Broker tips: Supermarkets, Oil services, Sky, Premier Foods
6th Jan 2015 12:23
After one of the worst years in living memory for investors and management in the British supermarket sector, broker Shore Capital expects expect 2015 to be another "very active and interesting" year, though the sector's nadir "may have been reached". "Given the collapse of profits over the last 12-
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks weighed down by economic data, oil and Greece
6th Jan 2015 11:49
Disappointing economic data and a continued slide in the price of oil pushed UK stocks firmly into the red on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 trading at its lowest in three weeks. Ongoing concerns about a Greek exit from the Eurozone were also doing their bit to dampen market sentiment further. "The Gre
Read moreGrocery price war explodes as Asda invests £300m, Tesco and Sainsbury to follow suit
6th Jan 2015 11:45
The UK supermarket price war echoed to the latest shots fired on Tuesday morning as Asda ploughed its largest ever investment into grocery price cuts and Tesco and Sainsbury were rumoured to be in the midst of their own significant price investments. Walmart-owned Asda said it had invested £300m int
Read moreUK supermarket sector poised for strong cash generation, says Shore Capital
6th Jan 2015 10:50
After one of the worst years in living memory for investors and management in the British supermarket sector, broker Shore Capital expects 2015 to be another "very active and interesting" year, though the sector's nadir "may have been reached". Trading updates from the major supermarkets are due thi
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: Verizon-AOL, RBS, Tesco...
6th Jan 2015 06:43
Verizon Communications is in talks with AOL about a possible deal to take over the latter or set up a joint venture, The Telegraph said, citing reports. It is thought that Verizon wants to use AOL to expand its mobile video operations. RBS' deputy chief executive Chris Sullivan has left the bank "se
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: ECB, UK retailers, PRA...
5th Jan 2015 06:40
A Financial Times survey of economists has uncovered scepticism surrounding a potential quantitative easing (QE) programme by the European Central Bank. Most economists questioned by the paper said they expected growth and inflation to remain weak even with QE. The Guardian reports that John Lewis'
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Tesco, Flotations, ECB
5th Jan 2015 02:29
Tesco will scrap the system of rebates and penalty fees it uses to extract money from suppliers, the Sunday Times said. In a trading statement due on January 8th, Chief Executive Dave Lewis will replace the complex arrangements with a simple scheme based on sales volumes. The change will put pressur
Read moreTesco, Sainsbury's and M&S hit by Christmas blues
4th Jan 2015 11:33
Sainsbury's, Tesco and Marks & Spencer are set to report a decline in Christmas sales this week. The three retailers are widely expected to post disappointing festive figures, with Sainsbury's and Tesco bearing the brunt of a decline in food sales, while M&S suffered from a struggling clothing busin
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Petrol prices, Public borrowing, British supermarkets
2nd Jan 2015 09:26
Petrol prices are heading to below £1 a litre for the first time since 2009 in a big pre-election boost for consumers. Plunging world oil prices coupled with a new supermarket price war is driving down pump prices, lowering inflation and leaving consumers with a cash windfall which is boosting econo
Read moreLondon close: Stocks make modest gains in final session of 2014
31st Dec 2014 12:59
London shares finished the final session of 2014 on a positive note, but fell short of last year's closing mark amid lower oil prices and geopolitical turmoil. The FTSE 100 Index closed 19.09 points up at 6,566.09 in a shortened session due to New Year's Eve, down from the 6,749 it reached on the fi
Read moreTesco executive pay committee boss quits
31st Dec 2014 08:08
Troubled supermarket group Tesco is changing the chief of its executive pay committee. Tesco, which earlier this year replaced its group chief executive after its estimated profits were overstated by £263m, said Stuart Chambers would be replaced by non-executive director Deanna Oppenheimer on 1 Janu
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Chief executives, Royal Bank of Scotland, UK Politics
29th Dec 2014 07:24
A quarter of chief executives in the FTSE 100 enjoyed increases in their take-home pay of more than 30% last year despite a continuing squeeze in wages at shop-floor level. However, the report found evidence of restraint ahead: the boards of Britain's top 100 companies have set a median increase in
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Tesco, Oil explorers, Sainsbury´s
28th Dec 2014 17:17
Tesco is testing a discount format in its One Stop chain, indicating the group could be considering new ways to combat Aldi and Lidl, the Sunday Times said. Three One Stop branches have been trading as discounters with low prices and limited ranges for the past seven weeks. The trial is the idea of
Read moreLondon close: Santa Rally continues as UK stocks rise for sixth straight day
23rd Dec 2014 16:51
UK stocks rose again on Tuesday as the Santa Rally continued into its sixth straight day, with markets boosted by some upbeat economic data from the States. Third-quarter US annualised gross domestic product (GDP) growth was revised to 5% from an initial estimate of 3.9%, representing the strongest
Read moreLondon open: UK stocks rise ahead of data, but Thorntons plummets
23rd Dec 2014 08:58
UK stocks jumped again on Tuesday as the pre-Christmas rally continued, with markets extending a two-week high ahead of a barrage of economic data. London's FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 6,618 early on, rising for the sixth straight session. The index closed at 6,576.74 on Monday, its highest finish since
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