Berenberg upgrades Morrisons, double-downgrades Sainsbury's
28th Apr 2020 12:50
(Sharecast News) - Berenberg double-downgraded its stance on Sainsbury's to 'sell' from 'buy' on Tuesday but lifted Morrisons to 'buy' from 'hold' as it took a look at the food retail sector.
Read moreGrocery sales rise more than £500m in April
28th Apr 2020 08:40
(Sharecast News) - Grocery sales rose by more than £500m in April as the Covid-19 lockdown continued to affect households' shopping and eating habits, a survey showed.
Read moreWednesday broker round-up
22nd Apr 2020 13:54
(Sharecast News) - Centrica: Jefferies downgrades to hold with a target price of 29p.
Read moreJohn Lewis furloughs 14,000 staff and slashes millions from spending plans
21st Apr 2020 15:43
(Sharecast News) - John Lewis announced it is furloughing 14,000 staff and slashing hundreds of millions of pounds from its spending plans for 2020 after predicting that store sales could fall by a third amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Read moreAlmost a third of FTSE 100 cut or scrap dividends
15th Apr 2020 12:01
(Sharecast News) - Almost one-third of FTSE 100 companies have cut or scrapped their dividends during the coronavirus crisis, leaving investors relying on 10 companies for two-thirds of the index's likely payouts in 2020, research shows.
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Tesco, Parliament, Jaguar Land Rover
12th Apr 2020 12:53
(Sharecast News) - Property consultant Altus calculates that, of the £11bn in business rates relief granted in England, about £3bn will go to food retailers. A bailout package meant to prop up businesses facing closure is filling the supermarkets' coffers even as they enjoy record sales. Tensions were raised last week when Tesco, the biggest beneficiary, said it would pay a final dividend of £635m for 2019-20, about 15% higher than the City had expected. Chief executive Dave Lewis reminded critics that it related to performance before the virus drove food-buyers to the supermarkets. He also said that measures to keep Tesco running during the crisis would result in extra costs of £650m-£925m. - Sunday Times
Read moreScrapped dividends near £20bn as Covid-19 hits payouts
8th Apr 2020 11:01
(Sharecast News) - With almost £20bn of dividends wiped out so far in 2020, boards are grappling with whether to make payouts to shareholders or conserve cash during the Covid-19 crisis.
Read moreTesco ups final dividend as Covid-19 increases costs
8th Apr 2020 07:03
(Sharecast News) - Tesco increased its final dividend as the supermarket group said extra costs from the Covid-19 crisis could be as high as £925m.
Read moreSupermarket sales soar as consumers stockpile household essentials
31st Mar 2020 08:47
(Sharecast News) - Sales across British supermarkets hit record levels in the last four weeks, industry data published on Tuesday showed, as shoppers rushing to stock up on food and other household staples spent an extra £1.9bn at the tills.
Read moreSainbury's to ration key items, close food counters as panic buying soars
18th Mar 2020 10:16
(Sharecast News) - Sainsbury's has introduced a dedicated elderly-only shopping hour and limited the number of key products shoppers can buy, as it became the latest supermarket to stem panic buying.
Read moreTesco sells Thailand, Malaysia businesses for ?8bn
9th Mar 2020 07:15
(Sharecast News) - Tesco said it was selling its Thailand and Malaysia businesses to Thai conglomerate CP Group for $10.6bn (?8.2bn) and planned to return ?5bn to shareholders via a special dividend.
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Prudential, Bank of England, Supermarkets
8th Mar 2020 20:55
(Sharecast News) - Prudential is set to reveal plans for a partial float or sale of its American insurance business as an activist investor circles. The FTSE 100 giant is expected to outline its intention to offload a stake in Jackson, which has four million customers in the US, alongside its annual results on Wednesday. Jackson, founded in Michigan in 1961 and owned by the Pru since 1986, would be worth between $6bn (£4.5bn) and $10bn, according to insiders, although it would be towards the lower end of that range today given the cut in US interest rates in response to the coronavirus and the flight to safety that pushed yields on 10-year US Treasuries to a record low of less than 0.7%. - The Sunday Times
Read moreCMA urges retailers "to act responsibly" during coronavirus outbreak
5th Mar 2020 14:28
(Sharecast News) - Britain's competition watchdog warned traders against trying to "take advantage of people" on the back of the current coronavirus outbreak.
Read moreEuropean supermarkets depleted after coronavirus concerns lead to hoarding
4th Mar 2020 16:36
(Sharecast News) - European supermarkets are following in Asian steps and are suffering severe depletion of goods as stockpiling over coronavirus fears hits the continent.
Read moreRetailers hit by supply chain disruption - survey
4th Mar 2020 13:12
(Sharecast News) - Retailers are reporting increasing supply chain disruptions on the back of the coronavirus outbreak, a survey published on Wednesday found.
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