London close: Supermarket share slump limits market gains
23rd Oct 2014 16:15
UK supermarkets held back London shares on Thursday after beleaguered Tesco reported lower first half profits and said the hole in its accounts was bigger than thought. Shares in Tesco led the FTSE 100 Index fallers with a 12p slump to 171p as the group said trading profits dropped 39.4% at constant
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Tesco leads downside after profits slide
23rd Oct 2014 14:46
Tesco led the downside after its first-half trading profits fell 39.4% at constant exchange rates to £937m. Tesco's chairman Sir Richard Broadbent announced his own succession process had begun, as the company's UK like-for-like sales fell 4.6%. Although its pension deficit surged from £2.6bn to £3.
Read moreSector movers: Tesco's woes hit supermarket sector as shares tank
23rd Oct 2014 11:59
Tesco's highly-anticipated first-half results delivered a blow to the UK supermarket sector on Thursday despite profits coming in ahead of expectations, as analysts raised concerns about the struggles facing its new boss as he attempts to turn the business around. Tesco's shares were 7.3% lower at 1
Read moreLondon close: Markets up on positive company news
22nd Oct 2014 17:04
The London market closed in positive territory for the second time this week as traders weary of negative economic news took heart from upbeat corporate results. The FTSE 100 Index ended the session 27.4 points ahead at 6399.73 as drug group GlaxoSmithKline pleased investors with news of higher earn
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: GlaxoSmithKline leads risers after pleasing with Q3 results
22nd Oct 2014 16:05
Drug giant Glaxosmithkline (GSK) rose after the pharmaceutical giant said core operating profit fell by just 6% to £1.89bn, compared with the £1.71bn forecast. Figures out from AA Insurance lifted shares in car insurers on Wednesday, with Direct Line and Admiral both parking themselves in the top 10
Read moreSupermarkets face dismal Christmas unless they shape up, says Begbies Traynor
22nd Oct 2014 14:12
The UK's big supermarkets are facing a miserable Christmas and potential financial problems unless they sort out issues stopping them fighting off competition from discounters, insolvency experts Begbies Traynor said. The likes of Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Wal-Mart's Asda need to eliminat
Read moreLondon midday: UK stocks flat amid central-bank speculation
22nd Oct 2014 11:42
UK stocks were broadly flat on Wednesday morning after jumping to a one-week high the previous session, as investors reacted to ongoing central-bank speculation and digested mixed corporate earnings. The FTSE 100 was down 0.05% at 6,369 by midday, with results from the likes of British American Toba
Read moreSupermarkets are out of date, says Waitrose boss
22nd Oct 2014 11:19
The 'big four' supermarkets have been accused of being out of date by the head of upmarket grocer Waitrose. Speaking at the launch of the retailer's Food and Drink report, Mark Price said that public's shopping habits have changed much more radically than simply favouring discount retailers. The cu
Read moreSainsburys does deal with Fitbug
22nd Oct 2014 08:15
Sainsbury's and US discount retailer Target are to stock health tracking devices supplied by AIM-listed group Fitbug. Fitbug said the pair would stock its products in their clothing and non-food ranges from November. Sainsbury's will roll out Fitbug products in 293 of its stores. Fitbug supplies ac
Read moreSector movers: Grocery stocks rise as Kantar data shows improving trends
21st Oct 2014 13:58
Kantar Worldpanel grocery-market data showing Tesco's best sales performance since June helped fragile sentiment in the battered supermarket industry to improve slightly on Tuesday. Shares of the three listed UK supermarket chains, Tesco, J Sainsbury and Wm Morrison, were all on the rise in afternoo
Read moreTesco market share falls again but decline slows, Kantar Worldpanel says
21st Oct 2014 09:50
Beleaguered supermarket group Tesco's market share fell again in the last three months, although it is showing signs of improvement, according to industry figures on Tuesday. Its market share fell 3.6% in the 12 weeks to 12 October against the equivalent period last year, its best performance since
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Tesco rises on reports profit mis-guidance was limited
20th Oct 2014 15:21
Travel stocks were putting in a decent performance on Monday, following recent volatile trading amid the growing Ebola crisis. There was good news from several continents on the state of efforts to contain the outbreak, with 48 people coming off a risk list in Texas, Nigeria being declared free of t
Read moreRetail guru Nick Bubb revives Sainsbury's rights issue talk
20th Oct 2014 15:14
Shares in supermarket group Sainsbury's fell on Monday after respected retail analyst Nick Bubb revived speculation that the supermarket group may launch a rights issue. Reports have suggested Sainsbury's and struggling rival Tesco may need to go cap in hand to shareholders for cash to bankroll a
Read moreSainsbury's halves points reward on Nectar cards
14th Oct 2014 16:47
Sainsbury's has announced it will cut the number of Nectar reward points on offer to members of its loyalty scheme. The supermarket giant said that from 11 April the number of points customers earn for every pound spent in store or online will drop from two to one, while customers will also no longe
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Numis upgrades lift Randgold and Antofagasta
9th Oct 2014 15:36
Randgold Resources jumped after Numis upgraded the miner to 'buy' from 'add', while the same broker also gave sector peer Antofagasta a boost after upgrading it from 'reduce' to 'hold'. Fresnillo and Polymetal also gained as a weaker dollar prompted a jump in gold and silver prices. Rolls-Royce was
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