FTSE 100 movers: Energy stocks and supermarkets trade lower
13th Mar 2015 13:28
Energy stocks declined on Friday, ahead of the Labour Party conference, during which Ed Miliband is expected to outline plans to cut energy prices if his party wins the General Election. SSE and British Gas owner Centrica were both trading lower. Supermarkets Tesco and Sainsbury were trading lower a
Read moreTesco, Sainsbury and Asda continue to lose market share, Nielsen shows
13th Mar 2015 11:04
Big supermarkets Tesco, Sainsbury and Asda have continued to lose market share, according to a survey of the UK's leading supermarkets from research firm Nielsen. Nielsen data showed Tesco's sales declined 1.1% to a 27.6% share of the market in the 12 weeks to the end of February, worse than recent
Read moreBarclays cautious on Sainsbury and Morrison
11th Mar 2015 16:39
Plucking nuggets from its in-depth analysis of free cash flow (FCF) of the food retail sector, Barclays equity research team has cast doubts on the resilience of earnings estimates at the UK supermarkets. As growth in food retail has eroded in the last 15 years, investors and companies have become m
Read moreTesco surges to strongest growth in 18 months as squeeze put on rivals, says Kantar
10th Mar 2015 09:20
Tesco has enjoyed its strongest performance in 18 months with sales up 1.1% in the past 12 weeks, as the industry price war created record levels of deflation, according to fresh data from Kantar Worldpanel. Increasing sales have helped Tesco put the brakes on its skidding market share, which is dow
Read moreFormer Sainsbury boss joins chicken processing firm
27th Feb 2015 15:45
Former J Sainsbury boss Justin King has joined processing firm 2 Sisters as an adviser. The part-time role at 2 Sisters marks his first position since leaving Sainsbury. A 2 Sisters spokesman said: "Justin knows our business well from his time at Marks & Spencer and more recently at Sainsbury's, an
Read moreSector movers: Supermarkets lead retailers higher on upbeat grocery data
10th Feb 2015 15:09
Retailers were at the top of investors' shopping lists on Tuesday after an acceleration in UK retail sales growth lifted sentiment, while supermarkets were supported by some upbeat grocery news from Kantar. UK-listed supermarkets such as Tesco and Morrisons were making decent gains in afternoon trad
Read moreGrocery sector accelerates but Tesco and Sainsbury's lose share, says Kantar
10th Feb 2015 09:27
Tesco returned to growth for the first time in a year, according to fresh data from Kantar Worldpanel, but lost market share as the sector grew as a whole, with Sainsbury losing its position as the second largest retailer by market share to Asda. The price war between supermarkets that has now seen
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: BT damaged by pension deficit worries, miners trading higher
30th Jan 2015 13:58
Telecoms giant BT declined despite beating analysts forecasts with a solid rise in profits in its third quarter, as it announced a new 16-year "recovery plan" to pay down its expanding pension deficit, which now stands at £7bn. The company also revealed that it would upgrade its fibre network with l
Read moreLondon midday: Deflation fears hit stocks as Eurozone consumer prices fall
30th Jan 2015 12:09
UK stocks fell on Friday on the back of concerns about the Eurozone, as data confirmed that the region fell further into deflation this month. Consumer prices in the single-currency region decline at an annual rate of 0.6% in January after a 0.2% fall in December, worse than the 0.5% drop expected.
Read moreLondon open: Stocks unchanged ahead of Eurozone CPI, US GDP
30th Jan 2015 08:27
UK stocks opened more or less flat on Friday as investors treaded cautiously ahead of some key economic data, including consumer price figures in the Eurozone and growth estimates in the States. London's FTSE 100 was down just 0.04% at 6,808 early on. The release of the Eurozone consumer-price inde
Read moreWaitrose to open 14 stores and create 2,000 jobs
27th Jan 2015 19:38
Supermarket chain Waitrose has confirmed plans to open an additional 14 stores in the UK, which would create 2,000 jobs. The group, which is owned by John Lewis, said the first of the new stores will open in the spring and that the new facilities included seven large supermarkets, while the remainin
Read moreUK dividend payouts to increase in 2015, boosted by surging dollar
26th Jan 2015 15:26
Companies in the UK are set to pay out more on dividends this year, according to Capita's January dividend monitor, with Big Oil remaining a sector where the dividend is sacrosanct. Firms will boost their regular dividends by 5.7% to reach £83.6bn and may even top 7%, were it not for Vodafone, whic
Read moreLondon pre-open: Declines expected ahead of key US data
16th Jan 2015 07:36
UK stocks are expected to fall early on after a decent jump, albeit in choppy trading, the previous session as investors await key economic data Stateside. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open about 35 points lower than yesterday's close of 6,498.78. A surprise decision by the Swiss National
Read moreErnst & Young to replace PwC as Sainsbury's auditor from 2016
16th Jan 2015 07:02
Supermarket chain Sainsbury's said it intends to appoint Ernst & Young LLP as the group's auditor for the financial year ending 12 March 2016. Ernst & Young, whose appointment remains subject to shareholders approval, would replace PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), the group's current auditor. The
Read moreLondon close: Retailers provide a lift as inflation data boosts economic hopes
13th Jan 2015 16:48
UK stocks put in decent gains on Tuesday as a sharper-than-expected slowdown in inflation boosted hopes for consumer spending and pushed back projections for the first rate raise. A strong start to corporate earnings season in the States and increased hopes for further stimulus by the European Centr
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