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M&S to announce further store closures at first half results as clothing division struggles persist
The day ahead includes interims from M&S and trading updates from Wetherspoon and Persimmon
Company
Marks and Spencer Group PLC
LON:MKS
Marks and Spencer Group is a retailer of clothing, food and home products in the United Kingdom. The Company has 622 stores, including Simply Food franchise stores, as well as an international business.
723 stories · page 6 of 8
FTSE 100 closes at new record high as pound firms, US stocks gain
After a record close on Friday, Monday was always likely to get off to a slow start although it has picked up as the day has worn on...
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M&S and Sainsbury's take centre stage as BoE interest rate hike excitement dies down
The week ahead includes earnings from M&S, Sainsbury's, ABF, Direct Line, Wetherspoon and AstraZeneca while macro-economic announcements will be thin on the ground
Debenhams battered by Liberum rating downgrade, cautious trading update from high street peer Next
Liberum’s analysts cut their stance for Debenhams to ‘sell’ from ‘hold’ with a reduced target price of 40p, down from 58p, after concluding that the group’s “fundamentals do not appeal"
M&S loses its director of clothing and beauty, Jo Jenkins to privately-owned clothing chain White Stuff
Jenkins departed after just six months in the role, and only weeks after former Halfords' boss Jill McDonald took up the new position of Managing Director, Clothing, Home & Beauty at M&S on October 2
M&S and Tesco ready meals supplier Bakkavor to float on London Stock Exchange
Bakkavor will float about 25% of its capital on the LSE in a deal that could value it at up to £1.5bn
M&S launches online shopping delivery service
“We have started two small food online trials with selected Sparks members as we explore what works for our customers”
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 closes a tad lower as focus turns to Fed
Sterling's strength weighed on FTSE 100 stocks today
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 closes firmly lower as pound strengthens; Next surges
Sterling surged past US$1.33 shortly after the Bank of England voted in favour of keeping interest rates at 0.25%, with analysts describing the move as a 'hawkish hold'
Halfords names boss of Dixons Carphone's software business as its new CEO from January next year
The FTSE 250-listed retailer said Stapleton will succeed Jill McDonald who is leaving Halfords to run Marks & Spencer PLC's clothing business
Halfords gains as cycling and motoring retail sales see boost from "staycation summer"
Halfords said its cycling like-for-like sales increased by 5.2%, reflecting good growth in sales of premium bikes, with electric bikes and cycle repair services also highlights
FTSE 100 closes in red as Wall Street tumbles
The FTSE 100 closed lower as one analyst reckoned the market was earlier just supported by short covering.
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Latest update from Halfords cycles into view, with Redrow full-year numbers also eyed
Day ahead includes trading updates from retailer Halfords Group PLC and packaging firm DS Smith PLC, plus full-year results from housebuilder Redrow PLC
M&S begins talks with franchise partner for potential purchase of its business in Hong Kong and Macau
M&S said if the discussions conclude successfully, Al-Futtaim would become the new sole franchisee for M&S in Hong Kong and Macau
FTSE 100 finishes in debit as Fed chair Janet Yellen stays mum on policy direction
The FTSE dipped 6 points to 7,401 points after Janet Yellen left monetary policy out of her Jackson Hole speech
FTSE 100 closes up but misses record high
The FTSE 100 index closed 10.79 higher at 7,542. The session peak was 7,549, and the day’s low was 7,518
FTSE 100 finishes 63 points up, boosted by weak pound
Around 3pm, the UK benchmark index was ahead almost 65 points at 7,476, just holding off the day’s peak of 7,484.53 hit after the Bank of England left UK rate unchanged
UBS ups rating for Halfords to ‘neutral’ as it considers the risk/reward to be” more balanced” ahead of a new CEO
The FTSE 250-listed firm announced at the start of May that its current CEO, Jill McDonald, had resigned from the business to take up the position of managing director of Clothing, Home & Beauty at Marks & Spencer PLC
Hammerson reports rise in first half profits but is cautious on Brexit uncertainty
Hammerson's net asset value grew in the first half despite the impact of the Brexit vote on UK retailers
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 closes down a shade with BT Group plc top dog
Footsie was becalmed throughout the day, leaving the mid-cap FTSE 250 to claim the limelight
Marks & Spencer shares fall further on Societe Generale downgrade after first quarter sales drop
M&S is faced with fierce competition in the UK retail market and weak consumer confidence, Societe Generale has warned
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 finishes strongly as dovish Fed chair Yellen reassures
The Footsie closed 87.17 higher, or 1.19% to 7,416...
