-----Business Analysis & Features
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Market Report: Analysts are not so rosy about blooming M&S
Published: 11 January 2007
There's no pleasing some people. Having engineered a remarkable turnaround at Marks & Spencer, its chief executive Stuart Rose can perhaps be forgiven for feeling a little miffed at the reaction among analysts after yesterday's trading update. The M&S faithful have been well rewarded for hanging on to their shares - in the last three years the company has tripled in value. But analysts at Merrill Lynch think the time has come to cash in.
The Investment Column: Spanish move makes William Hill a good bet for the long-term
Published: 11 January 2007
Household savings to break £1 trillion mark as UK shuns bad spending habits
Published: 10 January 2007
A cash balance of £1 trillion, debt of £1 trillion and assets of more than £3 trillion? If this were the balance sheet of a company, investors would be forgiven for seeing it as a safe bet.
Market Report: Punch takeover talk brewing in pub sector
Published: 10 January 2007
Speculation about corporate activity was rife in the pub and brewery sector towards the end of last year. The trader's favourite for a bid was Marston's, until Monday known as Wolverhampton & Dudley, but the word in the market is that the first to go could be Punch Taverns.
The Investment Column: Good life goes on for Savills as its pot of gold keeps growing
Published: 10 January 2007
BA set for take-off as deal nears to close £2bn pension hole
Published: 09 January 2007
It has taken 16 months of long, hard negotiation for British Airways to reach the point of resolving its biggest single headache - the £2.1bn deficit in the airline's pension fund. Unions willing, closure is at last at hand.
The Week Ahead: Marks & Spencer... now let the hard work begin
Published: 08 January 2007
The first full week of trading in the new year is going to be short on results, but long on trading statements. Christmas trading was a mixed bag for the retail sector, but it would be a genuine shock to the markets if Marks & Spencer had anything other than a very merry festive season.
Small Talk: Evolutec's stock should get a more favourable treatment
Published: 08 January 2007
They say the stock market tends to overshoot both on the upside and the downside. A look at the current valuation of Evolutec certainly proves the second part of that saying.
TVR: Who'll save a very British sports car?
Published: 07 January 2007
The Week Ahead: Bank to hold rates, but not for long as inflation speeds up
Published: 07 January 2007
With the financial health of the consumer coming under greater scrutiny, eyes will turn to the Bank of England this week as it makes its monthly announcement on interest rates.
Market Report: Takeover talk sparks plant hire group Ashtead
Published: 06 January 2007
Last year, mid-cap companies outperformed the blue chips by the best part of 16 per cent, a staggering amount of outperformance given the FTSE 250 is a much broader index. The main reason for the performance of the mid caps was bid speculation, and if talk that plant hire group Ashtead is in takeover discussions proves to be correct the trend could continue.
A day in the life of Tim How: A vintage Christmas for Majestic
Published: 06 January 2007
Vodafone faces fresh challenge to expansion into India
Published: 05 January 2007
Vodafone's hopes of expanding its presence in the Indian mobile phone market took a fresh knock yesterday after the billionaire Hinduja family entered the auction for the country's fourth-biggest network operator.
The Investment Column: Strong C&W faces a dollar-driven headwind
Published: 05 January 2007
Market Report: Bid rumours build up over acquisitive Wolseley
Published: 05 January 2007
After a frenzied acquisition spree, the building and plumbing supplies group Wolseley could itself be on the receiving end of a bid if rumours doing the rounds yesterday turn out to be true.
Market Report: Investors see calmer waters ahead for Carnival
Published: 04 January 2007
After Carnival ended 2006 with the wooden spoon as the worst performer in the FTSE 100, shareholders of the cruise ship operator will be hoping for better things this year.
The Investment Column: Insurance and oil head the sectors to watch in 2007
Published: 04 January 2007
We published our share tips for the new year at the start of the week and our recommendations focused on London blue-chip stocks for what were largely company specific reasons. But which sectors are likely to perform best in 2007?
What now for HSBC as bank counts cost of its sub-prime US acquisition?
Published: 03 January 2007
HSBC's shareholders could be forgiven for regarding 2006 as an annus horribilis.
The Investment Column: Best may be over in dash by companies to convert to Reits
Published: 03 January 2007
Ten of Britain's biggest listed commercial property companies officially converted into Real Estate Investment Trusts or Reits yesterday. Among those who switched to the tax-efficient format were British Land, Land Securities, Slough Estates, Liberty International, Great Portland Estates and Hammerson.
Market Report: Millennium rings in new year with buyout talk
Published: 03 January 2007
The London market looks like starting 2007 in exactly the same way it ended 2006 - with a flurry of takeover speculation. The word among mid-cap traders is that the management at the hotel group Millennium & Copthorne is preparing a bid to take the company private with the backing of a venture-capital group.
The Year Ahead: Shake-ups in high street and boardroom
Published: 02 January 2007
The debate over the outlook of the economy will be overshadowed by the departure of Gordon Brown. The Treasury has locked on an above-trend forecast of 3 per cent for GDP growth. However the City expects growth of just 2.4 per cent. The outcome could have implications for the public finances.
Share Tips 2007: Big performers are best bets to weather a turbulent year
Published: 01 January 2007
Winners and losers: Xstrata is extra-special
Published: 01 January 2007
The past 12 months proved to be the year of the miners, with all three of the FTSE 100's top performers coming from the minerals and metals sector. Topping the list among the large cap stocks was the Anglo-Swiss mining company Xstrata, which delivered investors a total return, including dividends, of just over 110 per cent for the year. Although its share price was driven up principally by soaring metal prices, the market also responded positively to its $18.8bn (£9.6bn) acquisition of the Canadian copper, zinc and nickel miner Falconbridge, which it completed last month.
Share Tips 2007: Undervalued gems that enticed City experts
Published: 01 January 2007
For a second year in a row our panel of professionals excelled themselves. Their portfolio registered a 49 per cent rise, outperforming both The Independent's tips and the wider stock market in 2006.
Share Tips 2007: Young minds play the financial game
Published: 01 January 2007
Every year, we test the theory that stocks picked at random from shares listed on the London Stock Exchange will perform at least as well as those selected by the so-called experts.
