Friday broker round-up
24th Jul 2015 16:19
(ShareCast News) - Aberdeen Asset Management: JP Morgan Cazenove reiterates neutral stance and trims target to 415p from 435p. SocGen stays at hold but lowers target to 410p from 485p. Jefferies keeps at hold with 405p target, down from 460p. Aggreko: Investec keeps at sell. AG Barr: Investec reite
Read moreCentrica tops FTSE fallers on unplanned North Morecambe gas outage
21st Jul 2015 12:19
(ShareCast News) - Centrica was the biggest faller on the FTSE 100 after an unplanned outage cut its North Morecambe gas sub-terminal output to zero on Tuesday. Centrica, the owner of British Gas, said gas production was cut off due to an "offshore issue". Flows from the Barrow terminal, which incl
Read moreThursday broker round-up
16th Jul 2015 18:10
(ShareCast News) - Aveva Group: Panmure Gordon reiterates buy and 1,420p target. BP: JP Morgan Cazenove reiterates overweight. Centrica: Berenberg Bank reiterates underperform and ups target to 1,060p from 1,000p. Dixons Carphone: Canaccord Genuity ups target to 530p from 500p while reiterating bu
Read moreInfinis shares boosted as renewables group nabs Centrica executive
16th Jul 2015 16:21
(ShareCast News) - Shares in Infinis Energy rose after the renewable energy operator poached Centrica chief financial officer Tom Hinton. Infinis Energy shares were up 7.52% to 157.25p after the firm announced Hinton will replace current CFO Gordon Boyd. Infinis chief executive Eric Machiels said H
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Anglo American leads miners higher, Burberry hit by weak Asian sales
15th Jul 2015 14:36
(ShareCast News) - London markets were subdued on Wednesday, as strong performances from telecommunications, insurance and property stocks were offset by weakness in the oil, engineering and software sectors. As of 14:30 BST, the FTSE 100 was trading flat at 6,762. On the corporate front, Anglo Ame
Read moreBritish Gas to cut household gas prices by 5%, says Centrica
15th Jul 2015 10:34
(ShareCast News) - Centrica announced that British Gas will reduce household gas prices by 5%, cutting annual energy bills by £35 on average. This is the second gas price reduction in six months and will bring the average total saving to £72 for British Gas customers. The price cut will take effect
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Greece, Bwin.party, Chinese stocks
8th Jul 2015 07:28
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has said "we have a Grexit scenario prepared in detail" as leaders urged Athens to present a new proposal in the next few days, according to The Guardian. GVC has teamed up with Amaya to offer £900m for Bwin.party in an attempt to see off rival bidd
Read moreGoldman Sachs expects rethink on bank levy in UK Budget
7th Jul 2015 12:43
Ahead of Chancellor George Osborne's Budget on Wednesday, here's a round-up of what Goldman Sachs expects. For UK banks, attention will be focused on any potential reform of the bank levy, as Osborne did not discuss it in his Mansion House speech in June, despite prior speculation. Goldman does not
Read moreEnergy market investigation by CMA calls for tariff caps to prevent overcharging
7th Jul 2015 07:45
An energy market investigation by the UK competition authority has criticised power companies for charging customers "too much for their energy bills" and proposed several measures to prevent this, including capping some tariffs. The Competition and Markets Authority has called for changes to the wa
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Energy and financial regulators, Sainsbury's and Supergroup
5th Jul 2015 16:03
The Big Six energy firms are expected to escape demands for a major break-up when the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) this week announces the results of its lengthy review into competition in the industry. The competition regulator is expected to say that the vertical integration structure u
Read moreNo need for break-up of Big Six, competition watchdog expected to say
5th Jul 2015 12:46
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is expected to this week say it will not force the Big Six energy firms to break-up. The CMA is expected to say that the vertical integration structure under which the Big Six operate does not result in higher prices. Presenting its provisional recommenda
Read moreCharles Stanley upgrades Centrica to 'hold' post UK election
17th Jun 2015 15:26
Charles Stanley lifted Centrica's rating from 'reduce' to 'hold,' citing certainty in the market following the re-election of a Conservative majority. The brokerage said the outcome of the UK general election removed a key threat for the energy company. It said that as the largest household suppli
Read moreSevern Trent and National Grid outperform during corrections
17th Jun 2015 13:42
Past performance is no guarantee of futures returns, but it may nevertheless pay to be aware of certain typical trading patterns, especially if you happen to own shares in Severn Trent or National Grid. Given the recent price action in financial markets - with the FTSE 100 down 6% from its peak and
Read moreOfgem to force energy suppliers to increase tariff transparency
3rd Jun 2015 12:03
UK energy suppliers will this year begin to be forced by regulator Ofcom to tell customers about cheaper tariffs, even if they are sold via a different company. Energy regulator Ofgem on Wednesday published its final decision on how suppliers who sell energy via 'white label' resellers. Under curre
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Vodafone, National Grid, bank legal claims
24th May 2015 16:21
Several of Vodafone's major shareholders have urged the telecoms giant to pursue a merger with US-based Virgin Media owner Liberty Global and offload some of its overseas businesses. After Liberty's owner, US billionaire John Malone, dropped heavy hints about a potential deal, the Sunday Telegraph r
Read more