FTSE 250 movers: Petra Diamonds sparkles after latest discovery
13th Jun 2014 14:30
Miner Petra Diamonds has recovered an "exceptional" 122.52-carat blue diamond at its Cullinan mine in South Africa. "The rarity of a blue diamond of this magnitude sets it apart as a truly significant find," the company said in a statement. RBC Capital upped its target price from 180p to 200p, ret
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE near six-week low as rate-hike speculation sinks housebuilders
13th Jun 2014 11:35
- Housing stocks fall sharply - Carney signals impending rate hike - Osborne acts to cool housing market - Oil stocks track crude higher on Iraq tensions techMARK 2,806.77 -1.40% FTSE 100 6,771.65 -1.04% FTSE 250 15,802.08 -2.01% The increased possibility of a rate hike before the end of the year
Read moreHousing plans in Queen's speech positive for UK-listed builders, says Deutsche Bank
6th Jun 2014 11:13
Deutsche Bank has said that announcements made in this week's Queen's Speech regarding the government's focus on housing supply spells good news for UK-listed housebuilders. The bank said highlights of Thursday's speech included the continued promotion of the Help to Buy scheme, reform of the plann
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Imagination extends gains on MediaTek chip news
5th Jun 2014 14:11
Chip designer Imagination Technologies, saw shares jump around 10% today, extending gains made yesterday after it was reported that its MIPS technology had been included in a new security camera chip by MediaTek, one of rival ARM's biggest customers. The stock has now gained 14% in the last two days
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Man climbs after confirming M&A talks
29th May 2014 14:59
Man Group leapt after it confirmed it is in talks to buy US money manager Numeric Holdings. The world's largest publicly traded hedge-fund manager said the discussions are "ongoing and may or may not lead to a transaction". Numeric, which uses quantitative analysis to make investments, manages $13.9
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: AstraZeneca, Carney and housing, M&S
18th May 2014 10:57
Pfizer is weighing up a last-minute improvement to its indicative offer for AstraZeneca, the Sunday Times said. Pfizer is expected to increase the cash portion of its offer and could also increase the price per share before the May 26th deadline to secure a deal. It is also in talks with the Governm
Read moreSector movers: Confident Taylor Wimpey lifts housebuilders higher
13th May 2014 14:41
Bullish comments from Taylor Wimpey gave housebuilders a big boost on Tuesday as the UK housing market continues to go from strength to strength. The group set out a "new and enhanced" set of ambitious financial targets over the medium-term, aiming for higher margins and returns. It also confirme
Read moreThorntons board grow stakes as investors sell on poor Q3
30th Apr 2014 15:37
The Chief Executive and Finance Director of chocolatier Thorntons each purchased 20,000 shares in the group on Wednesday after it reported a softening of third quarter sales. Jonathan Hart, the group's Chief Executive, paid 120.50p a share spending a total of £24,100 and taking his total stake to 2
Read moreHouse sales increase across Britain, RICS reveals
10th Apr 2014 09:51
House sales across Britain climbed to a six-year high in the first quarter of 2014, with growth spreading 'right across the country', according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The data was based on the average number of houses sold per chartered surveyor, which rose to 22.7
Read moreDeutsche cites 'interesting buying opportunity' in UK housebuilders
9th Apr 2014 09:44
Analysts at Deutsche Bank recommended buying the UK housebuilders, in particular Barratt Developments, Bovis Homes and Taylor Wimpey, after saying a pull-back in the shares due to concerns about interest rates was "overdone". The broker countered these concerns, pointing to "easy affordability, si
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Momentum stocks under selling pressure
7th Apr 2014 15:52
Ocado, Rightmove and PayPoint were registering heavy losses on Monday as technology-focused stocks bore the brunt of the wider market sell-off. UK markets were following last week's trend in the States where high growth, 'momentum shares' fell sharply as investors booked profits after the recent sur
Read moreLondon midday: Housing stocks lead markets lower
7th Apr 2014 11:42
- Markets pull back from one-month high - Crimea unrest dampens risk appetite - Housing stocks provide a drag techMARK 2,748.24 -0.80% FTSE 100 6,652.02 -0.65% FTSE 250 16,327.20 -0.65% UK stocks were firmly lower on Monday morning, pulling back after hitting a one-month high, as markets tracked a
Read moreLondon open: Stocks pull back from one-month high
7th Apr 2014 08:34
- Stocks track heavy losses in US and Asia - UK markets retreat from highest close since early March - CRH rises despite rivals' merger, housebuilders fall techMARK 2,741.16 -1.06% FTSE 100 6,646.69 -0.73% FTSE 250 16,282.85 -0.92% UK stocks fell sharply on Monday morning as investors booked profi
Read moreXaar Finance Director builds stake after cautioning on growth
28th Mar 2014 15:48
The Finance Director of Xaar Group this week acquired an additional 4,610 shares, boosting his stake by around a tenth. Alex Bevis, who joined the company three years ago, spent 850.61p on each of the shares, spending a total of £39,213. His purchase comes just a week after the group cautioned t
Read moreTuesday broker round-up UPDATE
18th Mar 2014 08:58
Antofagasta: Investec places its target price (prev.: 753p) under review, while leaving its sell recommendation unchanged. Ashtead Group: Credit Suisse raises target price from 1000p to 1100p and stays with its outperform rating. UBS increases target price from 875p to 1020p retaining its buy recom
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