Asda price
Chief reshuffle
The supermarket war is set to lose a high-ranking officer after Asda's parent Walmart released a surprise announcement the UK grocer's chief executive Andy Clarke would step down next month. Mr Clarke has worked for Asda for more than two decades and held the top job for six years. Sean Clarke, the current chief executive of Walmart China, will take the hot seat while Roger Burnley will join as deputy chief executive and chief operating officer in October. The reshuffle comes as Asda posted its seventh consecutive quarter of decline, with like-for-like sales down 5.7 per cent in Q1.
Woodford's stake
Speculate to innovate
Renowned UK fund manager Neil Woodford has built up a 20 per cent stake in investment company Imperial Innovations. The group works to commercialise UK academic research from Imperial College London, Oxford, Cambridge and University College London. Woodford Investment Management now owns more than 2.7m shares amounting to some £11.6m - which is at least 20 per cent of the company. Approval was given by the FCA for the enhanced stake which came about after share options were exercised by the manager.
Profile viewing
Microsoft / LinkedIn deal
US software giant Microsoft has snapped up rival tech company LinkedIn for a cool $26.2bn - a $196 a share offer which represents a whopping 50 per cent premium to its target's closing price last Friday. The offer is inclusive of the professional networking website's net cash. Microsoft shares fell 4 per cent as it said the takeover would be financed by debt, but LinkedIn stock soared. Jeff Weiner will remain chief executive of LinkedIn, which recently endured a 43 per cent on-day drop in its shares in February due to slowing growth in its talent solutions business.
Pound pounding
Brexit volatility
If the effects of jitters about the outcome of the forthcoming EU referendum are being felt anywhere, sterling seems to be the place to look. One-month sterling volatility, which essentially measures traders' and investors' expectations of the pound's movements in the coming week, surged above 28 per cent in terms of sterling/dollar (just shy of the 30 per cent in October 2008) while against the euro, volatility hit a record by breaching 25 per cent. The pound is likely to remain under pressure until polling day.
China chequered
MSCI rejig
Global index provider MSCI has once again prevented China's entry into its emerging markets index, but it has ushered in Pakistan. In the process, the MSCI Pakistan index will be classified an emerging market rather than its previous status as frontier market in May 2017. The entry makes the country the "biggest winner" according to commentators, as it will prompt some much-needed inward capital to help right its current account deficit. Vietnam was also prevented from being upgraded while Peru is in danger of being demoted to frontier.
Job lot
Unemployment low
The unemployment rate in Britain has fallen to 5 per cent - its lowest level since October 2005. The total number of jobless fell to 1.67m during February to April, 20,000 fewer than the three months to January, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. Economists had forecast no change in the headline rate, but the fall to 5 per cent is now in line with the Bank of England's "natural rate" of employment - the target at which any further falls become incompatible with the inflation target, said Ruth Miller, at Capital Economics.
Solid footing
Choo-ned in
Luxury retailer Jimmy Choo has said it is firm of foot in spite of the challenging conditions which are tripping some of its rivals. The shares were up 14 per cent at the time of writing to 110p on the upbeat statement which said improved profit margins would likely be delivered this year as costs are being keenly managed. A major difficulty for luxury retailers has been the cooling of appetite in Asia shopping hot-spots such as Hong Kong and Macau while the Paris terrorist attack has dented trade in the fashion conscious capital.
Tech company Halma (HLMA) boasted a particularly impressive statistic this week. Management raised the dividend for the 37th consecutive year by at least 5 per cent. The company had the most active year in terms of M&A in its history – but still upped shareholder payouts.
The 7.83p final payout on 17 August will mark what chief executive Andrew Williams believes is a record unrivalled by any London-listed company. Although Bloomberg data goes back only as far as the 1988-89 financial year, we can see from the chart below just how consistent the company has been at growing shareholder returns. Investors who bought shares 16 years ago and reinvested all dividend payments would have made their money back almost 16 times.
