London midday: Footsie rallies after early decline
6th Aug 2012 12:06
- Greece making progress - Monti warns of Eurozone break-up - M&S, Evraz, GKN provide a lift on the Footsie Following an early fall, the Footsie swung into the blue by Monday lunchtime on the back of improving newsflow from Greece. After a meeting between the Troika (European Commission, European
Read moreMonday broker round-up
6th Aug 2012 08:26
AstraZeneca: UBS ups target from 3,500p to 3,600p, buy rating kept. Berkeley: Investec raises target from 1,500p to 1,560p, buy rating kept. Catlin: Nomura reiterates buy rating and 506p target. Centrica: Deutsche Bank downgrades to hold from buy, target cut from 365p to 320p. Falkland Oil and G
Read moreThursday broker round-up
26th Jul 2012 10:41
ARM: UBS ups target from 630p to 645p, buy rating kept. Bodycote: Investec cuts target from 410p to 355p, buy rating kept. BSkyB:Jefferies keeps hold rating and 700p target; Investec keeps hold rating and 680p target. Capita: Jefferies ups target from 750p to 795p, buy rating kept. Capital & Cou
Read moreBig caps round-up: Shell, Lloyds, BG Group ...
26th Jul 2012 07:30
An extraordinary number of FTSE 100 companies released updates on Thursday morning. This is a round-up of the key points for each. AstraZeneca: Revenue for the second quarter was $6,660m, down 18% at constant exchange rates (CER). Core earnings per share (EPS) was $1.53 in the second quarter, a 6%
Read moreLondon pre-open: FTSE to regain some of its recent losses
26th Jul 2012 07:26
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 14 points from yesterday's close of 5,498, tracking gains in the US and Asia. On Wednesday the index closed almost flat, following a far worse than expected GDP figure for the June quarter, news which counter-balanced any positive effect from comments b
Read moreSolid first half from Centrica
26th Jul 2012 07:02
Energy provider Centrica cranked up a healthy increase in underlying profits in the first half of 2012, though the company admitted that its performance had been flattered by unusually low levels of consumption in the UK in the first half of last year. Underlying profit before tax rose in the six m
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Irreversible, Catalonia, British Gas
22nd Jul 2012 21:04
The euro is "irreversible" and the beleaguered currency union is not in danger of collapsing, according to European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who also argued that Eurozone nations will eventually be bound even closer together. The central bank chief suggested that analysts who have been t
Read moreCentrica expands footprint in New York
12th Jul 2012 07:23
Energy provider Centrica has agreed to acquire the New York-based energy retailers Energetix and NYSEG Solutions, which operate as a single retail organisation, in order to strengthen its position in north-east America. The acquisition, made through Centrica's North American subsidiary Direct Ener
Read moreLondon close: Footsie flat ahead of FOMC minutes, Glencore up
11th Jul 2012 17:06
- Investors await FOMC minutes - BarCap cuts US growth estimates - Burberry disappoints; 'Glenstrata' in demand - Some say Glencore could benefit from rising grain prices The Footsie had pared early losses to trade broadly flat by the close as markets remained cautious ahead of the release of minu
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie pares losses but still in the red
11th Jul 2012 11:33
- Burberry leads stocks lower after Q1 update - Johnson Matthey, Lloyds, Centrica, SSE fall after broker downgrades - FOMC minutes due out later The FTSE 100 had pared some of its earlier losses but was still trading firmly in the red by Wednesday lunchtime with a disappointing trading update from
Read moreWednesday broker round-up
11th Jul 2012 08:10
ASOS: HSBC downgrades to neutral, target lifted from 1,780p to 1,950p. Avanti Communications: Jefferies reiterates buy rating and 600p target. Aviva: Morgan Stanley upgrades to overweight. Balfour Beatty: UBS downgrades to neutral, target cut from 340p to 310p. BTG: Jefferies downgrades from buy
Read moreBroker tips: Glencore, Xstrata, Michael Page...
9th Jul 2012 11:08
Jefferies expects commodities marketer and producer Glencore to bump up its proposed merger ratio for Xstrata and says that following the stocks' recent underperformance, shares of both groups are now more attractively valued. "We continue to have a positive view on shares of BHP Billiton and Rio T
Read moreBroker snap: Nomura bearish on European utilities
9th Jul 2012 11:06
Nomura has retained its 'bearish' view on the European utilities sector, saying that there are downside risks to guidance across the industry. According to the broker's recent investor survey, some 70% of respondents see downside rise to 2013 earnings per share estimates. "With our bearish outloo
Read moreLondon close: US jobs data sinks stocks
6th Jul 2012 16:41
- US non-farm payrolls disappoint - Miners drag the Footsie lower - IMF to cut global GDP forecast After treading water for the morning session, the Footsie dropped in afternoon trade after a disappointing employment report from the US dampened the outlook for the global economy. The US Labor Depa
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: GKN leaps into the top spot after acquisition
5th Jul 2012 13:15
Shares in GKN rocketed after the announcement of its acquisition of Volvo Aero for 633m pounds. To help fund the deal GKN aims to place £140m of new shares with institutional investors, with the rest of the money coming from new debt facilities. Investec reiterated its 'buy' recommendation for the
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