XP Power Chairman buys up 4,000 shares
11th May 2012 16:34
Larry Tracey, the Chairman of power controller manufacturer XP Power, treated himself to 4,000 shares in the company, despite the company last month warning that the global economic environment remains weak for the equipment which they manufacture. Tracey, who joined XP's board 22 years ago, bought
Read moreBeazley up as Thai flood losses remain stable
10th May 2012 08:52
Beazley, the specialist insurer, has managed to avoid any major claims during the first quarter, while losses from the Thai floods of last year have not increased. Gross written premiums for the three months to the end of March were £465m, up 9% on the same period of 2011. Investments and cash gre
Read moreBBA Aviation boss jettisons incentive plan shares
3rd Apr 2012 16:02
Shares in aviation support service group BBA Aviation are a few pence off their 52-week high, so it was not a bad time for Group Chief Executive Simon Pryce to get shot of a pile of shares awarded under the firm's long term incentive and bonus plans. Pryce jettisoned 323,613 shares at 215.55p each
Read moreIG Group non-exec tops up stake
30th Mar 2012 16:06
Stephen Hill, a Non-Executive Director of IG Group Holdings, the FTSE 250 spread-betting firm, has purchased 111,736 shares. Hill, who worked as the CEO of the Financial Times for Pearson between 1996 and 2002, bought the shares at 444.15p each for a total of £496,275. The purchase comes just a
Read moreMears Chairman sells all of his ordinary shares
23rd Mar 2012 15:39
Bob Holt, Chairman of Mears, a social housing maintenance firm, has exercised share options for over 1,500,000 ordinary shares and subsequently sold two million shares - his entire holding of ordinary shares in the firm. He sold the shares for 250p each for a total of £0.5m. 56-year-old Holt has
Read moreWednesday broker round-up - UPDATE
8th Feb 2012 09:22
Reckitt Benckiser: Nomura maintains buy rating and 3,900p target. BP: UBS ups target from 500p to 525p, buy recommendation unchanged; Nomura keeps neutral rating and 500p target. Xstrata: UBS lifts target from 1,450p to 1,500p, buy rating kept. BSkyB: AlphaValue upgrades from reduce to add, targe
Read moreTuesday broker round-up - UPDATE
7th Feb 2012 10:14
Shire: Goldman Sachs reiterates 'conviction buy.' Misys: Berenberg Bank downgrades to hold from buy. BP: Nomura maintains neutral rating and 500p target. Cairn: UBS ups target from 291p to 370p, neutral rating kept; Credit Suisse ups target from 357p to 369p, neutral rating kept. Rio Tinto: Cred
Read moreBeazley in profit despite catastrophic year
7th Feb 2012 07:18
Compared to 2010, specialist insurer Beazley appears to have had a very difficult year although in insurance the bare numbers do not always tell the story. Profit before tax for the 12 months to the end of December were $62.7m against a 2010 total of $250.8m. A 75% drop in profits doesn't look gre
Read moreLondon close: Footsie flounders at the finish
21st Dec 2011 16:40
It was a day of two halves for the Footsie, with the morning's gains reversed in the afternoon session in the wake of the result of the European Central Bank's new three-year credit facility. The European Central Bank allotted €489.2bn in its auction of three-year loans, whereas the market had been
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie laid low by Unicredit, rumours of French downgrade?
21st Dec 2011 11:39
The banks were providing a lift at midday, but the Footsie was registering only slight gains with only a few days before Christmas. Hopes of a 'Santa rally' seem to have been dampened towards midday by the suspension from trading of shares of Unicredit 'limit-down'. They have since resumed trading
Read moreLondon open: Wall Street tailwinds lift London
21st Dec 2011 08:34
Following last night's strong showing on Wall Street, UK shares are heading higher this morning, although in more leisurely fashion than their US counterparts did yesterday. Investors do not seem to be too fazed by credit ratings agency Moody's saying Britain's cherished triple-AAA credit rating co
Read moreLondon pre-open: London not bothered by Moody's warning
21st Dec 2011 07:31
Investors do not seem to be too fazed by credit ratings agency Moody's saying Britain's cherished triple-AAA credit rating could be under threat if the Eurozone crisis worsens. Moody's Investors Service said last night: "Any additional weakening in the macro-economic outlook or a need to support th
Read moreBeazley approaches Hardy Underwriting - UPDATE
21st Dec 2011 07:17
A merger of Lloyd's of London underwriters could be on the cards after Beazley said it is interested in acquiring rival Hardy Underwriting. While Beazley has reassured that this does not represent a firm intention to make an offer, it did confirm its interest in "entering into exploratory discussi
Read moreMonday broker round-up - UPDATE
5th Dec 2011 08:45
Kingfisher: Credit Suisse raises price target to 310p from 295p, outperform rating kept. Berkeley Group: Credit Suisse raises target to 1,225p from 1,079p, maintains neutral. Berkeley Group: UBS raises target to 1,530p from 1,480p. BG Group: UBS ups price target to 1,635p from 1,600p, stays at
Read moreBeazley sees flat premiums
16th Nov 2011 08:05
Insurance firm Beazley saw flat premiums for the nine months ended 30 September. The group was hit by the catastrophe losses in the first quarter of 2011 in Japan, New Zealand and Australia and believes the flat premiums are a good result for the firm. Chief Executive Officer Andrew Horton said:
Read more