FTSE 250 movers: Beazley back in the black
20th Jul 2012 15:54
Non-life insurer Beazley soared into the black in the first half of 2012, delivering a return on equity of 18 per cent and a combined ratio of 91 per cent. During the six months the firm generated a profit of $112.9m, compared to a loss of $24.2m the previous year, while gross written premiums ros
Read moreBeazley returns to the black but investors still unimpressed
20th Jul 2012 08:51
Non-life insurer Beazley soared into the black in the first half of 2012, delivering a return on equity of 18 per cent and a combined ratio of 91 per cent. During the six months the firm generated a profit of $112.9m, compared to a loss of $24.2m the previous year, while gross written premiums ros
Read moreFriday preview: Italy set to drag down Vodafone
19th Jul 2012 16:54
Friday's big corporate announcement is from Vodafone, which will give an update covering the first quarter of its financial year. Broker Nomura is expecting organic growth of 0.7%, down from year-on-year growth of 2.3% in the preceding quarter. Stripping out the impact of an additional day in the r
Read moreTuesday broker round-up
17th Jul 2012 08:15
ARM: Citigroup cuts target from 730p to 600p, buy recommendation maintained. AstraZeneca: Bernstein reduces target from 3,037p to 3,002p, market perform rating kept. Beazley: JP Morgan Cazenove raises target from 147p to 155p, neutral rating kept. Bodycote: JP Morgan Cazenove cuts target from 437
Read moreSainsbury CFO keeps the faith as shares slide
13th Jun 2012 15:41
Sainsbury's Chief Financial Officer John Rogers bought £50,000-worth of shares in the firm on the same day the company unveiled a disappointing period of trading. Like-for-like (LFL) sales in the 12 weeks to June 9th were up 1.4% on the corresponding period of last year, below market expectations
Read moreXP 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
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