Thursday broker round-up
2nd Feb 2012 09:15
AstraZeneca: Panmure Gordon maintains buy rating and 3,600p target. Imperial Tobacco: Nomura upgrades from reduce to neutral, 2,150p target unchanged. Compass Group: Panmure Gordon maintains buy rating and 675p target. Smith & Nephew: Panmure Gordon reiterates buy stance and 640p target. Unileve
Read moreLondon open: Stocks pull back but Xstrata soars
2nd Feb 2012 08:35
Stocks opened slightly lower on Thursday, pulling back from the +100 point gain for the Footsie yesterday as markets celebrated positive global macroeconomic data with manufacturing indices in the UK, Eurozone, US and China all showing an improvement in January. In other news, ratings agency Standa
Read moreAstraZeneca to cut 7,300 jobs, predicts lower earnings in 2012 - UPDATE
2nd Feb 2012 07:17
Pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca has reported a strong rise in earnings in 2011 but, in an attempt to "enhance productivity" and reduce costs, the company has revealed it will by making 7,300 job cuts. To make things worse, the group said a decline in both constant currency revenues and core earni
Read moreWednesday broker round-up - UPDATE
1st Feb 2012 07:03
Shire Pharmaceuticals: Credit Suisse maintains outperform rating and 2,350p target. Reckitt Benckiser: Credit Suisse maintains outperform rating and 3,800p target. easyJet: Credit Suisse maintains outperform rating and 503p target. Meggitt: Credit Suisse reiterates underperform rating and 330p ta
Read moreLondon close: Euro worries drag Footsie down 1.1%
30th Jan 2012 17:13
Just nine stocks in the FTSE 100 finished above water on Monday as the Eurozone crisis weighed heavily on sentiment. With the borrowing rate of Portuguese debt surging, Greek talks still unresolved and an EU summit taking place, a risk-off attitude swept across the market today with resource stocks
Read moreSector movers: Miners sold off as dollar gains on euro crisis
30th Jan 2012 14:50
The Eurozone crisis sparked a sell-off in the industrial metals and mining sector today, as ongoing talks in Greece and this afternoon's EU summit weighed on market sentiment. The absence of a debt-swap deal in Greece, the downgrade of five Eurozone nations, and a euro-era record high Portuguese 10
Read moreLondon close: Footsie up 0.7% as banks and IAG surge
19th Jan 2012 17:05
-Euro optimism drives gains. -Barclays, Lloyds, RBS leads the risers. -Essar falls 11.9%, still volatile after Indian tax ruling. A combination of better-than-expected earnings figures and economic data from the US, talks of progress between the Greek government and private creditors, and strong de
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks move higher
19th Jan 2012 14:42
Bankings stocks were providing a lift at midday with Barclays, RBS, Lloyds and HSBC all among the best performers, aided by euro optimism which has given a boost to sentiment. Tesco was also on the rise after US investor Warren Buffett stocked up on shares in the supermarket giant. Meanwhile, Es
Read moreLondon midday: Banks lead risers, Essar still volatile
19th Jan 2012 11:54
- Spain sells more than target in debt auction - Greek talks ongoing - Consumer confidence falls The Footsie extended gains by midday, with the banks performing well, with euro optimism giving a boost to sentiment. The Spanish Treasury has this morning sold €6.61bn in long-term debt, well above th
Read moreLondon open: Footsie flat despite euro optimism
19th Jan 2012 08:22
The FTSE 100 opened flat on Thursday morning, following gains made yesterday after the news that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is boosting its lending capacity by at least $500bn. Lifting sentiment was a source from the Greek finance ministry, who told French news agency Agence France-Pre
Read moreFDA wants more data from AstraZeneca on diabetes drug
19th Jan 2012 07:27
AstraZeneca says the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants more clinical data on its dapagliflozin treatment for type 2 diabetes in adults. Astra is developing the therapy with US firm Bristol-Myers Squibb and says it has already conducted 19 clinical trials with 8000 adults. The FDA, howeve
Read moreLondon midday: Resource stocks lift Footsie, Gulf Keystone jumps
10th Jan 2012 12:00
Resource stocks performed well in morning trade, lifting the FTSE 100 over 1.1% higher. Miners were gaining ground after some positive economic data from China boosted sentiment, while Cairn Energy was on the up after detailing its $3.5bn cash return to shareholders. A big mover was Gulf Keystone,
Read moreLondon midday: Eyes on Merkozy meeting as Footsie falls
9th Jan 2012 11:43
London's blue chip index was trading slightly lower by midday, following a moderate rise early on, with all eyes on the meeting between Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy. The German Chancellor and French Prime Minister are to hold a press conference in the next hour in which they are expected to d
Read moreLondon open: Footsie up early on, pharmas fall
9th Jan 2012 08:18
London's FTSE 100 opened slightly higher on Monday morning helped by banking titans Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC. Oil stocks Essar Energy, Tullow Oil and Royal Dutch Shell were tracking oil prices higher. Today's big event will be the meeting of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French Preside
Read moreEarnings at the lower end of forecasts, says AstraZeneca
9th Jan 2012 07:20
Biopharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has said that full-year earnings are now expected to come in at the lower end of previous guidance. While the firm reiterated that core earnings per share (EPS) for 2011 will come within the expected range of $7.20 to $7.40 a share (set out in its third quarter r
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