London open: Miners hammered after Chinese slowdown
15th Apr 2013 08:29
Mining stocks were registering sharp falls on Monday morning as a surprise slowdown in Chinese economic growth weighed on the outlook for commodities demand. China's first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth dropped from 7.9% in the prior quarter to 7.7%, while the consensus forecast had be
Read moreCentrica snaps up Canadian oil and gas assets
15th Apr 2013 07:27
Utility group Centrica, which owns the British Gas business, is buying several natural gas and crude oil assets in Canada jointly with Qatar Petroleum International (QPI). The two groups will pay a combined C$1.0bn (£650m) in cash for the assets, which will be 60% owned and operated by Centrica. T
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 moreSector movers: Defensives fare well in market sell-off
5th Apr 2013 16:05
Defensive sectors were making slight gains on Friday as a disappointing employment report from the States prompted a sharp decline in risk appetite and some heavy falls across global stock markets. US non-farm payrolls increased by just 88,000 in March, the lowest rise in nine months, according to
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Great Western, BP, Centrica...
28th Mar 2013 06:52
The Telegraph says that four of the UK's largest train operators - Arriva, FirstGroup, National Express and Stagecoach - have dropped lawsuit worth 40m pounds against the government to recover costs during the franchises process for Great Western that was scrapped earlier this year. The Clair proje
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: ARM Holdings boosted by broker comments
25th Mar 2013 16:25
ARM Holdings was also benefiting from broker comments after Bank of America said that the potential of its 'big.LITTLE' energy-saving technology was "underappreciated". Asset management firm Aberdeen was higher after posting a 10% increase in assets under management to £212.3bn in the second quarte
Read moreCentrica signs LNG export contract with Cheniere
25th Mar 2013 07:03
FTSE 100-listed Centrica has entered into an agreement with Cheniere Energy Partners L.P, to purchase 91,250,000m British thermal units (89bn cubic feet) of annual liquefied natural gas (LNG) volumes for export from the Sabine Pass liquefaction plant in Louisiana in the US. This amounts to approxi
Read moreWednesday broker round-up UPDATE
20th Mar 2013 08:53
Abcam: Canaccord Genuity moves target price from 344p to 358p, but still recommends selling. Antofagasta: Jefferies cuts target price from 1350p to 1100p, while keeping a hold recommendation. ASOS: Cantor Fitzgerald raises target price from 2500p to 2900p reiterating a hold recommendation. Panmure
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners continue to decline on Eurozone fears
19th Mar 2013 14:50
Mining stocks were dominating the fallers list today as risk appetite waned, with Evraz leading the way and Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton both hit by a downgrade by Goldman Sachs. Precious metals group Fresnillo dropped after Deutsche Bank cut its rating from 'hold' to 'sell', saying that the current
Read moreLondon close: US retail sales lift markets off lows
13th Mar 2013 17:01
Disappointing production data from the Eurozone dampened stocks on Wednesday morning in London, but a better-than-expected reading of US retail sales saw markets rally off their lows in afternoon trade. The monthly measure of American retail sales increased by 1.1% in February, an acceleration from
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Prudential gains on strong profit rise
13th Mar 2013 15:13
Prudential was the strongest riser after posting a 25 per cent increase in its annual operating profits, saying its performance was largely driven by its "sweet-spot" markets including Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. Food retailer Sainsbury was up on the back of comme
Read moreWednesday broker round-up UPDATE
13th Mar 2013 08:28
Afren: UBS raises target price from 160p to 200p and reiterates a buy recommendation. African Barrick Gold: Westhouse Securities reduces target price from 255p to 195p and keeps a sell recommendation. Antofagasta: Deutsche Bank lowers target price from 1260p to 1150p, while staying with its hold r
Read moreLondon close: Markets cement gains after strong US jobs data
8th Mar 2013 16:56
The FTSE 100 registered its highest closing price in over five years on Friday after a key indicator of the US labour market smashed expectations. However, the figures failed to give stocks a boost in afternoon trade as investors pondered whether the data is strong enough to prompt the Federal Rese
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Evraz rises on hopes of greater demand from Asia
8th Mar 2013 15:15
Evraz rose into the top spot as the prospects of greater demand from Asia looked up, boosted by the release of a sharp upwards revision to Japanese growth estimates for the last three months of 2012. Shares in financial companies were also making decent gains in early trading as risk appetite incr
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks rise as market prices in strong US jobs data
8th Mar 2013 11:36
Markets maintained their positive bias on Friday morning as traders showed confidence ahead of a key reading of labour-market strength in the US later on, the February employment report. Increased risk appetite in London meant that financial stocks were leading the way higher today. Expectations r
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