Tesco is spinning its wheels to get nowhere fast 4 Oct 2017 CEO Dave Lewis has boosted margins at Britain’s biggest supermarket, shrunk the pension deficit and cut debt. The first dividend in three years confirms the rebound. Yet the threat from inflation, weak consumer demand and online rivals have left Tesco shares stuck in a rut.
Greenhill takes painful path back to the old days 25 Sep 2017 The M&A boutique is piling on debt to buy back a third of its stock and may scrap the dividend. CEO Scott Bok and staff will own almost half the firm, making it more like a Wall Street partnership of yore. The move, however, is being made from a position of weakness not strength.
NAB’s capital loss points to dividend challenges 6 Feb 2017 The Australian lender's Tier 1 capital ratio dropped after a payout to shareholders. Rising funding costs, intense competition and tougher capital rules threaten Australian banks' ability to remain generous, a key attraction of an otherwise unimpressive sector.
U.S. company cash deluge will lift only some boats 28 Dec 2016 Slashing corporate tax rates may break the dam on $2.5 trln booked overseas. The actual amount repatriated could be less than half that, however. And while CEOs and politicians talk about more jobs and factories, it's best to brace for a flood of buybacks, dividends and deals.
Don’t be duped by Europe’s dazzling dividends 19 Aug 2016 Company payouts are higher than normal relative to share prices. That is usually a signal to buy stocks, especially given ultra-low bond yields. But dividends are far loftier than may be sustainable when compared with expected earnings. Their siren call is better ignored.
BHP Billiton reaches earnings nadir 16 Aug 2016 A ray of light is appearing for the mining giant. Weak global demand and a Brazilian dam disaster were partly to blame for a record $6.4 bln full-year net loss but the worst has passed. As long as prices stabilise, cost-cutting will allow BHP to return more cash to shareholders.