Marks & Spencer's clothing division faces long road to recovery as Brexit hits UK retailers
Marks & Spencer is faced with the pressures of a UK retail slump, fierce competition in the grocery sector and weak consumer spending
Marks & Spencer shares drop after first quarter sales decline, driven by troubled clothing division
Marks & Spencer's first quarter improved on the previous three months, helped by Easter falling later in the year, reduced discounting in its clothing division and growth from Simply Food openings
FTSE 100 closes 40 points down as retailers weigh
The market chose to interpret Broadbent's comments as a vote for the status quo
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Marks & Spencer's struggling clothing unit may improve in first quarter but outlook uncertain
M&S faces a tough UK retail market as consumers become increasingly squeezed by rising inflation and stagnant wage growth
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Marks & Spencer and Burberry both need to regain momentum
Week ahead: Marks & Spencer, Burberry, JD Wetherspoon...
FTSE 100 closes lower as cyber-attack hits global firms; Brexit worries
The FTSE 100 closed down over 12 points at 7,434 on Tuesday
Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons all set to trial ‘Uber-style’ surge pricing
Electronic labelling would allow stores to hike or lower prices at the press of a button
UK retail sector in crisis as consumers face disposable income 'recession' on Brexit woes
The Bank of England expects inflation to exceed 3% in autumn as the pound continues to be weighed by down Brexit worries
Next walloped by Credit Suisse downgrade
“With earnings, margins and cash conversion continuing to fall we regard Next as a value trap.”
FTSE 100 closes 55 down and UK mid-caps plunge; BoE raises prospect of rate rise
FTSE 100 closed down 55 at 7,419 as retail shares took a beating
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RBS, Lloyds and Barclays slump after general election leads to hung parliament
Banks, retailers, media and housebuilders are the biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 on the shock news of a hung parliament
Google, Facebook and Twitter respond to criticism over extremist content after London attack
Prime Minister Theresa May has accused tech giants of providing a "safe space" for terrorist activity
Halfords up as 7.5% drop in annual profits proves touch better than expected
For the year to March 31, the FTSE 250-listed company posted pre-tax profits before one-off items of £75.4mln, down from £81.5mln a year earlier, although that was slightly ahead of market expectations for £74.8mln
Buy M&S over Next, are you serious?
Cash flow was strong and the M&S dividend maintained at 18.7p
M&S rallies as full-year profit drops less than expected, although clothing and homeware sales reverse
M&S reported a pre-tax profit before one off items of £613.8mln for the 52 weeks to April 1, down from £690mln a year earlier, but ahead of the consensus forecast of £593mln
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 closes higher as traders await Fed minutes
The FTSE 100 index closed up 29.61 at 7,514 with easyJet the biggest gainer
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Marks & Spencer's chief needs good news on clothing
Analysts are worried clothing arm is relapsing in spite of vow to fix it by Steve Rowe
FTSE 100 closes lower after Manchester attack
Despite events, the FTSE 100 remained relatively strong throughout the day but ended lower
FTSE 100 closes below 7,500; Marks & Spencer top riser
The pound has given up some of its recent gains, which has helped the internationally-focused firms on the FTSE 100
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Marks & Spencer's womenswear woes under scrutiny again as retailers dominate
Week ahead: Marks & Spencer, Dixons Carphone, Kingfisher, De la Rue...
Google unveils tighter controls on advertising after clients boycott ads over extremist content
Google has tried to soothe advertisers' woes about extremist content by making changes to its technology
Footsie up ahead of close; unrest at ITV hits shares
The bulls could not quite push the top-share index above 7,400. Tomorrow they'll have a harder job with ex-div stocks lopping about 14 points off the Footsie
Former Asda boss Archie Norman to become M&S chairman from September
Norman, who stepped down as chairman of broadcaster ITV in January 2016 will succeed Robert Swannell, whose retirement was announced in December
FTSE 100 rises as US non-farm payrolls report beats expectations
London's top tier index rose 22 points to 7,270.88 at 2.38pm after a better-than-expected US non-farm payrolls report
Out of fashion: Next was once both a City and high street darling, but not anymore
Jordan Hiscott, chief trader at Ayondo Markets pointed out: “The dominance of Next was once undisputed. Back in 2010, the firm regularly outperformed its industry peers, thanks to its strong presence on high streets and in out of town store
M&S recruits Halfords boss to head non-Food, freeing up CEO to focus on overall group
Jill McDonald, who has been appointed to the new role of Managing Director, Clothing, Home & Beauty at M&S, will have overall profit and loss accountability for all aspects of the group’s non-Food business
FTSE 100 closes higher as Fed meeting in focus
The FTSE 100 closed up 46 at 7,250 on the day with Intertek the biggest gainer
Barclays Capital goes against the herd as it initiates coverage of M&S with 'overweight'
The bullish stance and 410p a share price target was predicated on Marks’ move further into food and the shift away from clothing
FTSE 100 ends tough week on a flat note
Friday was a bit of a wash-out, with the Footsie ending little changed after a rough week
Marks & Spencer plans to open 34 new Food stores and two Clothing, Home and Food stores in next six months
The retailer said the store openings include new Foodhalls on Bishopsgate, London, in Huntingdon, Aylesbury, Spinningfields, central Manchester, and Strood in Kent
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Back to the dog pound: Dogs of the Footsie outperform in 2017
At the end of January, John Harrington tweaked the famous investment strategy known as the Dogs of the Dow, and applied it to UK stocks. How are the investments doing?
