Bovis Homes is a challenging fixer-upper 5 Apr 2017 The UK builder rejected a proposed merger with Galliford Try and instead hired the bidder’s former CEO to fix the business. Bovis has visibly lower returns and profitability than rivals. It’s not, though, a good time for the kind of cost cuts and land selloff that may be needed.
Britain is appropriate spearhead for bonus rethink 5 Apr 2017 UK ministers want to cut so-called long term incentive plans from executive pay. Such schemes can work, but all too often don’t. Turning them into less opaque deferred bonuses could preserve domestic competitiveness, while aligning Britain with peers that value greater clarity.
Brexit forces issues that are best left murky 4 Apr 2017 A phony battle over how Spain and Britain might treat tiny Gibraltar is a distraction, and a warning. If Britain’s exit from Europe becomes a mechanism for settling old scores, it could kill the constructive ambiguity on which the UK, the euro and the single market all depend.
ITV takeover is a hard story to pitch 4 Apr 2017 The UK free-to-air broadcaster’s shares have risen more than 15 pct in the last six months, partly on bid speculation. But ITV’s high margins and exposure to fickle TV advertising make a potential 12 bln pound price tag hard to justify – even for top shareholder Liberty Global.
Asos takes costly fashion cues from Amazon 4 Apr 2017 The UK online clothes retailer has raised sales forecasts on international demand. But Asos is becoming pricier to run: six-month costs rose 38 pct, more than the group's top line. Asos is investing prudently, but a rich valuation leaves it exposed to web-based competition.
Apple imagines away chip supplier’s future 3 Apr 2017 Imagination Technologies lost more than 60 pct of its value after the iPhone maker said it would stop using the UK firm's technology. That may wipe out half Imagination's revenue and any hope of profit for the time being. It's a risk small suppliers run with control-freak Apple.
Credit Suisse raid jabs at private bank model 3 Apr 2017 The Swiss bank has stressed zero tolerance for tax evasion after authorities swooped on three offices. Credit Suisse may be scrupulous, but managing money for the wealthy brings certain recurring risks – not least because of Swiss private banks' historic pledge of utter secrecy.
Reckitt is smart to go easy on the sauce 3 Apr 2017 The UK consumer-goods group may sell the division that makes French’s mustard for around $3 bln. Cashing out would take the heat out of the company’s debt-financed $17 bln bet on Mead Johnson – even if it seems odd to sell a business that’s growing fast and highly profitable.
Britain sells mortgages, buys small Brexit hedge 31 Mar 2017 Selling 11.8 billion pounds of former Bradford & Bingley mortgages to Blackstone and Prudential will cut the UK’s national debt without leaving a loss. The buyers are showing confidence in the UK economy. The seller is shoring itself up in case such confidence proves misplaced.
Review: A flawed compass for post-Brexit Britain 31 Mar 2017 The vote to leave the European Union exposed a new political fault line, David Goodhart argues in “The Road to Somewhere”. The solution is for cosmopolitan elites to share more power with those left behind. The tension is real, but the distinction too broad to be a useful guide.
Lloyd’s exemplifies London’s phantom Brexodus 30 Mar 2017 The insurance marketplace is creating a new company in Brussels. Yet safeguarding access to European clients only means moving a maximum of a tenth of staff. Companies are readying their parachutes, but this is a long way from threatening the city’s pre-eminence.
LSE-Deutsche Boerse failure merits only fake tears 29 Mar 2017 Brussels has blocked the European exchanges’ $30 bln merger. The LSE’s reluctance to sell a trading platform looks like a fig leaf. A cautiously positive market reaction flags that both groups have dodged the trials of steering the deal through Brexit.
Unilever can take page from GE’s activist playbook 29 Mar 2017 The 139 bln-euro Magnum ice-cream owner may attract uppity investors for the same reasons Kraft Heinz came calling: low margins and relatively little debt. CEO Paul Polman could keep them at bay by aping GE and seeking an activist's advice. But he'd have to be willing to act.
Market’s vision of Brexit is too rosy 29 Mar 2017 As Britain triggers the process for leaving the EU, investors are more phlegmatic than they were six months ago, a Breakingviews index based on asset prices shows. There is plenty of scope for that to change if hard bargaining coincides with slowing growth.
Tesco has three issues, but only one matters 28 Mar 2017 Some investors think the UK grocer's merger with wholesaler Booker is distracting and expensive. Regulators are punishing it for an old accounting scandal. And customers just want ever-lower prices. This last challenge is the only one with the potential to knock Tesco off course.
Return on equity is fair game for bank regulators 27 Mar 2017 The Bank of England's next stress test will assess if lenders’ earnings exceed their cost of equity. That might sound like statist meddling, or doing investors’ job for them. But as a way to stop banks taking silly risks to offset low rates, it makes sense.
Lowball bank pay targets are lesser of two evils 27 Mar 2017 Barclays and Standard Chartered's bosses will get bonuses even if their banks don't earn back their cost of equity. Unstretching targets, though, reflect the fact neither lender has said when it will start making an economic profit. Paying less won't bring that moment closer.
Unilever’s spreads sale plan contains adequate fat 23 Mar 2017 After Kraft’s aborted bid, the Marmite maker needs a self-help plan. Selling its spreads business would be risky as weak growth prospects may mean a low price. But on modest assumptions a private equity buyer could get a decent return – and kick-start Unilever’s reinvention.
Co-op bail-in would set bank creditors on edge 23 Mar 2017 The Co-operative Bank needs capital again, and markets are fretting over the risk of a resolution. Given Co-op’s ongoing losses, the Bank of England could justify one. The risk is investors think that even banks with respectable capital ratios aren’t safe from regulators.
Next takes fashion tips from financial world 23 Mar 2017 The retailer has subjected itself to a stress test – previously the stuff of banks. The result: if a store’s sales fall 6 pct a year for a decade, its net profit margin will halve. Openness about problems is welcome. But this voluntary exam may gloss over some other risks.