Broker snap: Citi rates Aviva as 'buy' after NY regulator approves US deal
15th Aug 2013 10:49
Citigroup has reiterated its 'buy' rating and 432p target price for insurance group Aviva after the New York regulator approved the deal for Apollo Global Management to take over its US life and annuity business. The deal, first announced in December 2012 for $1.8bn, was on Wednesday approved by th
Read moreBroker tips: Lloyds, Aviva, Tesco
9th Aug 2013 11:22
Morgan Stanley has raised its rating for UK banking group Lloyds from 'equalweight' to 'overweight', saying that the company can benefit from a strong housing market while visibility on its payout improves. "We upgrade Lloyds to OW as we are more bullish than most on the outlook for UK housing, whi
Read moreBroker snap: BofA upgrades Aviva to 'buy' after H1 results
9th Aug 2013 10:24
Aviva was in focus on Friday morning as markets continue to digest the insurer's first-half results, with Bank of America Merrill Lynch lifting sentiment after upgrading the stock from 'neutral' to 'buy'. BofA thinks that cash-flow creation "holds the key to a re-rating" at Aviva as this will accel
Read moreLondon open: Miners lift markets as concerns over China ease
9th Aug 2013 08:45
Worries over a slowdown in China eased temporarily on Friday morning after a barrage of strong economic figures from the world's second-largest economy sparked decent gains in the mining sector in London. Chinese industrial production increased at an annual rate of 9.7% in July, an acceleration fr
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: JPMorgan, SFO, shale gas
9th Aug 2013 06:50
JPMorgan Chase is set to admit to wrongdoing in a settlement with US and UK authorities over its "London whale" trading losses, the Financial Times reported. The Serious Fraud Office mistakenly sent 32,000 pages of documents relating to its case against BAE Systems to the wrong place last year, The
Read moreFriday tips round-up: Aviva, Rio Tinto, Henderson Group
9th Aug 2013 06:43
Aviva's strategy under new Chief Executive Mark Wilson looks like it's working, according to The Telegraph's Questor column. The insurer's cashflows are improving, new business is increasing and operating expenses are being reduced. The company's interim results on Thursday revealed progress which p
Read moreLondon close: Markets rise as Chinese data gives miners a boost
8th Aug 2013 16:35
London's FTSE 100 finished Thursday's session in positive territory, registering moderate gains as a strong performance in the mining sector and results from Aviva helped the index rebound slightly after a four-day losing streak. Forecast-beating trade figures from the world's top metals user, Chin
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Aviva jumps as first-half results impress
8th Aug 2013 14:41
Aviva's share price surged on Thursday after the insurer beat forecasts in the first half as its turnaround continues. The firm reported a five per cent rise in operating profit to 1,008m pounds, ahead of the 933m-pound estimate, while the value of new business jumped 17 per cent to 401m pounds. "I
Read moreLondon midday: Aviva, miners help FTSE 100 snap losing streak
8th Aug 2013 11:53
Markets were on the advance on Thursday morning as well-received results from insurer Aviva and strong gains in the mining sector helped the FTSE 100 rebound after four straight days of losses. Miners in particular were boosted by better-than-expected trade figures from China, as stocks in the sect
Read moreLondon open: Chinese trade data lifts markets after sell-off
8th Aug 2013 08:21
Better-than-expected trade figures from China helped push markets in positive territory on Thursday morning but sentiment was still fragile following the heavy sell-off the day before. Concerns about a tapering of stimulus by the Federal Reserve and an underwhelming forward guidance statement from
Read moreAviva turnaround takes shape though debt and costs persist - UPDATE
8th Aug 2013 07:10
Insurer Aviva turned around last year's interim loss with a cash-rich first half performance, boosted by a strong UK contribution. Although costs were cut and levels of new business were up impressively, debt levels were largely unchanged and management conceded that tackling legacy issues would t
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Barclays, Lloyds, GKN
28th Jul 2013 16:28
Barclays could announce a four billion pounds rights issue on July 30th as part of its plan to boost capital, the Financial Times and other papers reported. The bank may also issue hybrid bonds and shrink its balance sheet to meet regulatory demands for a £7bn capital shortfall. The bank reports sec
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 near seven-week high
15th Jul 2013 16:28
Decent gains in the financial sector boosted the FTSE 100 on Monday as markets welcomed in-line growth figures from China and record highs on Wall Street. The FTSE 100 finished 41 points higher at 6,586 today; the last time it closed higher was on May 30th when it reached 6,657. While the index cl
Read moreBroker snap: Nomura names Prudential as top pick in UK life sector
12th Jul 2013 10:45
Nomura has upgraded its rating for insurance and financial services group Prudential by two notches from 'reduce' to 'buy', labelling it as its favoured choice in the UK life sector. In a research report on the wider sector, the broker said that Aviva's dividend earlier in the year has brought 'cas
Read moreLondon close: Markets suffer another sell-off as sentiment remains fragile
24th Jun 2013 16:41
Markets suffered another heavy sell-off on Monday, sending the FTSE 100 to levels not seen since the start of the year, as concerns over a slowdown in China and last week's Federal Reserve policy meeting continuing to hit markets across the globe. London's FTSE 100 finished the day down 87 points,
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