FTSE 100 closes lower as supertanker Tesco sinks
With US stocks tipped to open lower, the top-share index has slipped into the red
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 finishes higher despite North Korea worries hitting US stocks
US markets open lower, but the index of blue-chip shares keeps its poise
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 closes flat as war of words over Syria continues
AstraZeneca is under the weather after being downgraded but Shaftesbury is a hot property on bid speculation
Next sees recent post-results rally curtailed by downgrade in rating from Exane
In a note on the UK general retail sector, Exane cut its stance on the FTSE 100-listed firm back to ‘underperform’ from ‘neutral’ and reduced its target price by 5% to 3,700p after the recent “bounce”
UBS downgrades ratings for M&S and N Brown Group on worry over older consumer spending
In a note to clients, the Swiss broker’s analysts said that the most recent UBS Evidence Lab consumer survey shows “a substantial slowdown in spending expectations in the next 12 months on clothing, especially amongst the older and lower in
GSK, AT&T and Verizon join advertising boycott on Google over extremist content
Google's promise to crack down on adverts from appearing alongside extremist content has failed to reassure clients
FTSE 100 closes higher with retailer Next top riser
FTSE 100 was three points higher at 7,238, Next rises strongly.
Google's advertising scandal highlights industry-wide dilemma
Automated advertising is at the heart of the issue of marketing appearing alongside extremist content
Archive
Trending: You Beauty. Belle and Gaston are a smash for Disney
Beauty and The Beast smashes record for children's rated film,
Google apologises to clients over extremist content after M&S becomes latest brand to pull ads
Google plans to make changes to its technology in coming weeks to prevent extremist videos from appearing alongside advertising
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 ends little changed as UK lines up on Brexit grid
The druggies and miners were on offer early on – although the movements were barely perceptible on a lacklustre Monday morning.
FTSE shares end lower as sterling marks 8-week low vs dollar on Brexit jitters
FTSE 100 shares closed lower on Tuesday after investors turned edgy over Brexit plans which hit banking and retail shares as well as took sterling to an 8-week low against the US dollar
BT nabs Rio Tinto’s chairman
Jan du Plessis is to step down as chairman of the mining giant as he assumes a new position on the board of BT
FTSE 100 shares tip higher, engineers in vogue ahead of Trump card
FTSE 100 stocks ended on a high on Tuesday after rangebound trading for much of the session, with engineers leading light gains
Estate agent Purplebricks raises £50mln as it takes the brand Stateside
The plan is to launch in a number of key States, it has emerged
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 ends higher as food groups power gains on takeover battle
Around 3.15pm, the UK blue chip index was up over 21 points at 7,299, not far from the day’s peak of 7,307, and well above the day’s low of 7,253.
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UK watchdog asks for power to punish executives; government shames companies for underpaying staff
The UK watchdog for accounting and corporate governance has requested the government for the authority to take action against company directors for breaking financial reporting rules.
Selectively breeding the Dogs of the Footsie
The normally reliable investment strategy based on the "Dogs of the Dow" system has had a bad couple of years; what if we tweaked it?
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Selectively breeding the Dogs of the Footsie
The normally reliable investment strategy based on the "Dogs of the Dow" system has had a bad couple of years; what if we tweaked it?
Associated British Foods “sweeter than it seems”, says Deutsche Bank
Following AB Foods’ trading update yesterday, the German banking giant reiterated its buy recommendation and 3,200p target price
Marks & Spencer: City split on the outlook for the retailer even after better-than-expected festive performance
Of the 15 analysts logged as following Marks, seven are ‘sellers’ of the stock, while only four hold ‘buy’ recommendations. The remainder have ‘neutral’ calls.
