London close: Stocks pare gains after US data
1st May 2013 16:40
Disappointing economic from the States saw the FTSE 100 halve its earlier gains by the close on Wednesday as markets waited in anticipation of a policy decision from the Federal Reserve later this evening. The US central bank is widely expected to leave its current stimulus measures unchanged follo
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: BT leads the way after o2 deal
1st May 2013 14:52
BT Group shares were leading the risers on Wednesday after signing a 10-year deal with o2 to create a new 4G network worth in the region of 500m pounds. Speciality chemicals group Johnson Matthey has made strong gains after a positive update from Credit Suisse said that weaker platinum prices have
Read moreBroker tips: Miners, BT, Greggs
29th Apr 2013 11:17
Nomura has kept its cautious view on the European mining sector but has highlighted BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto as its top picks and upgraded its rating for ENRC and Anglo American from 'reduce' to 'neutral'. Nomura reckons that BHP Billiton, rated 'buy' at a price target of 2,400p, has a high-quali
Read moreBroker snap: Morgan Stanley cautious ahead of BT's results
29th Apr 2013 10:53
Morgan Stanley has reiterated its 'equal weight' rating and 300p target price for telecoms giant BT, saying it remains cautious ahead of firm's full-year results on May 10th. The broker expects group revenue to fall by 6.2% from £19,307m to £18,110m in the year to end March, while reported profit b
Read moreMonday broker round-up UPDATE
29th Apr 2013 08:17
Afren: Liberum Capital shifts target price from 130p to 136p and maintains a hold recommendation. AngloAmerican: Nomura upgrades from reduce to neutral with a target price of 1700p. Antofagasta: Nomura cuts target price from 1250p to 1200p, while its neutral rating remains unchanged. Investec redu
Read moreSector movers: Vodafone and BT lift telecoms higher
25th Apr 2013 14:25
Telecoms stocks were in demand on Thursday with Vodafone on the rise on renewed M&A speculation and BT gaining on reports that it is seeking a new mobile-phone partner. Shares in Vodafone were up 1.8% at 196.6p in afternoon trade after Reuters said last night that joint-venture partner Verizon Comm
Read moreBT Group seeks new mobile phone partner
25th Apr 2013 11:58
BT Group is seeking a mobile phone partner to boost its services in consumer and business markets. The group plans to use spectrum for faster fourth generation (4G) mobile services to get a better deal on its wholesale agreements with wireless carriers. Vodafone Group is bidding for the mobile s
Read moreLondon close: Markets hammered by fears over US labour market
5th Apr 2013 17:03
A lacklustre US employment report resulted in a market sell-off across global indices on Friday afternoon as the American economy added much fewer jobs than expected in March. Market Analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari said that the optimism surrounding the US recovery "has been shattered in the space
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks tank as eyes turn to US jobs data
5th Apr 2013 11:28
Stocks across Europe were under heavy selling pressure on Friday morning as traders refrained from building positions ahead of the all-important employment report due out Stateside this afternoon. "We're seeing a lot of caution in the markets on Friday, ahead of what is expected to be a disappointi
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
5th Apr 2013 08:33
Aberdeen Asset Management: Jefferies moves target price from 400p to 420p keeping a hold recommendation. Aggreko: Investec reduces target price from 2065p to 1900p downgrading from buy to add. APR Energy: Investec takes target price from 650p to 900p retaining a hold recommendation. ARM Holdings:
Read moreLondon open: Markets nervous ahead of US jobs data
5th Apr 2013 08:27
Markets declined on Friday morning, despite relative strength in the mining sector, as traders refrained from building positions ahead of the key risk event of the day - the US employment report. The market reaction to the non-farm payrolls figure will be interesting to see, given the somewhat disa
Read moreLondon close: Gains erased as Cyprus puts bank levy back on the table
22nd Mar 2013 16:47
Stocks trimmed gains on Friday afternoon on the back of ongoing developments in Cyprus as politicians desperately scramble to come up with a 'Plan B' to raise the funds needed to secure financial assistance from the Troika. Nevertheless, markets maintained their positive bias on hopes that a deal c
Read moreBroker snap: Nomura ups target for BT
22nd Mar 2013 16:04
Telecoms giant BT Group was a strong riser on Friday after Nomura raised its target price for the stock from 290p to 360p and kept its 'buy' rating. Regulatory rhetoric is turning positive for all of Europe's network owners, but the benefits should prove more tangible for fixed networks and highly
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: BT group lifted by Nomura upgrade
22nd Mar 2013 15:23
BT Group rose after Nomura upgraded the stock to 'buy', raising its target price from 290p to 360p, citing positive news flow from the company's upcoming restructuring plan, and a "solid" launch of BT Sport, which it believes will "override noise on union wage negotiations and the widening of the pe
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: BP, Virgin Atlantic, Prudential
10th Mar 2013 20:26
BP announced that at the 'core' level - excluding production from its TNK-BP joint venture - it only replaced 6 per cent of the reserves which it tapped last year. That is an unusually low figure for an oil major and reflects the slow pace of its recovery. Nevertheless, some analysts point out that
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