London pre-open: Stocks to beat retreat
27th Jan 2010 07:38
Leading shares are set to open sharply lower after Wall Street gave up a 90-point gain in the last few hours of trade to end flat on the day. Far East markets also continued to fall Wednesday on continuing fears that China is planning fiscal measures to cool growth. Futures prices are currently i
Read moreBritvic quarter 'robust', cautious outlook
27th Jan 2010 07:02
Soft drinks firm Britvic has seen 'robust' market conditions in the last quarter, but said it remains cautious about the outlook for consumer confidence and spending. The group also said that adverse weather conditions in the early weeks of January have resulted in a marked slowing of demand, while
Read moreWednesday preview: Tullow, Britvic, Renishaw
26th Jan 2010 15:52
Oil company Tullow Oil, due to make a fourth quarter update on Wednesday, will be in celebratory mood after Heritage Oil shareholders rubber-stamped Tullow's purchase of Heritage's 50% stake in Blocks 1 and 3A in Uganda. Italian oil giant Eni agreed in November to buy Heritage's Ugandan interests f
Read moreSector movers: Betting stocks in demand
26th Jan 2010 14:19
Travel & leisure stocks are going well, with mobile gaming software specialist Probability leading the sector higher. The firm said it is trading in line with expectations following a 'very encouraging' December that saw record bets taken and net gaming revenues 30% higher than November. Also in b
Read moreBroker tips: ICAP, Unilever, Britvic
22nd Jan 2010 12:53
Interdealer broker ICAP slumped today after Barack Obama last night promised to limit the size of the proprietary trading operations of US banks. About 20% of ICAP's trading volumes relate to bank prop trading, although Panmure Gordon thinks this probably understates the actual significance of prop
Read moreBroker snap: Britvic primed for 'robust' Q1
22nd Jan 2010 12:02
Soft drinks group Britvic should make a 'robust' start to the year and trade in line with a medium-term GB revenue growth target of 5%, Nomura said today. The Japanese broker thinks the current valuation does not adequately reflect the strong top-line outlook for GB growth as well as upward margin
Read moreBroker tips: Shell, SABMiller, Britvic
14th Jan 2010 13:15
Royal Dutch Shell has had earnings per share estimates cut by RBS which predicts weak downstream earnings in the fourth quarter of 2009 and the first three months of 2010. Forecasts for the final quarter of last year are lowered by 19% to $2.9bn to reflect the impact of 'extremely weak' refining ma
Read moreBroker tips: Retailers, tobaccos, drinks
6th Jan 2010 11:48
The market turned its back on Marks & Spencer on Wednesday after the clothes and food retailer’s trading update, but Hargreaves Lansdown sees reasons to be cheerful. ‘Quarterly sales have improved for the first time in over two years, whilst the online division posted sales which rose impressively
Read moreBroker snap: Nomura has a taste for spirits
6th Jan 2010 10:52
In a spirited note on the European liquor industry, Nomura has raised its target price on Diageo to 1,300p from 1,150p. Nomura has a 'neutral' rating on the drinks sector, but prefers spirits over beer on valuation grounds. 'Beer stocks outperformed spirits stocks in 2009 by a significant margin,
Read moreBroker snap: Citi sees Britvic still fizzing
8th Dec 2009 12:12
Britvic's strong earnings guidance as it delivered full year results recently have prompted the broker Citigroup to raise its target price on the drinks firm to 445p from 400p. Citi noted that Britvic, which sells Robinsons fruit juice and has the license for Pepsi in the UK, is upbeat than previou
Read moreBritvic directors cash in
2nd Dec 2009 16:32
Fizzy drinks maker Britvic's chief executive and finance director have taken up shares and sold the share options for a second day running. The latest sales are of shares acquired under the Britvic Performance Share Plan at no cost. Chief executive Paul Moody was awarded 84,694 shares and sold 34,
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Pub groups in demand
30th Nov 2009 12:40
Pub groups are out of favour, with tenanted pub groups Enterprise Inns and Punch Taverns among the heaviest fallers. It emerged today that their rival, the O' Neill's and All Bar One owner Mitchells and Butlers, has approached the Takeover Panel to rule whether a group of shareholders has been try
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Water firms gush higher
26th Nov 2009 12:15
Water group Northumbrian gushes higher after Ofwat said it can raise annual bills by £17 to £331 over the next five years, having previously indicated it would only allow a £3 rise. Peer Pennon is also higher. Sticking with liquids, shares in Irn-Bru maker Barr and Tango firm Britvic are fizzing a
Read moreThursday tips round-up: United Utilities, Britvic, WS Atkins
26th Nov 2009 06:37
On its financial performance, United Utilities' first half was largely in line with expectations. Recession has pushed down demand for water, particularly from industry, taking an estimated 4 per cent out of the group's revenues. It will be given two months to appeal against Ofwat's price review ru
Read moreLondon close: Footsie at one-week high
25th Nov 2009 16:06
Welcome results from Compass and investors' insatiable appetite for mining stocks helped London's blue chip index finish the session near the top of the day's range. A small improvement to the third quarter gross domestic product figure brought some relief. The Office of National Statistics said th
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