M&S up as it posts first quarterly rise in clothing sales in nearly two years as Christmas trading smashes forecasts
The high street stores group said its clothing & home like-for-like sales rose by 2.3% in the 13 weeks to December 31, smashing market expectations for a 0.2% rise.
FTSE 100 shares hit 11th successive record high as sterling dips
FTSE 100 shares did it again on Thursday – the 11th successive record high close – as turbulence in sterling finally gave in to a further steady decline and helped push stocks higher. All except retailers, that is
Day ahead: Christmas retail merry-go-round continues with M&S, Primark-owner AB Foods, and Tesco
After Next kicked off the sector Christmas updates with a profit warning last week, shareholders should be more nervous on what M&S and Primark will deliver.
FTSE 100 hits 10th successive record high close
FTSE 100 shares appear positively related to the Nasdaq as the London ticker again hits a fresh record high on Wednesday - its tenth successive
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Trending - Lloyds edging back to private hands and Aldi popping corks on Christmas sales
A look at some of the hot, trending stories of the day
FTSE 100 hits fresh record high as sterling sags
FTSE 100 stocks closed at a record high on Monday, extending from its feat last week, as it marked the eighth successive record peak, largely thanks to a weakening pound
Week ahead: Blizzard of trading updates to show the icy front on UK high streets
Given Next’s disappointing update this week, news from Marks and Spencer and Primark-owner Associated British Foods could send the most shivers through the sector.
FTSE 100 in positive territory, Panmure spike a mystery
Footsie was expected to hit another high today, but it has not happened yet
FTSE 100 stocks hit fresh record before slipping as US stocks turn soft
The FTSE 100 index reached a new peak of 7,211.96 today, exceeding the level it hit on Tuesday, the first session of 2017, and was up 19 points at 7,209 at 3.30pm.
Woolly jumper needed: Cold wind blows through clothing sector after Next warns on profits
Next's latest gloomy trading update wiped more than 10% off a share price that had already slumped by a third in 2016.
Broker comment weighs on specialty chemicals company Elementis
Elementis shares fell nearly 4% after German bank Berenberg cut its rating to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’, with the downgrade largely made on a valuation basis.
FTSE 100 closes firmer, small-caps mark fresh record high, but retailers drop
FTSE 100 stocks closed firmer on Wednesday but a grim outlook for 2017 from Next plc left retailer shares in the bargain bucket
FTSE 100: the good, the bad, and the ugh!
It was a fantastic year for the miners, less so for the airlines and the retailers.
Marks and Spencer looking for new chairman, with Robert Swanell to retire in 2017
The retail giant said its senior independent director, Vindi Banga will lead the process to identify and appoint the next M&S chairman.
Mining minnows North River Resources and Amur Minerals see some pain
Shares in North River Resources dropped 10% as it said that it has completed drilling on the Namib project in Namibia but it is not expecting a lift in the amount of indicated mineral resources until more drilling has been undertaken
Sell Marks & Spencer says gloomy Investec
The target price is cut to 290p from 315p and the recommendation is now sell.
FTSE shares end flat despite resources stocks early lift
FTSE 100 stocks closed flat on Monday despite an early sprint by mining and energy stocks. Meanwhile, fund manager Henderson Group had sobering news for investors seeking dividend income
Bad news for Marks & Spencer customers in Brierley Hill (wherever that is)
Angus Energy beefs up its share price; Trump looking to back out of climate control accord; dementia overtakes heart disease as main killer in UK
Is the worst over for Marks after its place on Britain's High Street firmly rattled
American brokerage Citi moved to ‘buy’ on the stock saying it was now “more confident of the store plan”
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 rises, led by banks craving higher global rates
FTSE 100 shares ended Monday firmer, as bank stocks gained on the prospect of higher global interest rates
Archive
Is Marks & Spencer as bad as its share price suggests?
M&S still a buy, Hurricane Energy, Redrow, Amec Foster Wheeler
FTSE 100 shares close higher after Trump victory speech
FTSE 100 shares closed higher on Wednesday in a snap back from initial losses on news of Donald Trump's US presidential election victory
Is M&S boss Steve Rowe's honeymoon period over already?
In the manner of an Irishman giving travel directions, the advice for Steve Rowe seems to be: well, I wouldn't start from here.
TRENDING: RBS to pay compensation to business customers
Also, Alison Cooper (no relation) does not want to be elected; Primark goes where M&S fears to tread; and the Krafty owner of Toblerone
Marks & Spencer briefs: 10 reasons to be cheerful
Steve Rowe is the latest man to attempt to return M&S to its glory days. It's a big ask, but he's got some decent foundations to build on