London pre-open: Stocks set for modest gain after Fed offers no surprises
30th Oct 2014 07:41
London-listed stocks are set for a modest gain on Thursday morning, after the Federal Reserve surprised no one with its decision to terminate its third round of quantitative easing. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around 12 points above Wednesday's close of 6,453.87. The Fed also opted
Read moreBT Group beats estimates as Q2 profits grow
30th Oct 2014 07:27
Telecoms titan BT Group reported second-quarter results above market forecasts as strong demand for fibre broadband and sports channels led to a decent jump in profits. Reported revenues were down 2% at £4.83bn, but improved by 0.2% on an underlying basis. However, earnings before interest, tax, de
Read moreSector movers: Fixed-line telecoms fall as broker downgrades hit BT, Talktalk
24th Oct 2014 14:07
Fixed-line telecom stocks were the worst performers in London on Friday as broker downgrades weighed on heavyweight constituents BT Group and Talktalk. BT, by far the largest stock in the sector with a market capitalisation of nearly £31bn, was 2.4% lower at 367.6p in afternoon trade after Morgan St
Read moreTuesday broker round-up UPDATE
21st Oct 2014 08:50
African Barrick Gold: JP Morgan cuts target price from 340p to 300p and stays with its overweight rating. Anglo American: JP Morgan raises target price from 1240p to 1310p, while leaving its underweight rating unchanged. Investec increases target price from 1573p to 1603p and stays with its buy reco
Read moreSector movers: Cyclicals slump, defensives rise as risk appetite wanes
10th Oct 2014 14:06
Cyclical sectors such as mining and oil services were bearing the brunt of the market sell-off on Friday as fears about a global economic slowdown prompted investors to scale back risk appetite. Mining heavyweights such as Antofagasta, Glencore, Fresnillo and BHP Billiton were all under pressure as
Read moreBT faces accusations over alleged contribution to US drone strikes
28th Aug 2014 16:43
The government is facing a demand to investigate BT Group on claims that the company has helped the US to conduct drone strikes against Yemen and Somalia, although BT denied the accusations. Human rights charity Reprieve submitted a complaint against BT as it believes the company built a fibre-opti
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: BG Group, Bank of England, Flotations
24th Aug 2014 19:51
While it casts about for a replacement for recently defenestrated chief Chris Finlayson BG Group is set move along with plans to shrink its international holdings. That is now understood to include its entire 60% holding in exploration Block 3 offshore Tanzania, while holding on to similar stakes in
Read moreSector movers: Renewed AT&T bid hopes at Vodafone lift telecoms
22nd Aug 2014 15:55
Renewed hopes of a potential bid by AT&T for Vodafone were giving the mobile telecoms sector a boost on Friday. Vodafone shares were up 1.4% at 205.35p in afternoon trade on the back of hopes that AT&T, which was rumoured to be considering an offer earlier in the year for the mobile phone group, wi
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Admiral and Glencore shares fall after H1 results
13th Aug 2014 14:49
Car insurance group Admiral was a heavy faller on Wednesday after the group said turnover in the first half was down 5% at £1.04bn as a 9% rise in customers was outweighed by a fall in premiums over last year. The company said that while UK premiums are no longer falling a return to growth remains e
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks advance as rate-hike speculation eases
13th Aug 2014 12:08
- BoE strikes dovish tone as wages fall - Ukraine crisis, Asian data in focus - Ex-dividend stocks limit upside - Banking stocks lead upside techMARK 2,736.01 +0.28% FTSE 100 6,661.68 +0.44% FTSE 250 15,528.53 +0.41% An overall dovish tone to the Bank of England's (BoE) Inflation Report gave UK st
Read moreLondon open: Stocks flat on rate speculation ahead of Inflation Report
13th Aug 2014 09:04
- Inflation Report, rate speculation keeps markets cautious - Ukraine crisis in focus as Russian convoy heads to border - Chinese data disappoints, Japanese GDP sinks - Ex-dividend stocks fall techMARK 2,725.51 -0.10% FTSE 100 6,630.77 -0.02% FTSE 250 15,403.28 -0.40% Weak economic data from Asia,
Read moreBT does deal with BSkyB to show Sky Sports 5
12th Aug 2014 15:54
Telecoms giant BT has done a last-minute deal with arch-rival BSkyB to show the satellite broadcaster's new Sky Sports 5 European football channel. BT said existing and new BT TV customers with both Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 would be able to watch the new channel automatically from Tuesday at n
Read moreSector movers: BT and Dixons Carphone drag telecoms lower
8th Aug 2014 16:37
Telecoms stocks were among the worst performers in London on Friday with BT Group and newly-merged Dixons Carphone trading in the red. BT was 1.5% lower on reports that the company will have to wait until next month before a court will give its verdict on its long-running battle with BSkyB over who
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Iraq, Tesco, RBS...
8th Aug 2014 06:45
Barack Obama has authorised targeted air strikes against Islamic militants in Iraq, as the US military began an airborne operation to bring relief to thousands of minority Iraqis driven to a grim, mountain-top refuge. Describing the threats against stranded Yezidi refugees as holding the potential f
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Shell rises after Q2 profit beats expectations
31st Jul 2014 16:18
Results from oil major Royal Dutch Shell jumped after it smashed analysts' estimates with its second-quarter profits. Shell, which has a market cap of around £156bn at current prices, said that earnings on a current cost of supplies basis surged to $5.1bn in the three months to 30 June, up from $2.4
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