London midday: UK stocks treading water after recent gains, Petrofac shares tank
24th Nov 2014 11:32
After finishing the previous session at a two-month high, UK stocks were treading water on Monday as investors paused for breath. The FTSE 100 was down just six points, or 0.09%, at 6,744.94 by midday, with Petrofac providing a drag on the blue-chip index after a profit warning. Shares in the oilfie
Read moreLondon open: UK markets pause at two-month high, but Petrofac plummets
24th Nov 2014 08:24
UK stocks opened broadly flat on Monday with markets pausing for breath after hitting a two-month high last week. The FTSE 100 was trading down just 0.04% at 6,748 in early deals, with oilfield services group Petrofac providing a drag after a profit warning. The index finished Friday at 6,750.76, a
Read moreFriends Life suspends buyback after Aviva takeover offer
24th Nov 2014 07:31
Friends Life has suspended its share buyback after the insurer on Friday agreed to a £5.6bn takeover by larger rival Aviva. The £317m stock repurchase programme, which only started on 31 October after the completion of Friends Life's disposal of Lombard, has already resulted in over 9m shares being
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Aviva, Iran, AIM
24th Nov 2014 06:33
An estimated 2,000 insurance jobs are likely to be axed as Aviva tries to placate scepticism about its bid for Friends Life. While some analysts hailed the £5.6bn deal announced on Friday evening as giving Aviva scope to push up its dividend, others were unimpressed, with one questioning whether it
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Aviva-Friends Life, Coutts, Quindell
23rd Nov 2014 18:15
Clive Cowdery, whose Resolution acquisition vehicle bought Friends Provident in 2009, will make about £160m from Aviva's takeover of Friends Life, the Sunday Times said. The roles of chairman, chief executive and finance director at the combined company will go to the Aviva incumbents, according to
Read moreAviva in negotiations to purchase Friends Life
21st Nov 2014 17:32
British insurance provider Aviva has opened negotiations to buy sector peers Friends Life for £5.6bn. The deal, which would be the biggest of its kind in the insurance sector since the merger of CGU and Norwich Union created Aviva over a decade ago, could revolutionise the UK pensions industry. Acc
Read moreFriday tips round-up: National Express, Aviva
31st Oct 2014 11:39
National Express seems to be on a firm footing, with a sound base from which to expand into new territories. Nevertheless, the company's chief executive, Mr. Finch, has experienced some setbacks of late. His outfit wasn't picked for Crossrail and he decided not to compete on TransPennine or Northern
Read moreAviva's Q3 results nearing 'predictability of a Swiss clock'
30th Oct 2014 07:49
Improvements in the value of new business and its non-life combined operating ratio helped Aviva deliver a solid third quarter result, though the slowing pace of progress in chief executive Mark Wilson's turnaround received analyst criticism. Operating capital generation was flat at £1.3bn year-on-y
Read moreTuesday broker round-up UPDATE
28th Oct 2014 09:18
Afren: Credit Suisse lowers target price from 132p to 115p staying with its outperform rating. African Barrick Gold: Westhouse moves target price from 230p to 240p and keeps an add rating. Anglo American: Investec reduces target price from 1603p to 1588p and keeps a buy recommendation. APR Energy:
Read moreLondon open: UK stocks rise, but Lloyds and StanChart fall
28th Oct 2014 08:54
Despite some heavy falls from banking heavyweights Lloyds and Standard Chartered, UK stocks advanced on Tuesday morning as the FTSE 100 rebounded from a one-week low. London's benchmark index was up 0.6% at 6,404 in early deals, helped by decent gains from oil major BP. The Footsie closed at 6,363.
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Oil stocks rise as Rolls-Royce falls into last place
17th Oct 2014 15:58
Tullow Oil, Shell and a number of other oil companies were all trading in positive territory on Friday afternoon thanks to a continued rebound in crude prices. Fears about an oversupply of oil saw West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude drop below $80 a barrel this week, while Brent futures sank to a fo
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Numis upgrades lift Randgold and Antofagasta
9th Oct 2014 15:36
Randgold Resources jumped after Numis upgraded the miner to 'buy' from 'add', while the same broker also gave sector peer Antofagasta a boost after upgrading it from 'reduce' to 'hold'. Fresnillo and Polymetal also gained as a weaker dollar prompted a jump in gold and silver prices. Rolls-Royce was
Read moreTuesday broker round-up UPDATE
23rd Sep 2014 09:36
AVEVA: JP Morgan reduces target price from 2450p to 1825p, while leaving its overweight rating unchanged. African Minerals: Credit Suisse reduces target price from 120p to 25p, while leaving its neutral rating unchanged. Aviva: Goldman Sachs ups target price from 490p to 515p and reiterates a neutr
Read moreBarclays appoints Aviva's McFarlane as Chairman - UPDATE
12th Sep 2014 09:22
Barclays has appointed John McFarlane as chairman to replace David Walker, who will step down following the bank’s annual general meeting in 2015. McFarlane, who is currently chairman of Aviva and FirstGroup, will take on the role on 1 January. He will step down from Aviva and FirstGroup in A
Read moreAviva considers IPO of Turkish joint venture
4th Sep 2014 17:17
Insurance company Aviva and Haci Ömer Sabanci Holding are considering a potential initial public offering (IPO) of a minority stake in their life and pensions business AvivaSA Emeklilik ve Hayat AS. As required by Turkish regulation, AvivaSA has submitted a prospectus to the Turkish Capital Markets
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