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Productivity growth hits its highest rate since the financial crisis
Thursday 01 Mar 2018Interest rate hikes in the UK could be on the way from May onwards after the strongest productivity growth since the financial crisis. In the last quarter of 2017, output per hour rose 0.8% according to statistics agency Office for National Statistics. This was supported by a fall in total hours...
Virgin Money results beat forecasts but doubts over ability to perform
Thursday 01 Mar 2018Challenger bank Virgin Money's ( VM. ) 2017 results have beaten consensus forecasts, with profits after tax hitting £192.1m, 4% ahead of estimates. Its charge for impairments or bad debts is 25% less than market forecasts. However, Virgin’s 2018 guidance for its banking net interest margin is at...
Lithium miner Bacanora prepares for substantial fundraise
Thursday 01 Mar 2018Aspiring lithium producer Bacanora Minerals ( BCN:AIM ) is hoping to raise $450m which is more than two and a half times its current market valuation. The money will be used to build its Sonora lithium mine in Mexico. Bacanora is currently valued at £125m ($174m). The mine will cost $419m to build...
Greggs’ nourishing performance
Thursday 01 Mar 2018Newcastle-headquartered baker Greggs ( GRG ) , a running Shares Great Ideas selection, delivered another nourishing performance in 2017. It served up (27 Feb) a 1.9% increase in adjusted pre-tax profit to £81.8m as like-for-like sales grew 3.7%. Despite cost and consumer spending headwinds, chief...
How did investors react to the latest batch of FTSE 100 results?
Thursday 01 Mar 2018We’re bang in the middle of corporate results season with many of the UK’s largest quoted companies issuing their latest financial results. The main themes have been large earnings beats or misses and investors continuing to be very focused on dividend payments. THUMBS UP FROM THE MARKET Lloyds’ (...
Will there be a bidding war for Sky?
Thursday 01 Mar 2018The market appears to be pricing in a bid battle for pay-TV business Sky ( SKY ) with the shares trading above the £12.50 per share cash bid from US firm Comcast announced on 27 February. This offer trumps the £10.75 per share on offer from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, a deal which was...
Why interest rates on deposit accounts could be set to rise
Thursday 22 Feb 2018Banks have enjoyed access to cheap funding since the UK Government introduced the Term Funding Scheme in August 2016. This allowed banks to borrow money close to the ultra low Bank of England interest rate. With the scheme now drawing to a close, banks will be more reliant on customers’ deposits to...
Get ready for major changes to the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 at next week’s reshuffle
Thursday 22 Feb 2018Shopping centre investor Hammerson ( HMSO ) could be booted out of the FTSE 100 index at next week’s reshuffle and replaced by Royal Mail ( RMG ) , according to analysis of latest market values. On the FTSE 250, relegation candidates include funeral services group Dignity ( DTY ) , pharmaceuticals...
Crunch time as Tesco’s acquisition of Booker goes to shareholder vote
Thursday 22 Feb 2018Shareholders in Tesco ( TSCO ) will next week (28 Feb) vote on whether Britain’s biggest retailer should buy food wholesaler Booker ( BOK ) . Approval would create the UK’s largest foods business. The deal was unconditionally cleared by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on 20 December...
Four important stories from the past week: HSBC, BHP Billiton, Acacia Mining and Fidessa
Thursday 22 Feb 2018Investors may be disappointed with no annual dividend growth from FTSE 100 bank HSBC ( HSBA ) despite it reporting a stronger capital position. The bank’s common equity tier 1 ratio, a measure of the ability of the balance sheet to withstand economic shocks, has jumped to 14.5% from 13.6% a year...