London afternoon: Big gains for blue chips
23rd Oct 2009 14:36
London's blue chips have roared away despite unexpectedly bad gross domestic product figures, with mining stocks leading the advance. The economy shrank by 0.4% in the third quarter, confounding analysts' expectations of a return to growth and suggesting that further stimulus measures may be on the
Read moreBroker tips: Income stocks, miners
23rd Oct 2009 13:13
US bank Citigroup has been casting its eye on income shares and reckons the sectors to focus on are telecoms and insurance, which look cheap when compared to banks and utilities. The US bank says UK equities still look good value on a dividend basis, and highlighted telecoms giant Vodafone and mini
Read moreBroker snap: Vedanta investment set to pay off
23rd Oct 2009 13:04
Brokers are queuing up to jump on the mining bandwagon, with Deutsche Bank making positive noises about Anglo American. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley has nudged its price target for Vedanta Resources up to 3168p from 3112p, and reiterated its 'buy' recommendation on the stock. The bank thinks Vedanta
Read moreBroker snap: Credit Suisse upgrades miners
23rd Oct 2009 12:57
Mining stocks were doing their bit to drive Footsie forward on Friday morning, helped by an upgrade on the sector by Credit Suisse, which now has a 'benchmark' rating for the miners, having downgraded the sector back in May. 'We upgrade mining because: a) global excess liquidity is at an all-time h
Read moreLondon midday: Miners bolster Footsie
23rd Oct 2009 12:20
UK share prices have shrugged off unexpectedly bad gross domestic product figures, with mining stocks leading the advance. The economy shrank by 0.4% in the third quarter, confounding analysts' expectations of a return to growth and suggesting that further stimulus measures may be on the cards. It
Read moreFriday tips round-up: Petrofac, Anglo American, Unilever
23rd Oct 2009 06:32
Full-year earnings at oil services group Petrofac will be up by "at least" 20% as the company continues to win new orders, the company said yesterday. The shares are trading on a December 2009 earnings multiple of 17.7 times, falling to 13.2 next year. This is at a significant premium to some rival
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Northern Rock, Cadbury, Apple
23rd Oct 2009 06:08
Plans to slice Northern Rock into good and bad assets have been delayed by two months, even though the European Commission is on the brink of approving the break-up and private sale of the lender. The Treasury had hoped to carve up the bank by the end of October in a move that would have enabled it
Read moreLondon close: Tough day for Footsie
22nd Oct 2009 16:41
Blue chips rallied late in the day, but it was a tough session generally with miners and insurance companies under pressure. Telcos led the rally with Vodafone, British Telecom and satellite group Inmarsat all making gains near the close. Lloyds was also a late riser as on reports that it is close
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks stuck at lower levels
22nd Oct 2009 14:10
The Footsie finished the lunch-time session little changed from where it started it, despite mining stocks trimming losses sustained in the morning. Mining giant Anglo American is actually higher on the day after it announced plans to divest assets, including its zinc and tarmac operations, as it
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie off worst but still lower
22nd Oct 2009 12:12
Footsie is off its worst but is still showing hefty falls as miners and insurers lead the market lower. Platinum miner Lonmin has again unsettled the mining sector as it saw a 20% decline in production of the precious metal in the fourth quarter after having to shut down mines for safety reasons an
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Lloyds up on cash call backing report
22nd Oct 2009 10:26
Lloyds Banking Group is one of the main risers on a tough day of blue chips after a report it is is close to securing backing for a cash call that involves the Qatar Investment Authority. Lloyds is planning to launch a rights issue and refinancing next week provided it can persuade regulators and t
Read moreLondon open: Miners drag Footsie lower
22nd Oct 2009 08:26
Miners are leading London's blue chips lower in early dealings on Thursday after both Lonmin and Anglo American updated the market. US blue chips also turned down sharply overnight as investors mulled another rush of third quarter earnings figures. Over here, platinum miner Lonmin saw a 20% declin
Read moreAnglo American to shed 11% of operations
22nd Oct 2009 07:43
Mining giant Anglo American has announced plans to divest assets including its zinc and tarmac operations as it seeks to focus on its core operations. The assets to be divested accounted for 11% of 2008 group EBITDA, Anglo said. Following the divestments, Anglo said it would comprise seven new busi
Read moreThursday preview: Debenhams, Anglo American, Petrofac
21st Oct 2009 17:52
Full year results from department store group Debenhams should see pre-tax profits comfortably ahead of last year's £106m, and in line with market expectations of £124m, despite the company reporting a 3.8% drop in second half like-for-like (LFL) sales last month. The dip in LFL sales was widely ex
Read moreBroker tips: Xstrata, Autonomy, Irish banks
20th Oct 2009 12:32
The third quarter production update from Swiss miner Xstrata contained ‘some solid numbers’ but FinnCap thinks investors will be better off switching to one-time Xstrata merger target Anglo American. FinnCap reckons that Anglo American has a higher quality asset portfolio and should be able to outp
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