FTSE 100 movers: Admiral and Glencore shares fall after H1 results
13th Aug 2014 14:49
Car insurance group Admiral was a heavy faller on Wednesday after the group said turnover in the first half was down 5% at £1.04bn as a 9% rise in customers was outweighed by a fall in premiums over last year. The company said that while UK premiums are no longer falling a return to growth remains e
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks advance as rate-hike speculation eases
13th Aug 2014 12:08
- BoE strikes dovish tone as wages fall - Ukraine crisis, Asian data in focus - Ex-dividend stocks limit upside - Banking stocks lead upside techMARK 2,736.01 +0.28% FTSE 100 6,661.68 +0.44% FTSE 250 15,528.53 +0.41% An overall dovish tone to the Bank of England's (BoE) Inflation Report gave UK st
Read moreAstrazeneca reports positive results from gout treatment tests
13th Aug 2014 09:07
Drug group Astrazeneca said it had achieved positive results in trials of a gout treatment. Astrazeneca said pivotal phase three clinical trials of lesinurad, a selective uric acid re-absorption inhibitor used to treat patients with symptomatic gout, had hit primary targets. The group said, howeve
Read moreLondon open: Stocks flat on rate speculation ahead of Inflation Report
13th Aug 2014 09:04
- Inflation Report, rate speculation keeps markets cautious - Ukraine crisis in focus as Russian convoy heads to border - Chinese data disappoints, Japanese GDP sinks - Ex-dividend stocks fall techMARK 2,725.51 -0.10% FTSE 100 6,630.77 -0.02% FTSE 250 15,403.28 -0.40% Weak economic data from Asia,
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Pharma stocks drop as regulation looks to derail M&A
6th Aug 2014 14:26
Shire, the pharmaceutical group which has agreed to a £32bn takeover by Abbvie, saw its shares decline sharply on Wednesday on concerns that stricter rules on so-called 'tax inversion' in the States could scupper the deal. Sector peer Astrazeneca, which had recently been the target of a failed £69b
Read moreShire shares slump as US looks to deter tax inversion deals
6th Aug 2014 14:14
Shire, the pharmaceutical group that has agreed to a £32bn takeover by Abbvie, saw its share price sink sharply on Wednesday on concerns that stricter rules on so-called 'tax inversion' in the States could scupper the deal. The US Treasury Department said it was looking at ways to deter American co
Read moreSector movers: Shire and AZN lead pharma stocks lower on M&A risk
6th Aug 2014 14:13
The pharmaceutical sector dropped on Wednesday on the back of fears about risks to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity, with Shire sinking sharply. Concerns that stricter rules on so-called 'tax inversion' in the US could scupper Abbvie's £32bn takeover of London-listed Shire dented the latter'
Read moreBritish American Tobacco director sells off LTIP share awards
4th Aug 2014 15:51
John Benedict ('Ben') Stevens, the head of finance at British American Tobacco, has sold nearly £0.7m-worth of shares in the cigarette maker. After being awarded 39,142 shares under the company's long-term incentive plan from 2011, Stevens offloaded 18,802 of them at a price of 3,486p each. Steven
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Carillion-Balfour, share sell-off, Lloyds Banking
3rd Aug 2014 18:04
Carillion plans to put Balfour Beatty in a "bear hug" to tempt Balfour's shareholders to support its attempted takeover, the Sunday Times said. Carillion last week scuppered a planned all-share merger when it backtracked on the agreed sale of Balfour's Parsons Brinckerhoff US design consultancy. Wit
Read moreAstrazeneca chairman add 6,000 shares
1st Aug 2014 16:43
Improved full year guidance ensured Astrazeneca shares proved popular with board members this week, with chairman Leif Johansson adding a further 6,000 shares to his stake in the drugs maker. The shares were acquired at SEK 502.95 per share, equal to 4,347p each. Purchases were also made by non-
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
1st Aug 2014 10:33
AstraZeneca: Deutsche Bank ups target price from 3950p to 4000p staying with its hold recommendation. Avacta: Numis places both its target price and its buy recommendation under review. Barclays: Berenberg upgrades from sell to hold with a target price of 220p. Bodycote: UBS shifts target price f
Read moreLondon midday: Earnings come in mixed as investors watch US data, Fed
31st Jul 2014 12:04
- Shell, BG Group and Intu lead the risers - Weir, Schroders and Lloyds fall - Afren drops after suspending directors - US data and Fed keep investors cautious techMARK 2,763.54 -0.57% FTSE 100 6,763.04 -0.15% FTSE 250 15,495.73 -0.86% London stocks were trading in the red for a second straight da
Read moreAstrazeneca raises guidance after better-than-expected Q2
31st Jul 2014 08:42
- Core EPS and revenue outlook raised - H1 revenue up 3%, Q2 revenue up 4% - Q2 PBT of $1.89bn Astrazeneca has lifted its guidance for the year after delivering a 4% increase in second quarter revenue to $6.4bn, ahead of expectations. Half year turnover at the drugs giant climbed 3%, driven by ga
Read moreLondon midday: UK stocks flat ahead of US data, Fed decision
30th Jul 2014 11:42
- Corporate earnings receive mixed market reaction - Barclays, Travis Perkins and Astra rise - Antofagasta, ITV and Compass fall - US data, Fed decision in focus later on techMARK 2,783.73 +0.05% FTSE 100 6,803.99 -0.06% FTSE 250 15,675.20 -0.08% The FTSE 100 was trading broadly flat on Wednesday,
Read moreLondon open: Stocks slip as investors digest earnings, Barclays rises
30th Jul 2014 08:26
- Barclays rises as investors digest wave of corporate earnings - Russian sanctions, Gaza and Argentina in focus - US economic data, Fed decision due out later on techMARK 2,785.48 +0.12% FTSE 100 6,797.66 -0.15% FTSE 250 15,671.08 -0.10% UK markets opened slightly lower on Wednesday as investors
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