Bank of England policymakers kept interest rates unchanged today but left the door ajar to a potential cut at their next meeting, which is not til August.
Minutes from the meeting suggested the monetary policy committee (pictured) is "itching to cut rates", one economist suggested.
Whitbread PLC (LSE:WTB) has limited visibility into bookings and management is more cautious compared to this time last year but the Premier Inn owner remains at an attractive valuation even so, says broker Jefferies.
Uneven demand patterns will again become visible in this year’s fourth quarter, but that aside Jefferies sees a minus 20% share price performance YTD as unwarranted.
Dr Martens PLC (LSE:DOCS) stock market rating is on something of a knife edge with analysts at Barclay’s keen for visibility over the boot maker’s direct-to-consumer sales channel.
A less than emphatic recent trading update leaves investors guessing about the company’s prospects for the rest of the year.
NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, ETR:NVD) chips are the new AI economy’s precious commodity, that’s according to Daniel Ives, analyst at Wedbush, who rates the semiconductor firm at ‘outperform’ and today published bullish commentary of its prospects.
Ives, in a note, called Nvidia founder and chief executive Jensen Huang “the godfather of AI” as Nvidia this week became ‘the world's most valuable company’ – with its market capitalisation now leapfrogging both Apple and Microsoft.
Berkeley Group Holdings PLC (LSE:BKG) move into build-to-rent (BTR) is a strange move suggests Citigroup and is likely to lead to more questions about medium-term prospects.
Unveiled alongside its latest annual results, Citi said the move by the London-focused housebuilder overshadowed a reassuring 2024 performance and resilient 2025 guidance.
NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG)'s acquisition of Sainsbury's financial assets - a deal in which the bank was paid £125 million - will have a positive impact on profitability and NatWest's balance sheet.
According to Shore Capital, NWG's core tier-one ratio (the buffer it keeps in case of a downturn in the markets) will improve by 20 basis points while the transaction will also be accretive to both earnings and return on capital employed.
Peel Hunt sees the potential to ‘drive enhanced returns’ from two properties bought by Sirius Real Estate Limited (LSE:SRE, JSE:SRE, OTC:SRRLF) for £31 million.
The two industrial sites – in Banbury and Wembley in West London – were acquired with a net initial yield of 9.2%.
Panmure Gordon hailed the income credentials of MP Evans Group PLC (AIM:MPE), the sustainable palm oil group listed on the LSE.
In a note initiating coverage, the broker said: "There can’t be many companies which can present a 30-year unbroken record of at least maintaining or growing the dividend.
After J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY) agreed to pay NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG) £125 million to take over the core assets and liabilities of Sainsbury's Bank for a £125 million payment, analysts said it was a good first deal for the lender's new chief executive.
NatWest said it expects to add around £2.5 billion of gross customer assets, with roughly one million new customer accounts, making a positive impact on earnings per share and return on tangible equity, with a small hit to its CET1 capital ratio once the transition is completed in the first half of 2025.
Futura Medical PLC (AIM:FUM, OTC:FAMDF)'s upbeat commentary ahead of its annual meeting garnered a muted response.
But broker Liberum believes the company's potential is being significantly underrated by the market.