London close: Spanish concerns dampen stocks
2nd Oct 2012 16:37
- Moody's to reveal Spanish review this month - Banks provide a drag on the Footsie - Bumi and Bank of Georgia are big movers on FTSE 250 After a morning rally into the blue, the Footsie had dropped back into negative territory by the close of trade on Tuesday with uncertainty surrounding Spain con
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Babcock boosted by buoyant markets
2nd Oct 2012 15:51
Engineering support firm Babcock was performing well today after saying it was enjoying buoyant markets as customers turned to it to make cost savings. Jefferies, Seymour Pierce and Investec all hailed the first-half trading update as "in line", maintaining their 'buy' ratings for the stock while sa
Read moreBroker tips: Babcock, AstraZeneca, Hammerson
2nd Oct 2012 12:10
Jefferies reiterated its 'buy' recommendation and 970p target price for Babcock, saying that the business is "holding a steady course". "While the bid pipeline remains at £13bn, more opportunities are emerging at tracking stage including equipment support and training for the MOD. Babcock is a majo
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks swing into the blue
2nd Oct 2012 11:38
- Stocks shrug off Spanish bailout concerns - RBA cuts rates - Babcock and Wolseley rise strongly after updates After a poor start on Tuesday, the FTSE 100 had swung into positive territory by lunchtime with gains from Babcock, Wolseley and International Consolidated Airlines (otherwise known as IA
Read moreBroker snap: Downgrades likely for AstraZeneca, says Credit Suisse
2nd Oct 2012 10:18
Credit Suisse has reduced its forecasts for pharmaceuticals group AstraZeneca after the firm announced on Monday that it had suspended its share repurchase programme with immediate effect. In one of his first acts since becoming Astra's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in August, Pascal Soriot reveale
Read moreLondon close: Stocks surge after US data, Spanish stress tests
1st Oct 2012 16:45
- US data beats forecasts in September - Reports imply Germany may soften stance on Greece - Banks and miners rise strongly in London - Credit Suisse says Spanish stress test a "generally credible exercise" - Credit Suisse says larger top-down questions remain in stress tests Better-than-forecast m
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Xstrata rises after agreeing to merger with Glencore
1st Oct 2012 14:46
The big news of the day was that the so-called merger of equals between commodities trader Glencore and mining titan Xstrata is back on after the independent directors of the latter agreed to Glencore's terms. Jefferies reiterated its positive stance on both stocks this morning, saying that while th
Read moreAstraZeneca halts share repurchases
1st Oct 2012 14:06
Shares in drugs giant AstraZeneca were hit in afternoon trading on Monday after the company revealed that it has suspended its share repurchase programme. After trading in the blue in morning trade, shares swung into negative territory shortly after the announcement, trading down 1.93% at 2,898p by
Read moreLondon pre-open: GCC and Weidmann in the spotlight
12th Sep 2012 07:30
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down four points from yesterday's close of 5,792, taking the lead from markets in Europe. On today's schedule, the highest court in Germany (GCC) will announce its ruling on whether the country considers its participation in the permanent European Stabil
Read moreAstra taps the bond market
12th Sep 2012 07:10
Anglo-Swedish drugs giant AstraZeneca has tapped the bond market with an issue of notes in two tranches. The group has successfully issued $1bn of 7-year fixed rate notes with a coupon of 1.95% and $1bn of 30-year fixed rate notes with a coupon of 4%. The proceeds of the issue will be used for deb
Read moreFriday broker round-up
7th Sep 2012 09:03
ASOS: Jefferies keeps buy rating and 2,199p target. AstraZeneca: Morgan Stanley upgrades to equal weight. Aviva: AlphaValue downgrades to add, target lifted from 385p to 389p. Barclays: Deutsche Bank upgrades to buy. Dixons: Nomura keeps neutral rating and 20p target. Legal & General: Credit Su
Read moreWednesday broker round-up -UPDATE
29th Aug 2012 09:38
888 Holdings: Investec upgrades from sell to buy target hiked from 18p to 95p. Advanced Medical Solutions: Singer Capital Markets upgrades to buy, target lifted from 80p to 82p. AstraZeneca: AlphaValue downgrades to reduce. Bunzl: Jefferies raises target from 835p to 860p, underperform rating kep
Read moreLondon close: Footsie finishes flat after long weekend
28th Aug 2012 16:48
- Markets await Jackson Hole symposium - Miners lower on concerns over Japan - Chemring drops after profit warning. Concerns about global economic growth were weighing on sentiment on Tuesday, meaning that the FTSE 100 was little changed by the close despite some volatile swings between gains and
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks erase losses after Spanish auction
28th Aug 2012 11:47
- Spanish bond auction lifts sentiment - Miners lower on concerns over Japan - Chemring drops profit warning. London's blue-chip index was trading broadly flat by midday, having erased all of the morning's losses, after a solid Spanish bond auction eased concerns about the heavily indebted Eurozone
Read moreLondon open: Global concerns dent stocks early on
28th Aug 2012 08:39
- Japanese concerns weigh on sentiment early on - G4S slips after first-half results, job cuts - Kingfisher lower after broker downgrade. The FTSE 100 slipped on Tuesday morning following a long weekend on concerns over the Japanese economy and uncertainty in the Eurozone. "Another big factor in t
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