London midday: Stocks amble higher
18th Dec 2009 12:10
Leading shares are mixed with a slightly firmer bias, helped by the strength of resource stocks. Gold miner Randgold Resources leads the mining sector higher as the gold price stabilises after falling heavily overnight. Elsewhere in the sector BHP Billiton, Kazakhmys and Antofagasta catch the eye.
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Upbeat statement powers Aggreko
18th Dec 2009 10:50
Temporary power supplier Aggreko leads the way after saying trading has been better than expected during the last three months of the year, leaving 2009 operating profit up by more than a quarter. Punch Taverns is the heaviest faller. The pub group is still under the cosh after a gloomy trading sta
Read moreBroker snap: Panmure ups Aggreko price target
18th Dec 2009 09:55
Full year results from temporary power supplier Aggreko look like coming in well ahead of Panmure Gordon's projections, but the broker is sticking with its neutral stance on the stock. The broker had predicted full year pre-tax profit (PTP) of £227.4m but now concedes the actual figure is likely to
Read moreLondon open: Footsie shrugs off bank weakness
18th Dec 2009 08:45
London's blue chips have opened higher despite another weak showing from the banks after harsher than expected recommendations from the Basel Committee yesterday. Shares in all four fell heavily yesterday on the news and Barclays, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered are all lower
Read moreLondon pre-open: Early gains expected
18th Dec 2009 07:34
The top share index is expected to post modest gains in early dealings. Port operator Forth Ports said it expects full year results to be at the lower end of expectations due to weak trading in its Nordic recycling division and in its container services operations at Tilbury port near London. But
Read moreAggreko enjoys better than expected Q4
18th Dec 2009 07:09
Temporary power supplier Aggreko says trading has been better than expected during the last three months of the year, leaving 2009 operating profit up by more than a quarter. The company predicts operating profit of around £260m, about 27% higher than last year, while revenue should be 'slightly ov
Read moreThursday tips round-up: Sage, Prudential, Babcock
3rd Dec 2009 06:17
The virtues of Sage ? a strong base of recurring revenues and tight management of costs ? remain intact. The pressure on sales is also likely to ease from here. However, at 221p, or 11 times current year forecasts, and yielding 3.5 per cent, their shares require something more than resilience if the
Read morePhilip Rogerson to chair Bunzl
16th Oct 2009 07:52
Distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl has made Philip Rogerson its new chairman and announced the retirement of interim chairman Jeff Harris. Rogerson will join the board as chairman designate on 1 January next year and take up the role in full at the start of March. He'll give up his current p
Read moreFriday tips round-up: WH Smith, Costain, SABMiller
16th Oct 2009 06:45
WH Smith is no longer just a defensive play, as the innovative ways that chief executive Kate Swann has found to expand the format into workplaces shows. The yield is a respectable 3.5%, but trading on 11 times next year's earnings - before yesterday's rise - the shares are at a discount of about 1
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Barr toasts Britvic update
15th Oct 2009 14:56
Irn-Bru maker Barr is fizzing after a positive update from fellow soft drinks group Britvic, which served up a 5.6% rise in full year revenue and believes it will deliver a strong set of results for the year ahead. A strong bounce in its bonds and currency hedging funds lifted emerging markets fun
Read moreBroker tips: Burberry, Weir Group, Aggreko
15th Oct 2009 12:00
Luxury fashion group Burberry has enjoyed an excellent run since joining the ranks of the FTSE 100 and its good fortune continues today after JP Morgan raised its target price on the group. After yesterday's well-received trading update, in which Burberry reported a better-than-expected 5% rise in
Read moreBroker snap: Aggreko 'high enough' for now
15th Oct 2009 11:40
Aggreko raced ahead today after it raised guidance for the year, convincing Charles Stanley to upgrade its pre-tax forecast for 2009 by 10%. The broker thinks the temporary power supplier will make an annual profit of £236m, up from the £215m forecast previously, but leaves its 2010 estimate unchan
Read moreAggreko ups full year guidance
15th Oct 2009 07:57
Temporary power supplier Aggreko has upped its full-year guidance, saying it expects constant-currency profits to be slightly above the level achieved in 2008. Revenues in the three months to 30 September were 8% lower than the same period in 2008; on a constant currency basis, and excluding pass-t
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Aggreko, Persimmon, Admiral
26th Aug 2009 06:41
At the Department of Energy and Climate Change, civil servants are wringing their hands about the looming energy shortage, but at temporary power supplier Aggreko, Rupert Soames, the chief executive, is rubbing his palms in anticipation of windfall profits. Even after the rise, the shares are not to
Read moreLondon close: Footsie rally continues
25th Aug 2009 16:32
After an afternoon of see-sawing between the red and the blue, Footsie finished in positive territory and above the 4,900 point mark, continuing its rally. State-owned lender Royal Bank of Scotland finished with good gains after it said it will cut the level of benefits received by members of its
Read more