London close: Financials lower as euro fears persist
14th Nov 2011 16:40
Financials led the decline on Monday, bearing the brunt of Eurozone contagion fears. All eyes were on the bond market as yields on Italian and Spanish debt crept higher. ALL EYES ON BOND MARKETS The Italian Treasury met its target after issuing €3bn in five-year debt today, and while demand improv
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Smith & Nephew, ITV lead the risers
14th Nov 2011 13:56
Medical equipment manufacturer Smith & Nephew was the high riser helped by Exane BNP Paribas which upped its recommendation on the stock from neutral to outperform. ITV, Britain's biggest private terrestrial broadcaster, was heading north after reporting a 4% rise in revenues in the nine months to
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie retreats after positive start
14th Nov 2011 12:18
The early optimism faded in late morning trade, with the Footsie now trading nearly 1% lower despite a positive start early on, after an Italian bond sale saw significantly higher yields than last month's. Meanwhile, investors will still be digesting the latest shake-ups in Italian and Greek politic
Read moreMonday broker round-up - UPDATE
14th Nov 2011 09:19
Barclays: Goldman Sachs cuts to sell from neutral. BG Group: Evolution Securities keeps buy recommendation and 1,800p target. BG Group: Nomura maintains buy and 1,750p target. ITV: Peel Hunt retains buy and 73p target. ITV: Investec maintains hold rating and 55p target. Cairn Energy: UBS cuts
Read moreLondon close: Italian vote drives late surge
11th Nov 2011 16:46
Just four stocks finished in the red in London as the Footsie closed 1.85% higher, near its highest levels of the day. Sentiment was given a lift around midday after positive newsflow out of Italy and some encouraging economic data from the US. ITALIAN YIELDS DOWN; US DATA PROVIDES A LIFT Italy's
Read moreLondon open: Footsie up as Eurozone fears ease
11th Nov 2011 08:21
London's blue chips were on the rise in the opening minutes following on from moderate gains seen on Wall Street last night and in Asian markets this morning. News of a new national unity government in Italy and the revealing of a new Greek prime minister has calmed fears slightly elsewhere in the E
Read moreBarclays to sell Barclays Private Equity to management for £45m
11th Nov 2011 07:15
Barclays Bank is to sell the management company and associated companies which form Barclays Capital's management buy-out business, Barclays Private Equity, to its management team. The management team will then re-launch the business as Equistone Partners Europe. In a statement, the firm said: "E
Read moreLondon close: Italian fears spark sell-off
9th Nov 2011 16:30
The top share index in London finished at its lowest levels of the day on Wednesday afternoon, as worries over the dire financial situation in Italy caused a mass sell-off across all European markets. The same worries also dampened sentiment in the US, with the three Wall Street benchmarks dropping
Read moreLondon midday: Financials take a hit as Italian bond yields jump
9th Nov 2011 12:14
Despite a modest start, the Footsie took a tumble during morning trade and stood at its lowest levels of the day by lunchtime, as the focus turned to Italy's soaring borrowing costs. Financials were leading the decline on the blue chip index. ITALIAN BOND YIELDS KEEP ON RISING Yields on benchmark
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Interest rates, referendum, pensions, BT
4th Nov 2011 06:36
In a speech on Thursday, Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond gave his strongest endorsement yet of the government's economic policy, saying it had saved Britain from having to pay far higher rates to borrow on international markets."I know it's oversimplified, but if the UK government had to pay 6%
Read moreLondon open: Footsie heads lower as G20 heats up
3rd Nov 2011 09:08
BThe Footsie fell lower on Thursday morning, with investors keeping a cautious eye on developments in the Eurozone, as the G20 Summit begins to heat up in Cannes. GREEK ROWS ONGOING It's now make-or-break time for Greek prime minister George Papandreou, after German chancellor Angela Merkel and Fr
Read moreLondon close: Footsie drops on fresh concerns for Greece
1st Nov 2011 16:47
With a surprise referendum vote on the Greek bail-out announced, a mass sell-off was seen in stock markets across the globe on Tuesday, not helped by some worrying manufacturing data at home and away. The Footsie may have finished some 78 points off its intraday lows, but that wasn't enough to pul
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Man Group leads the way lower
1st Nov 2011 13:57
Man Group was heading lower despite Credit Suisse reiterating its outperform rating and 235p target on the stock. The stock has been contaminated by association with its former subsidiary, US futures broker MF Global, which applied for bankruptcy yesterday. Barclays was close behind after UBS downg
Read moreBroker tips: Barclays, M&S, 888
1st Nov 2011 12:57
After factoring in a target price upgrade, UBS has downgraded its rating for Barclays from buy to neutral, saying that the upside is now more modest. "Post Q3, we have modestly upgraded our full year estimates (+2%) but subsequent years are broadly unchanged. While we exclude the pension fund defic
Read moreLondon midday: Mass sell-off on Greek default risks
1st Nov 2011 12:02
News that Greece is to hold a referendum on its latest bailout package and some worrying economic data at home and away rattled the markets on Tuesday, with the Footsie dropping close to 3%, while other European benchmarks fell by between 4% and 5%. GREEK REFERENDUM SCARES MARKETS The decision by
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