London midday: Minutes show first signs of split in MPC
21st May 2014 12:15
- AstraZeneca leads gains - UK retail sales surge by 1.3 per cent on the month - Minutes show differences of opinion amongst MPC techMARK 2,718.19 +0.43% FTSE 100 6,794.51 -0.11% FTSE 250 15,526.03 +0.56% Change is in the air at the Bank of England; indeed, perhaps not massive change, but change n
Read moreWednesday broker round-up UPDATE
21st May 2014 08:36
African Minerals: Citi reduces target price from 260p to 190p, while leaving its buy recommendation unchanged. Alliance Pharma: Numis lowers target price from 39p to 37p and maintains an add rating. APR Energy: JP Morgan shifts target price from 1082p to 1089p keeping its overweight rating. Astra
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Bank of England, Lloyds, AstraZeneca
21st May 2014 06:38
Raising interest rates might be the only effective tool the Bank of England has to cool the housing market, its deputy governor has conceded. Charlie Bean, who retires at the end of June, said that while it was sensible for the Bank to use macro-prudential tools to control rapid price rises and mana
Read moreAstraZeneca blames Pfizer for bringing prospects of a deal to a close - UPDATE
20th May 2014 20:30
Drugs giant AstraZeneca on Tuesday evening issued a statement highlighting that Pfizer's final offer had been made without prior discussion with it and despite having previously indicated to the US firm the price and other bases on which it would have been prepared to recommend an offer to its board
Read moreBroker tips: Greencore, AstraZeneca, Tullow Oil
20th May 2014 11:57
Greencore, the manufacturer of convenience foods, delivered a 'good' first half result, with a strong 26 per cent increase in like-for-like sales at its Convenience Foods unit in the US, and there is increasing visibility on growth next year, Investec analyst Nicola Millard told analysts in a resear
Read moreCiti says AstraZeneca is a buy with a 49 pounds price target
20th May 2014 10:28
Citigroup has urged investors to buy takeover target AstraZeneca after it turned down rival Pfizer's latest bid. Citi has added AstraZeneca to its Citi Focus List Europe, saying it is worth £49 a share following its rejection of Pfizer's "final" £55 per share offer. AstraZeneca's shares endured a
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: Households, Prices, AstraZeneca
20th May 2014 07:09
British households are willing to splash out a little bit extra on luxuries as confidence in people's finances and the state of the economy continues to rise. Consumer confidence is at its highest level since Lloyds started charting it in its Spending Power Report in November 2010. Confidence in Apr
Read moreLondon close: AstraZeneca leads stocks lower
19th May 2014 16:26
- FTSE closes down 11.26 points at 6,844.55 - AstraZeneca leads fallers after bid rejection - Chinese data disappoints techMARK 2,719.46 -0.94% FTSE 100 6,844.55 -0.16% FTSE 250 15,379.44 -0.12% London's blue chips ended the session broadly lower, weighed by AstraZeneca and generally weaker sentim
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: AstraZeneca slides on bid rejection
19th May 2014 15:20
Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca slumped after it rejected a 'final proposal' from US rival Pfizer. The offer, which valued the London-listed group at £69bn, would not be increased any further, Pfizer said, adding that it would not pursue a hostile offer and would only announce another offer with t
Read moreSector movers: AstraZeneca drags pharma stocks lower on Pfizer drama
19th May 2014 13:52
The pharmaceutical sector was dragged into the red on Monday as shares in AstraZeneca were hit by the news that the board has rejected another offer from US rival Pfizer. AstraZeneca was trading 11.5% lower at 4,270p after turning down a sweetened 5,500p-a-share bid from Pfizer. The new offer, wh
Read moreLondon midday: China slowdown fears hit stocks, AstraZeneca sinks
19th May 2014 11:26
- AstraZeneca drops after rejecting 'final proposal' from Pfizer - Chinese housing concerns weigh on sentiment - Carney comments, Ukraine elections in focus techMARK 2,710.83 -1.26% FTSE 100 6,827.22 -0.42% FTSE 250 15,427.14 +0.19% UK stocks were firmly in the red on Monday as investors kicked of
Read moreCarnegie still sees upside for AstraZeneca even without Pfizer deal
19th May 2014 10:05
Broker Carnegie said it still sees upside in AstraZeneca's share price despite a takeover by Pfizer now looking unlikely. AstraZeneca's shares fell as much as 14% on Monday morning after the board rejected a sweetened £55-a-share bid from Pfizer. The new offer is thought to value AstraZeneca at a
Read moreLondon open: AstraZeneca leads markets lower as shares sink
19th May 2014 08:33
- AstraZeneca drops sharply after rejecting Pfizer offer - Banking, mining stocks fall - China property concerns weigh on sentiment techMARK 2,714.40 -1.13% FTSE 100 6,823.23 -0.48% FTSE 250 15,475.65 +0.50% UK stocks fell on Monday morning with AstraZeneca leading the decline after rejecting a fi
Read moreLondon pre-open: Ukraine elections and BoE remarks in focus
19th May 2014 07:40
Stocks are set to begin this week little changed from the end of last, with just a modest decline of around seven points below Friday's close of 6,855.81. Investors will kick off today's session with AstraZeneca firmly in focus after its board rejected a final offer from US pharmaceutical rival Pfi
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Mark Carney, Petroleum reserves, AstraZeneca
19th May 2014 07:25
The government's Help to Buy scheme could distort the entire mortgage market and may have to be curbed, the Governor of the Bank of England warned yesterday. Mark Carney said that the programme to help new home owners to secure a mortgage with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent may be encouraging
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