and general merchandise
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: BP, Prudential, Goldman Sachs
2nd May 2010 10:43
President Barack Obama will visit the Gulf of Mexico coastline threatened by the giant oil spill, as experts warn that the spill from a ruptured oil rig might be growing five times faster than previously estimated. The oil is gushing from BP's sunker Deepwater Horizon rig at 25,000 barrels a day a
Read moreLondon close: S&P puts spanner in the works
28th Apr 2010 17:09
For the second day in a row the debt ratings agency Standard & Poor's has sent markets into a late swoon, this time with a downgrade on Spanish sovereign debt. Standard & Poor's (S&P) cut its long-term sovereign credit rating on Spain, saying the country is likely to see an extended period of subd
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie in positive territory
28th Apr 2010 14:40
The FTSE 100 is now in positive territory as heavily weighted index constituents such as Shell, BP, HSBC and Glaxo make headway, but the FTSE 250 index remains in the red. Higher oil prices helped Royal Dutch Shell post a sharp rise in earnings in the first quarter of 2010. Profit jumped to $4.9bn
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks off the bottom
28th Apr 2010 12:13
Blue-chips are beginning to recover their poise, helped by demand for heavyweight oil stocks in the wake of better than expected results from Shell, and a positive reaction to results from Glaxo, released at noon. Higher oil prices helped Royal Dutch Shell post a sharp rise in earnings in the first
Read moreLondon open: Footsie heading lower
28th Apr 2010 08:51
Footsie has opened lower though losses so far are not anywhere near the scale seen on Wall Street and Asia overnight. Concern over the state of the eurozone economy may mean more weakness later but for now investors seem happy to wade through an avalanche of results and trading updates. Oil groups
Read moreLondon pre-open: Prepare for weak start
28th Apr 2010 07:36
Further losses are predicted for Wednesday as investors continue to fret about the state of the eurozone economy, although an avalanche of results may prove a distraction. London fell 2.6% on Tuesday after Standard & Poor's decided to cut its credit rating on Greece to junk status and lowering its
Read moreMixed fortunes at Home Retail
28th Apr 2010 07:07
Sales rose but underlying profits fell last year at Home Retail as weak consumer spending and higher product costs put pressure on margins at Argos, though Homebase staged a recovery. Sales overall rose 2% to £6.02bn in the year to end February, from £5.9bn, but discounts and promotions to get cust
Read moreWednesday preview: Glaxo, Shell, Home Retail, RBS, Croda
27th Apr 2010 16:55
In what is sure to be a very busy day for corporate announcements pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline and Anglo-Dutch oil titan Royal Dutch Shell are likely to be two of the biggest, though press coverage of the AGM for part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland may consume an equal amount of
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Goldman Sachs, ITV, RBS
25th Apr 2010 10:43
Goldman Sachs made big profits betting against the mortgage market even though it stated in its 2009 annual report to investors that it "did not generate enormous net revenues by betting against residential related products", according to initial findings of a Senate investigation into the bank, say
Read moreThursday's tips round-up: Fresnillo, JD Sports, JP Morgan Indian Investment Trust
15th Apr 2010 06:43
Fresnillo is well managed, boasts a world-class asset base and its ambitious growth plans seem well within its reach. The gearing of silver prices to economic recovery ? about half of consumption is accounted for by industrial applications ? is also persuasive, says the Times But it adds that, at 8
Read moreLondon close: Footsie finishes in the red
13th Apr 2010 16:16
Footsie finished slightly in the red but recovered from earlier lows as the benchmark index slumped in the afternoon following a poor start on Wall Street. US aluminum producer Alcoa fell after revenue came in short of expectations, which weighed on the mining sector in the UK. Kazakhmys, Fresnill
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