Corporate life hangs in the balance for Taylor Wimpey which sacked its finance director today after it failed to secure rescue funding. The ailing house builder, which doesn’t expect tough trading conditions to improve any time soon, runs the risk of breaching banking covenants if the housing market gets any worse. Shares in the company halved this morning, hitting 30p. In total they have lost 91 per cent of their value over the past 12 months. And to add insult to injury, other weak performing house builders’ shares felt the collateral damage, with Barratt and Persimmon also down 23 per cent and 17 per cent respectively.

Chris Millington, analyst at Numis, cut his target price on Taylor Wimpey’s shares to a mere 60p from 248p, but even that seems a tad optimistic now in light of this morning’s slide. Mr Millington reckons that despite the dire performance of house building shares this year and the grim outlook, value is out there but is better pursued through Berkeley and Bellway.

Meanwhile, Cityblogger notes Marks & Spencer shares are feeling the heat after the retailer shocked the City with an unexpected profit warning. Like-for-like UK sales (over the 13 weeks to 28 June) declined by 5.3 per cent and the shares are down a painful 20 per cent today. The retailer has also sacked its food director after food sales slid by 4.5 per cent. Chief executive Stuart Rose, who is expected to become chairman soon despite opposition from corporate governance groups, blames falling consumer confidence and told the BBC’s Today Programme that he believes inflation for the “average man in the street” is far higher than 3 per cent.

Eithne O’Leary, analyst at Oriel Securities, rates M&S shares as a sell. She fears that the sharp drop in like-for-like general merchandise sales shows there is a problem with M&S women’s wear. “But the killer blow is management's inability to predict the gross margin, a fact that will worry those like us who fear inflationary pressure can’t be passed on,” she points out. Ms O’Leary believes there are “no quick solutions” for M&S and that the retailing sector as a whole will suffer the fallout of this profits warning.

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