magazine archive
magazine archive
Week Ahead
Latest data indicates a ‘soft landing’ for the economy
Thursday 17 Oct 2024UK investors have plenty of reasons to be cheerful right now as the macro data all seems to be pointing towards a gentle glide path for the economy into Christmas and the New Year. Last week we had a positive surprise courtesy of the August GDP (gross domestic product) print, which showed economic...
Lloyds Banking Group to kick off UK third-quarter earnings season
Thursday 17 Oct 2024Despite the strong market reaction to results from the US banks last week, we can’t see investors getting quite so excited when the UK’s biggest financial institutions unveil their latest earnings over the coming weeks. As usual, the country’s largest mortgage lender Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY)...
American Express is a useful barometer of US consumer sentiment
Thursday 17 Oct 2024Given the rapturous response last week to results from two of Wall Street’s biggest banks and the growing feeling the US economy is on track for a ‘soft landing’, it should be no surprise shares in leading credit-card provider American Express (AXP:NYSE) are trading at all-time highs ahead of its...
Has the hiring cycle hit bottom for beaten-up recruiter Hays?
Thursday 10 Oct 2024City-based headhunter Hays (HAS) has had a rough time over the last 12 months, posting four consecutive quarters of negative growth in fee income. Worse still, the rate of decline actually accelerated over that period to stand at minus 17% at the end of June. Therefore, investors and analysts will...
America’s biggest bank will set the tone for earnings season
Thursday 10 Oct 2024Tomorrow (11 October) sees the release of third-quarter earnings from JPMorgan Chase (JPM:NYSE) , America’s biggest bank by market cap and the 12th-largest company in the S&P 500 index. With a market value of $445 billion and annual revenue of around $130 billion, which includes investment...
Pub group JD Wetherspoon expected to meet full year expectations
Thursday 03 Oct 2024Pub group JD Wetherspoon (JDW) is due to reveal full-year results on 4 October. These are expected to be in line with market expectations according to a pre-close trading statement on 10 July. Consensus expectations are calling for sales just north of £2 billion for the first time and a pre-tax...
PepsiCo is looking to regain its share price fizz
Thursday 03 Oct 2024Investors will be thirsty for evidence of a top-line turnaround when PepsiCo (PEP:NASDAQ) serves up third-quarter results on 8 October. The sodas-to-snacks powerhouse pushed the inflation-pinched consumer to the limit with price rises with the result second quarter sales missed expectations for...
UK and European manufacturing activity continues to diverge
Thursday 03 Oct 2024The UK manufacturing sector remained in ‘expansionary’ territory for a fifth month running in September with a reading of 51.5 on the S&P Global UK PMI (purchasing managers’ index). A figure above 50 indicates an expansion in activity while a figure below 50 represents a contraction. Both...
No quick fix for hard-pressed Nike
Thursday 26 Sep 2024Shares in Nike (NKE:NYSE) surged on Wall Street after the world’s biggest sportswear company announced (19 September) that Elliott Hill was coming out of retirement to take over as chief executive amidst slowing revenue growth, intense competition from Adidas (ADS:ETR) , On Running and Hoka and...
Tesco looks to extend its recent record of delivery.
Thursday 26 Sep 2024Tesco’s (TSCO) shares have ticked up 35% over the past year, so Britain’s biggest grocer by some stretch will need to deliver good news with first half results (3 October) to sustain its upwards stock price momentum. Steered by CEO Ken Murphy, Tesco is expected to update investors on another period...