16 March

Financial Times

• Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, also asks if the prevalence of vape shops on the UK high streets is genuine evidence of a boom, or “part of the death of the high street narrative”, with sops benefiting from rising vacancies that have pushed down rents.
• https://www.ft.com/content/d1c28478-18c1-11e8-9376-4a6390addb44

15 March

Reuters

• “Consumer confidence remains an issue in the UK due to economic uncertainty and high inflation/low wage growth conundrum. Inflation is also dampening demand and prices in Nigeria,” said Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets. “A cost cutting review has also been announced, focussing on less packaging and fewer, simpler but bigger projects. But will this be enough?”

  https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/consumer-stocks-a-headache-as-UK Index -inches-higher-idUKKCN1GR1BS

 14 March

Reuters

•  Morrisons’ shares have just touched a session low, down 5.5 percent and among the biggest fallers on the STOXX. But traders thought that they would rise – so why the negative market reaction when the grocer’s management team said that they were “confident that a broader, stronger Morrisons will continue to grow”? There are a number of reasons that analysts have pointed out, one being the fact that the special dividend is being viewed as a “solitary offering”, as put by Henry Croft, research analyst at Accendo Markets.
• https://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks/live-markets-morrisons-might-be-feeling-confident-but-investors-are-not-idUSL8N1QW629

 13 March

Telegraph

• Mike van Dulken, of Accendo Markets, noted that Greencore said most of the earnings-per-share growth will come in the second half of the year. “This implies issues with visibility for at least the next three months and investors will be concerned that it ultimately ends up being for even longer,” he said.

• https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/03/13/sandwich-maker-greencore-warns-profits-amid-major-us-overhaul/

 12 March

Dow Jones Newswires

• Hikma Pharmaceuticals’ shareholders may wait for Wednesday’s full-year results to make any decisions, after the FDA requested another trial before deciding to approve the company’s generic Advair drug, says Henry Croft, a research analyst at Accendo Markets. The news had a muted effect on Hikma’s share price, and the company’s size and pipeline provide insulation from any drastic shifts in the level at which the stock is trading, says Mr. Croft. Vectura, its partner on the project, didn’t have this protection, and whether it “can maintain its partnership with Hikma will also be of key concern to both parties.”

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