magazine archive
magazine archive
Week Ahead
Election and US employment data to dominate this week’s agenda
Thursday 04 Jul 2024The week began with a better-than-expected Nationwide survey showing average UK house prices rose 1.5% in June compared with the same month last year to stand at a 12-month high of £266,000. This was still 3% short of the summer 2022 peak but the direction of travel is clearly upward, and with the...
Consumer spending revival provides pre-election fillip to UK economy
Thursday 27 Jun 2024There was positive economic news to round off last week with the latest UK retail sales figures showing a healthy rebound in May after April’s weather-affected washout. Sales by volume climbed 2.9% after April’s 1.8% decline, meaning the three months to the end of May saw a 1% increase on the three...
Sainsbury’s ‘Food First’ strategy seen supporting mid-single digit sales growth
Thursday 27 Jun 2024After arch-rival Tesco (TSCO) released forecast-beating quarterly sales earlier this month, with strong like-for-like growth across its UK stores, all eyes are on the next trading update from Sainsbury’s (SBRY) on 2 July to see whether it has managed to maintain its recent momentum. In April, the...
Import volumes are crucial for Constellation Brands' continued run of form
Thursday 27 Jun 2024Given the mixed updates from consumer-facing companies in recent weeks, with many reporting a decline in sales among lower-income shoppers, there is growing interest in US drinks group Constellation Brands’ (STZ:NYSE) first-quarter trading statement on 3 July. The firm, which owns several wine and...
Halfords needs to slam the brakes on bad news
Thursday 20 Jun 2024Given recent share price-denting profit warnings, the pressure is on motoring-to-cycling products retailer Halfords (HFD) to halt the cycle of downgrades with upcoming results for the year ended 29 March 2024 on 27 June. Shares doesn’t hold out much hope for upgrades any time soon as the backdrop...
Nike looks to get the front foot as it readies earnings
Thursday 20 Jun 2024Shares in US sportswear giant Nike (NKE:NYSE) briefly found some air in the latter part of 2023 but a pre-Christmas warning on revenue and evidence of weak trading in the interim have left investors feeling deflated. This is the unpromising context for the company’s year-end and fourth-quarter...
With no surprises on the cards markets seem set to drift higher this month
Thursday 20 Jun 2024While there was no surprise last week in terms of the Federal Reserve’s position on interest rates, there was a positive development in the shape of US inflation which came in surprisingly softer than expected. May’s CPI reading showed inflation slowed to 3.3%, below April’s reading and below the...
Accenture needs to prove the doubters wrong with its next earnings update
Thursday 13 Jun 2024Shares in IT services and consulting firm Accenture (ACN:NYSE) have been on the slide for the last three months, losing 26% of their value and cutting the market value of the company by almost $70 billion. In its second-quarter earnings report in March, the group disappointed analysts by posting...
US listing reports dominate agenda as Ashtead preps its full-year numbers
Thursday 13 Jun 2024Equipment hire outfit Ashtead (AHT) is set to announce it’s results for the 12 months to 30 April 2024 amid swirling speculation it might consider shifting its primary listing to the US. Around 90% of its business is done in the US so there is logic to the move but if its motivation is to attract a...
Strong payrolls stymie chances of a summer rate cut from the Fed
Thursday 13 Jun 2024As we cautioned last week, the release of the US non-farm payroll figures often has the ability to move markets and last Friday’s data did just that. Rather than adding 175,000 jobs as the market expected, the US economy expanded fast enough in May to grow payrolls by 272,000, more than even the...