London pre-open: EU decision sparks rise
31st Jan 2012 07:23
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 26 points from yesterday's close of 5,671, buoyed by news that heads of government across the European Union have given their backing for great fiscal integration in the continent. With the exception of two EU member states, on Monday all voted in favou
Read moreCash generation remains strong at Babcock
31st Jan 2012 07:03
There is little sign of orders drying up at Babcock International, with the engineering and support services firm saying it is in discussions with its major customers about their plans for future outsourcing initiatives. The group said it traded in line with expectations in the final quarter of 201
Read moreTuesday preview: BSkyB, ARM, Babcock
30th Jan 2012 15:13
So-called 'triple-play' (pay TV, phone and Internet service provider) British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) updates the market on Tuesday on how it fared in the final three months of 2011. Credit Suisse, which is neutral on the stock, thinks the company faces multiple structural and cyclical headwinds i
Read moreBabcock hits new high on BBC contract win
12th Jan 2012 08:48
Babcock International, the engineering and support services firm, hit a 52-week high on Thursday morning after announcing two contract wins. The BBC World Service is to pay Babcock £200m over the next ten years for providing services related to the transmission and distribution of radio and televis
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: RBS in top spot after cost-saving measures leaked
11th Jan 2012 12:08
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was on the up after it was reported that its Irish unit is preparing its second round of job cuts in four years as part of an effort to save about €50m ($63.9m), according to two people with knowledge of the plan, a Bloomberg News report said. Meanwhile, SSE became the
Read moreLondon open: Footsie pulls back early on
11th Jan 2012 08:16
The FTSE 100 nudged lower in early trading on Wednesday despite a decent start for retailers, as investors pause for breath following yesterday's sharp rise, which was sparked by the announcement that Fitch does not intend to downgrade France this year. After a strong showing yesterday, the heavywe
Read moreAMEC, Babcock awarded extension to National Grid contract
11th Jan 2012 07:05
AMEC and Babcock's five-year Electricity Alliance West contract with National Grid has been extended by a further five years, the companies announced today. The contract - awarded to the joint venture between the two engineering firms and Mott MacDonald Group - involves the upgrade of overhead powe
Read moreMonday broker round-up - UPDATE
19th Dec 2011 09:10
Randgold Resources: Goldman Sachs downgrades to sell from neutral. Aggreko: Investec puts 1,950p target under review, buy rating retained. Carnival: Evolution Securities keeps buy recommendation and 2,850p target. Ocado: Panmure Gordon keeps sell rating and 50p target. Babcock: Panmure Gordon r
Read moreBabcock wins contract with the London Fire Brigade
25th Nov 2011 11:55
Babcock International has been selected by the London Fire Brigade as the preferred bidder for its new 25-year training contract expected to be worth in the order of £500m. Babcock will be working with the London Fire Brigade, the UK's largest fire and rescue service, to develop and deliver train
Read morePreferred bidder named for Scottish nuclear site
23rd Nov 2011 10:31
Babcock Dounreay Partnership (BDP) has been named as preferred bidder in Scotland's largest nuclear clean-up and demolition project. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) said BDP would take ownership through share transfer of DSRL, the company that manages the decommissioning and clean-up of
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Catlin, Babcock and Majestic
15th Nov 2011 07:14
On first sight insurance group Catlin has had a tough third quarter, seeing losses rise from $534m to $670m on the back of flooding in Denmark and Thailand and Hurricane Irene which swept through the Caribbean, the US and Canada back in August. The Times's Tempus, however, notes the guidance in Ca
Read moreBabcock down despite big profits growth
8th Nov 2011 15:32
Babcock, the engineering services company has seen a slight drop in its share price today following the release of its results for the six months to the end of September. Revenues were up 30% on the same period of 2010 at £1,588m and profit before tax was up 46% at £132.8m. Basic earnings per share
Read moreDigital Look broker talk
8th Nov 2011 11:32
Reckitt Benckiser: "However, contrary to common perception, the success of Reckitt Benckiser's business model has had, historically, very little to do with trading the consumer up" but has rather relied on gross margin-accretive acquisitions and a strong focus on cost-saving initiatives" [Nomura].
Read moreTuesday broker update: IAG, HSBC, Essar -UPDATE
8th Nov 2011 09:38
Tate&Lyle: J.P.Morgan downgrades to underweight from neutral. IAG: Credit Suisse cuts target too 152p from 164p. HSBC: Credit Suisse cuts target too 610p from 640p. Essar: Credit Suisse cuts target too 435p from 566p. Weir: Credit Suisse raises target to 2050p from 1850p. Astra Zeneca: Panmure
Read moreThursday tips round-up: Caretech, Domino's, Babcock International
29th Sep 2011 06:34
CareTech, the care home operator, was hit by a messy corporate governance row over capitalising the cost of its M&A team, which is not generally the done thing, and the fallout from the collapse of the larger Southern Cross. At the current price, the shares trade on about 4.4 times earnings for the
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