London pre-open: Stocks to soar after Federal Reserve statement
18th Dec 2014 07:33
UK stocks were set to surge when markets open on Thursday morning following massive gains on Wall Street as investors reacted to comments from the Federal Reserve. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around 110 points higher than Wednesday's close of 6,336.48. US markets jumped late on with
Read moreBalfour Beatty buys offshore transmission project
18th Dec 2014 07:14
Civil engineering group Balfour Beatty has reached financial close and completed the acquisition of the £164m Thanet offshore transmission project (OFTO) in the UK, in which it will invest more than £20m of equity. The project, previously run by Vattenfall, is the high-voltage electricity transmissi
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Mining stocks fall as gold and oil prices drop
5th Dec 2014 15:37
Energy and mining stocks were in decline on Friday after a drop in oil prices for January delivery from Saudi Arabia and a fall in gold futures. Enquest was once again among the fallers on Friday amid low oil prices. Acacia Mining, Kaz Minerals, Lonmin Vedanta Resources and Blackrock World Mining Tr
Read moreInvestec labels Balfour Beatty's rejected PPP bid a 'brave move'
5th Dec 2014 09:51
Balfour Beatty's rejection of a £1bn bid for its public-private partnership (PPP) portfolio was a "brave move" by management, according to analysts at Investec. Balfour said on Friday that the recent bid from John Laing Infrastructure Fund (JLIF) "falls significantly short of its own view of the val
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks to gain ahead of non-farm payrolls, Eurozone GDP, UK inflation expectations
5th Dec 2014 07:41
London's blue chips are set to open in positive territory on Friday ahead of non-farm payrolls, with City sources predicting the FTSE 100 will open around 25 points higher than Thursday's close of 6,679.37. The Labor Department's non-farm payrolls report is expected to show that US companies added 2
Read moreBalfour Beatty rejects £1bn bid for PPP assets
5th Dec 2014 07:18
Civil engineering group Balfour Beatty has rejected a proposal from an infrastructure fund to acquire its entire public-private partnership (PPP) portfolio for about £1bn. Balfour said the bid from John Laing Infrastructure Fund (JLIF) "falls significantly short of its own view of the value of the p
Read moreBroker tips: Oil stocks, IHG, Vodafone, Balfour Beatty
1st Dec 2014 12:30
A continued drop in oil prices was weighing heavily on the exploration and production sector again on Monday, with stocks dampened further after a number of ratings downgrades by US broker JPMorgan Cazenove. The bank has cut its recommendations for UK-listed Afren (from 'overweight' to 'underweight'
Read moreLondon midday: UK stocks on track for two-week low as factory data disappoints
1st Dec 2014 11:28
UK stocks dropped on Monday and were set to close at their lowest level in over two weeks as disappointing economic data and weaker oil prices pushed shares in the resource sectors lower. Aberdeen Asset Management was a standout riser after impressing with its annual results, but oil producers and m
Read moreCanaccord Genuity questions bid price for Balfour's PPP portfolio
1st Dec 2014 10:20
The £1bn potential bid by John Laing Infrastructure Fund for Balfour Beatty's public-private partnership (PPP) portfolio will test the latter's new boss, according to analysts at Canaccord Genuity. They labelled the price a "significant lump of cash", but said that £1bn for the portfolio was a "fire
Read moreLondon open: Resource stocks drag FTSE 100 to lowest in over two weeks
1st Dec 2014 08:33
The UK stock market started the new week on the back foot after yet more disappointing economic data from China dampened sentiment, with shares in the mining and oil sectors falling sharply. The official purchasing managers index (PMI) for China came in below expectations at an eight-month low, addi
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Balfour Beatty, Canary Wharf, Vodafone
30th Nov 2014 15:25
Balfour Beatty could be broken up as John Laing Infrastructure Fund considers a billion-pound bid for the company's investment arm, the Sunday Times reported. John Laing is interested in bidding for Balfour's 60 private finance initiative (PFI) contracts. It would leave Balfour with a business worth
Read moreBroker tips: Easyjet, Tullow Oil, Balfour Beatty
18th Nov 2014 13:37
Charles Stanley is telling investors to keep shares in Easyjet after the budget carrier failed to upgrade its profit forecasts. The Luton-based airline on Tuesday posted record annual profits for the fourth year in a row, though it cautioned that investment would lead to flat revenue per seat in the
Read moreLack of bad news lifts Balfour Beatty, but Westhouse still says 'sell'
18th Nov 2014 13:14
A third-quarter trading update from Balfour Beatty "contained a welcome lack of further bad news", according to Westhouse Securities, though the broker did continue to recommend investors to sell the stock. Shares in the infrastructure company were up 5% at 163.6p by 13:16 on Tuesday after it said t
Read moreBalfour Beatty Q3 orders flat but trading in line
18th Nov 2014 07:36
Civil engineer Balfour Beatty reported trading in line with expectations but said orders were flat at £11.7bn at the end of the third quarter. Balfour, which has replaced its chief executive with former Qinetiq boss Leo Quinn and has fended off a takeover bid from rival Carillion, said the order boo
Read moreLondon pre-open: Slight rise expected on FTSE ahead of European data
14th Nov 2014 07:32
The final session of the week is set to kick-off with limited gains ahead of important data out from Europe. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around 11 points higher than Thursday's close of 6,635.45. Friday's session will see the release of Eurozone gross domestic product (GDP) amid con
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