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JD Sports says earnings will be 56% higher than expected
Thursday 10 Sep 2020The outlook for athleisure demand looks stronger than many people might have expected, given how JD Sports Fashion’s ( JD. ) new full-year earnings guidance is 56% higher than the analyst consensus forecast. Shares in the retailer jumped nearly 7% to 772.7p on 8 September after the company said its...
Royal Mail shares jump 22% on higher revenue forecast
Thursday 10 Sep 2020Shares in Royal Mail ( RMG ) leapt 22% to 213p on 8 September after the firm raised its guidance for annual turnover but warned that increased costs would still see it post a material loss for the year. It said a substantial shift from letters to parcels in the first five months of the current...
Saga white knight welcomed by investors
Thursday 03 Sep 2020Over-50s travel and insurance specialist Saga ( SAGA ) is set to raise £150 million in a bid to shore up its balance sheet, improve liquidity and help execute its turnaround plan. Shares in the company have soared this week after the news, initially jumping 41% to around 19p, as it was also...
SDL’s tie-up with RWS offers a compelling story
Thursday 03 Sep 2020Investors in language translation software developer SDL ( SDL ) have a decision to make after the company agreed an all-share takeover by RWS ( RWS:AIM ) . RWS is a provider of language localisation and intellectual property (IP) support services. It is the seventh largest company listed on the...
Shock resignation of Japan PM hits Nikkei
Thursday 03 Sep 2020News of Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe stepping down due to ill-health has shocked financial markets. In a flash indication for what it means for Japanese stocks, the country’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index plunged 1.41% in afternoon trading on 28 August shortly before the news was confirmed...
US markets flash warning signs with echoes of past corrections
Thursday 03 Sep 2020Technical analysis and other market developments suggest investors should be on their guard. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices are rising at the same time as implied volatility is rising – a phenomenon known as positive correlation – which is not only highly unusual but typically presages...
US Federal Reserve tweaks monetary policy goals
Thursday 03 Sep 2020US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell delivered what many Fed watchers had been expecting at the annual Jackson Hole speech on 27 August, when he signalled a change to monetary policy goals. In future the central bank will target average inflation, which means accepting periods of overshooting and...
Beauty website owner prepares for biggest London listing of 2020
Thursday 03 Sep 2020Online retail firm The Hut Group , the Manchester-based owner of the Lookfantastic website, is to raise £920 million in a stock market listing, valuing the business at £4.5 billion. The planned share offering would be the biggest this year on the London market and the first since the coronavirus...
BT takeover hopes shot down by analysts
Thursday 27 Aug 2020Analysts believe any takeover interest in BT ( BT.A ) is likely to be doomed by a series of effective poison pills, including regulation, massive capital expenditure commitments and a yawning pension scheme black hole. Speculation emerged last weekend that the UK telecoms giant had engaged bankers...
Balfour Beatty's £2bn contract win fails to move its shares
Thursday 27 Aug 2020Investors are not taking any notice of construction company Balfour Beatty ( BBY ) despite it recently announcing two very large contract wins in Hong Kong worth almost £2 billion. Its 50:50 joint venture, Gammon, won a £577 million highways contract at the end of June, which was then followed this...