magazine archive
magazine archive
Big News
Rating (and slating) the banks
Thursday 01 Nov 2018As the third quarter reporting season for the banks draws to a close there is room for some optimism over the prospects of a sector which has been out of favour in 2018. The updates from Barclays ( BARC ) , Lloyds Banking ( LLOY ) and HSBC ( HSBA ) , in particular, were well received, with Royal...
Weak outlook at Whitbread overshadows new budget hotel concept
Thursday 25 Oct 2018Premier Inn owner Whitbread ( WTB ) plans to target people looking for ‘no-frills’ cheap accommodation by launching a new hotel concept called Zip. Chief executive Alison Brittain says the market opportunity for ultra-budget consumers could be worth £1bn annually. She believes the new Zip brand...
Good news: UK dividends reach record highs
Thursday 25 Oct 2018It is raining dividends in the UK with nearly £100bn worth of income payouts set to swell the coffers of investors in 2018. That’s according to the latest UK Dividend Monitor report constructed by shareholder support specialist Link Asset Services, which has raised its full year estimate by £1.1bn...
United States 1 : Europe 0 in latest earnings season
Thursday 25 Oct 2018The respective earnings seasons in the US and Europe reflect an increasing disparity in corporate health. US firms, buoyed by tax cuts and a robust economy, are flying high. On 22 October, after nearly a fifth of US companies had reported their third quarter numbers, Saxo Bank’s head of equity...
Investors prepare for the Budget and rate decision
Thursday 25 Oct 2018Next week will see investors digest both the Budget on 29 October and the Bank of England’s latest decision on interest rates on 1 November. Chancellor Philip Hammond may be spared some more difficult decisions after reports in the Financial Times that revisions to the Office for Budget...
Why have investors fallen out of love with UK banks?
Thursday 25 Oct 2018Despite mostly positive first-half results, UK banks are completely out of favour with investors so there’s a lot hanging on reports this week from three of Britain’s biggest lenders. Leading the way is Barclays ( BARC ) which on 24 October reported continued steady growth in its third-quarter...
Greencore abandons stateside ambitions
Thursday 18 Oct 2018Dublin-headquartered convenience foods giant Greencore ( GNC ) is set to sell (15 Oct) its entire US business, bringing its near-decade long attempt to crack America to an end. While it is an embarrassing climb-down for the group it at least looks a canny deal. Greencore will distribute £509m of...
Why Superdry’s feeling the heat
Thursday 18 Oct 2018Branded fashion retailer and wholesaler Superdry ( SDRY ) bombed on a full year profit warning (15 Oct) blamed on unseasonably hot summer and autumn weather, a hit from FX hedging losses and the downfall of partner House of Fraser. Yet the Superdry branded t-shirts-to-jackets seller’s shares, now...
Why have leisure stocks underperformed?
Thursday 18 Oct 2018So far in 2018 stocks under Canaccord Genuity’s leisure sector coverage have dropped by 10% on average. This miserable performance, which is worse than the wider market, begs the question of what is going on with this grouping of companies. Investors should note these companies are still profitable...
Weakness in Standard Life shares is not a buying opportunity
Thursday 11 Oct 2018Despite three quarters of the analysts which follow it liking the stock, Standard Life Aberdeen ( SLA ) shares are down more than 30% this year hitting recent lows below 290p. It certainly hasn’t been plain sailing for the venerable Edinburgh firm since its tie-up with Aberdeen Asset Management in...