London midday: Footsie flat as markets digest S&P move
16th Jan 2012 11:54
After a stint in the blue, and the red, the Footsie was trading flat by midday on Monday, as the markets digested the S&P move to downgrade nine Eurozone countries on Friday evening. Eyes are on France as the nation looks to issued €8.7bn in government debt today. Standard & Poor's (S&P) "finally"
Read moreBroker snap: Credit Suisse downgrades Bunzl to underperform
16th Jan 2012 10:18
Credit Suisse has downgraded its rating for distribution and outsourcing firm Bunzl from neutral to underperform, saying the "valuation has gone too far". "We appreciate Bunzl's defensive, cash generative qualities at a time of macro concern, but after a strong run (34% in five months vs. FTSE All
Read moreMonday broker round-up - UPDATE
16th Jan 2012 08:48
Capita: Bank of America-Merrill Lynch downgrades to neutral from buy. Carnival: Credit Suisse keeps neutral rating and 2,285p target; Morgan Stanley downgrades to neutral from outperform, target cut from 2,700p to 1,800p. Amec: Goldman Sachs upgrades to buy from neutral. Morrisons: Deutsche Bank
Read moreLondon close: French downgrade rumours sink Footsie
13th Jan 2012 16:34
Markets turned south in afternoon trade on rumours of imminent action by ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) to downgrade the ratings of several Eurozone countries. A senior Eurozone government official has been cited as saying that both France and Austria could have their ratings downgraded by
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Invensys in bottom spot
13th Jan 2012 13:25
Engineering and software group Invensys found itself in last place following a profit warning. A disappointing 12 months has got a lot worse as the company issued a warning on profits after uncovering a number of problems with the delivery of contracted work. Shares dropped nearly 21% after the co
Read moreLondon midday: Gains trimmed as US futures fall
13th Jan 2012 12:03
The Footsie's earlier gains were pared by lunchtime as US stock futures slipped ahead of key earnings report from JP Morgan Chase & Co and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. Italy issued €4.75bn in medium-term debt, the top of its €3-4.75bn target range. The borrowing costs of Ju
Read moreFriday broker round-up - UPDATE
13th Jan 2012 11:19
Vodafone: Nomura upgrades to buy. Bunzl: UBS cuts to neutral from buy. RSA Insurance: Citi cuts to neutral from buy. BT Group: Nomura upgrades to buy from reduce. RBS: Seymour Price upgrades to buy from reduce. BG Group: JP Morgan raises price target to 1,900p from 1,455p. Tesco: Credit Suiss
Read moreBunzl non-exec ups stake
20th Dec 2011 09:49
Bunzl's only female non-executive director in its 150-year history has purchased shares in the firm just one week after a report showed annual revenue growth of over 6%. Eugenia Ulasewicz, who was appointed as a non-executive in April 2011, bought 4,000 shares at 837.8655p each. The distribution
Read moreLloyds boss wakes up and buys 0.6m shares
15th Dec 2011 15:45
Announcing his return to work just six short weeks since taking leave on medical advice, Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio celebrated his recovery with the purchase of $226,962-worth of shares in the part-nationalised lender. The director, who was signed off sick with extreme fatigue and sleep depr
Read moreTuesday broker round-up - UPDATE
13th Dec 2011 09:54
Amec: Citi upgrades to buy from sell. Royal Dutch Shell: Citi downgrades to neutral from buy. Petrofac: Investec reiterates buy, 1,705p target under review. Petrofac: Evolution Securities reiterates add and 1,700p target. Whitbread: Evolution Securities keeps buy rating and 1,800p target. Whitb
Read moreLondon open: Whitbread loses its froth
13th Dec 2011 08:47
London has opened on the front foot, which comes as a relief after yesterday's bashing, but the top-share index's modest advance is largely due to the strength of miners, which more than outweighs the weakness of banks. Results from Costa Coffee show owner Whitbread have left a sour taste, with evi
Read moreLondon pre-open: Pause for breath
13th Dec 2011 07:35
After yesterday's shake-out, investors are expected to take stock at the outset, with the top-share index set to open little changed. International distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl said revenue growth for the full financial year is expected to be more than 6% at constant exchange rates, c
Read moreBunzl boosted by acquisition spree
13th Dec 2011 07:07
Distribution and outsourcing firm Bunzl said this year's string of acquisitions will help it report annual revenue growth of over 6%. The group, whose products include supermarket bags and hospital gowns, said overall trading for the year ending 31 December 2011 has been consistent with expectation
Read moreFriday broker round-up - UPDATE
18th Nov 2011 09:42
Pennon: Deutsche Bank upgrades to buy from hold. Capita: Peel Hunt reiterates buy and 850p target. Capita: Investec slashes target to 630p from 725p, hold maintained. Chemring: finnCap downgrades from buy to hold, target slashes from 780p to 480p. ICAP: UBS cuts target from 380p to 328p, sell ra
Read moreBunzl acquires Brazilian firm Danny Comércio
7th Nov 2011 07:17
FTSE 100 firm Bunzl, the international distribution and outsourcing group, has acquired Brazilian company Danny Comércio Importação Exportação. The company, which is based near São Paulo, specialises in the sourcing and sale of gloves and safety glasses for a variety of industrial uses including
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