London pre-open: Stocks to fall on Fed uncertainty
19th Feb 2015 07:34
UK stocks were expected to track Wall Street lower on Thursday morning after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting showed that policymakers are wary of raising interest rates too soon. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open 18 points lower than Wednesday's close of 6,898.08. UK marke
Read morePanmure Gordon picks out "most vulnerable" UK dividends
18th Feb 2015 13:27
Panmure Gordon has warned of "storm clouds on the horizon" for income investors as corporate payouts reach "unsustainable" levels and has picked out several FTSE 350 companies where dividends appear particularly vulnerable. Although the UK economy has begun 2015 in rude health, the broker pointed ou
Read moreCMA energy probe warns of overpaying and "unilateral market power" over customers
18th Feb 2015 08:33
An investigation by the UK competition regulator into the 'Big Six' energy suppliers has found that households are losing significant amounts from a lack of tariff switching and that the firms have "unilateral market power" over most customers. In an update to its ongoing energy markets investigatio
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Astrazeneca lower as patent rejected, BHP boosted by Pakistan disposal
16th Feb 2015 14:11
Astrazeneca was trading lower after its patent on its Pulmicort Respules treatment for asthma was ruled by a US court as invalid. The US District Court of New Jersey ruling paves the way for generic versions of the lung drug to be released into the market. Actavis said it released a version of the d
Read moreBritish Gas takes over AlertMe for £44m
13th Feb 2015 12:41
British Gas will acquire AlertMe, an energy and home monitoring hardware company, for £44m, its parent Centrica announced on Friday. AlertMe, in which British Gas already owned a 21% stake, will give the group control over technology platforms, software development capacity, data analytics and a pat
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Lloyds, BT, Standard Chartered
1st Feb 2015 13:33
Lloyds Banking Group is preparing to pay a dividend for the first time since it was bailed out by taxpayers, the Sunday Telegraph reported. The board will sign off the group's annual results and then ask the Bank of England permission to pay a dividend before announcing results on February 27th. Llo
Read moreSector movers: Utility stocks gain as investors welcome price cuts
27th Jan 2015 14:52
Utility stocks were the best performers on London's stock market on Tuesday, as moves by energy providers to cut costs were welcomed by investors. SSE became the latest group to cut household gas bills on the back of the recent collapse in wholesale fuel costs. Shares were up nearly 2% in afternoon
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Airlines Easyjet and IAG flying high, Dixons hit by downgrade
27th Jan 2015 13:32
Shares in Easyjet ascended after the British budget airline said it now expects an increase in revenues per seat in the first half. The company said revenue per seat at constant currency should rise by 2% on last year, compared with its previous guidance of "flat to very slightly up". It also expect
Read moreCentrica's British Gas to cut household gas bills 5%
19th Jan 2015 11:11
British Gas, the UK energy supplier owned by Centrica, has promised to cut its residential gas prices by 5% due to the recent fall in wholesale prices. British Gas, which will make the cut effective from 27 February, said it will be keeping its prices "under review for further movements up or down"
Read moreSunday share tips: Mitie, UK Mail, Vodafone
18th Jan 2015 18:44
Mitie's shares have fallen but not as fast as those of outsourcing rivals such as Serco and Balfour Beatty, Danny Fortson pointed out in the Sunday Times. Matthew Earl, a former City analyst who writes a blog, criticised Mitie for buying companies to compensate for its own slow progress and for the
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: GKN on top as target price lifted, travel stocks gain as oil prices fall
12th Jan 2015 12:46
Engineer GKN was given a boost by Credit Suisse which lifted its target price on the stock from 380p to 410p and reiterated an 'outperform' rating. The broker said: "Despite automotive accounting for around 59% of 2015 estimated group revenue, investor attention is often focused on the aerospace div
Read moreLondon close: Falling oil prices drag down shares
30th Dec 2014 16:06
Oil stocks dragged London shares deep into the red on Tuesday after crude prices hit a five-and-a-half year low. The FTSE 100 Index closed 86.51 points adrift at 6,547 as the price of a barrel of Brent crude dropped below $57, although it later recovered slightly. The price of a barrel of US light
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Centrica boosted by directorate change, oil and gas stocks strong
23rd Dec 2014 14:07
Centrica shares were boosted as the company appointed Carlos Pascual as a new non-executive director, who is said to have extensive geopolitical, economic and commercial development experience in the energy industry. "He brings a wealth of experience with his exceptionally strong international b
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Kingfisher and Centrica boosted by disposals as miners dip
22nd Dec 2014 14:32
Home improvement retailer Kingfisher edged higher after agreeing to sell a controlling 70% stake in its B&Q China business to Wumei Holdings for £140m. "I am delighted to have found a strong retail partner who will help us to release the financial value of our business in China," said new boss Véron
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: BT, RBS, Tesco
14th Dec 2014 19:45
BT is expected to announce as soon as December 15th whether it plans to buy EE or O2 to reenter the mobile phone market, The Sunday Times reported. The FTSE 100 telecoms company was working on a deal at the weekend with a statement due early in the coming week. BT is thought to favour O2 but could s
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