Wednesday broker round-up
18th Mar 2015 12:41
Johnson Matthey: Deutsche Bank reiterates buy and 3,850p target. BAE Systems: Morgan Stanley lifts target to 570p from 515p and reiterates equalweight. BT Group: Nomura and UBS reiterate buy. Ashtead Group: UBS raises target to 1,130p from 1,070p and reiterates neutral. Rotork: Morgan Stanley imp
Read moreLondon midday: Energy stocks rise but FTSE pares gains ahead of Fed meeting
17th Mar 2015 11:39
Stocks in the oil and mining sectors were performing well on Tuesday morning, though gains for the wider market were erased by lunchtime as investors awaited the start of a Federal Reserve policy meeting. Weaker-than-expected economic data from Germany was also dampening sentiment, as European marke
Read moreBT fined £800,000 by Ofcom for failing to provide improved text service
17th Mar 2015 10:50
Telecom group BT has been fined £800,000 by Ofcom for failing to provide an improved text-to-voice service. The so-called "Next Generation Text Service" is aimed at helping customers with hearing or speech impairments to have more natural conversation by using speech as well as text on PCs, laptops,
Read moreBT Sport extends Aviva Premiership Rugby deal
16th Mar 2015 15:08
Telecoms giant BT confirmed it has extended its current deal to broadcast Aviva Premiership Rugby games for another four years, making it the longest in the history of the competition. Games from the top division of English rugby will be shown on BT Sports until the end of the 2020-21 campaign, the
Read moreBT's finance director sells £1.8m worth in shares
13th Mar 2015 14:39
The financial director of BT Group sold £1.8m worth of shares on Friday. Tony Chanmugam sold 400,000 shares in the British multinational telecommunications group at an individual price of 442p, pocketing a total of £1.768m in the transaction. Chanmugam, who joined the company in 2008, now holds 574
Read moreFriday broker round-up
13th Mar 2015 12:06
Poundland: Morgan Stanley lifts target to 280p from 245p and reiterates underweight. Vesuvius: UBS hikes target to 610p from 560p and reiterates buy. Prudential: Credit Suisse raises target to 1,900p from 1,750p and reiterates outperform. BT Group: Berenberg raises target to 570p from 475p and rei
Read moreConcern for BT as Ofcom launches UK broadband and mobile review
12th Mar 2015 07:30
The UK telecoms regulator has launched a probe into the UK's digital communications markets, with BT's rivals claiming the market incumbent needs to be further broken up to improve the market for consumers. Ofcom said it will scrutinise competition, investment, innovation and the availability of pro
Read moreMorgan Stanley bullish on convergence in UK telco market
10th Mar 2015 12:39
The considerable changes in train in the UK telecoms market has inspired a note from Morgan Stanley, which has identified five meaningful alterations to the landscape and the key consequences of those five changes. Morgan Stanley notes that most large European telecoms markets are consolidating towa
Read moreFriday tips round-up: Aviva, BT Group
6th Mar 2015 08:12
Market thinking on Aviva's takeover of Friends Life appears to have turned for the better, after the shares' initial negative reaction. The former stands to gain the most from the combination. Certainly, last year's figures show nearly all the company's key metrics heading in the right direction. Ex
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Coca-cola fizzes up on Ukraine ceasefire, oil and gas lower
12th Feb 2015 14:31
Stocks exposed to Russia and Ukraine, such as Coca-Cola, rose strongly after a ceasefire was agreed between the two nations. The ceasefire will come into effect on Sunday and involves the withdrawal of heavy weapons from conflict areas. Mining group Rio Tinto gained as it pledged to return nearly $6
Read moreBT launches £1bn placing to help fund EE takeover
12th Feb 2015 08:02
Telecoms group BT has revealed details of its £1bn placing to help fund its £12.5bn takeover of UK mobile network EE. The company, which this week agreed to shell out £960m on new Premier League football rights, intends to raise the equivalent of 3% of its outstanding share capital through the issua
Read moreLondon close: Resource stocks fall with markets cautious ahead of Greek meeting
11th Feb 2015 16:33
UK stocks declined for the fourth day on Wednesday with oil and mining stocks bearing the brunt of the selling pressure as investors scaled back their appetite for risk ahead of a pivotal meeting about Greece. London's FTSE 100 finished the session down 0.2% at 6,818, with blue-chip oil group Tullow
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Tullow plummets on suspended dividend, BT higher on Premier League rights
11th Feb 2015 14:03
Tullow Oil topped the fallers after deciding to suspend its final dividend for 2014, as the exploration and production company swung to a loss of over $2bn on the back of hefty impairment charges and exploration write-offs. "2014 was a difficult year for our industry and a challenging one for Tullow
Read moreLondon midday: Greek uncertainty pressures UK stock market lower
11th Feb 2015 12:04
UK stocks declined for the fourth straight session on Wednesday with the focus firmly on Greece as the new government faces a stand-off with its international creditors. London's FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 6,800 by midday, ahead of an emergency meeting of Eurogroup finance ministers in Brussels. The
Read moreSky drops as EPL pricing soars, but UBS hails a "good outcome"
11th Feb 2015 09:31
Shares in Sky dropped on Wednesday after the news that the company had paid 83% more to retain the majority of Premier League (EPL) rights in the auction for the 2016/2017 to 2018/2019 seasons. The market had expected a 45% increase in pricing compared with the current contracts, so the £1.39bn-per-
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