London close: Retreat moves into ninth day
24th Nov 2011 17:12
After once again showing signs in the morning session of bringing the losing streak to an end, Footsie once again relapsed in the afternoon session, as investors took fright at German Chancellor Angela Merkel once again banging on about what a bad idea it would be to have common interest rates for a
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners recover, Vedanta tops the risers
24th Nov 2011 13:41
With metals prices recovering on Thursday after yesterday's falls - on the back of ongoing worries in the Eurozone and some disappointing Chinese manufacturing data - the miners were in demand. Vedanta Resources, Fresnillo, Kazakhmys and Xstrata were all performing well. The sector was making an av
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks seeking direction
24th Nov 2011 12:02
As was the case yesterday morning (before it all went downhill in the afternoon session), equities have endured a dull session in London. Footsie spent much of the morning in positive territory, largely on the strength of good showings by banks and miners. Gains might have been a bit more impress
Read moreDigital Look broker talk
24th Nov 2011 10:02
Dixons Retail: "There was an improved sales and gross margin performance in Q2, with encouraging progress on several key financial metrics including net debt, working capital and inventory. These should go some way to allaying fears on the group's financial position, in our view" [Investec]. Pennon
Read moreThursday broker round-up - UPDATE
24th Nov 2011 09:48
Weir: Peel Hunt upgrades from hold to buy, target cut from 2,100p to 2,000p. Weir: Investec maintains buy rating and 2,250p target. Compass: Panmure Gordon raises target from 643p to 658p, buy rating unchanged. Smith & Nephew: Panmure Gordon cuts target from 750p to 640p, buy rating kept. Dixons
Read moreLondon open: Thomas Cook, Dixons jump higher
24th Nov 2011 08:34
The Footsie was trading broadly flat early on, swinging between small gains and losses in the opening minutes. Weighing on sentiment was a poll by Reuters/Ipsos MORI which showed that the majority of Britons (58%) believe the economy will get worse over the next year. That is the highest figure sin
Read moreLondon close: German bond auction response unnerves investors
23rd Nov 2011 17:05
After an uneventful morning session that came as a relief after the turbulent events of recent days, shares turtned sharply lower in the afternoon session, as US markets took a bath. The results of this morning's German bond auction set nerves a-jangling. Germany issued €3.644bn in 10-year bonds
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Admiral rises on speculation
23rd Nov 2011 16:05
Car insurer Admiral rose amid speculation that the firm is to pay a dividend of 100p to shareholders. Shares have taken a dive in recent months following warnings that the group is facing unexpectedly high volumes of claims. Satellite operator Inmarsat was on the rise despite projections that the
Read moreBroker tips: Meggitt, Compass, DMGT
23rd Nov 2011 12:55
UBS has downgraded Meggitt from neutral to sell after cutting back its earnings forecasts for this year and the next. "Meggitt has also outperformed the European aftermarket stocks by 12% over the last three months and is within 7% of its all time high. Meggitt is on the UBS M&A watch list," the br
Read moreLondon midday: Reassuringly dull morning session
23rd Nov 2011 12:01
It has been a comfortingly dull morning session in London after all the excitement of recent weeks, though there is no sign of Footsie bringing an end to its losing streak, though its cause is not helped by the index constituents Man, Next and Standard Life trading in ex-dividend form. MINERS HEAD
Read moreWednesday broker round-up - UPDATE
23rd Nov 2011 09:22
Compass: Seymour Pierce reiterates buy rating and 650p target. Compass: Investec maintains buy and 630p target. Compass: Evolution Securities keeps buy rating and 640p target. Meggitt: UBS downgrades from neutral to sell, target cut from 340p to 330p. SABMiller: Investec upgrades from hold to bu
Read moreBroker snap: Seymour Pierce reiterates buy for Compass
23rd Nov 2011 09:03
Seymour Pierce has reiterated its buy rating and 650p target for contract caterer Compass following the group's full-year results. The broker says that figures were in line with expectations, with revenues up 9.4% and operating profits 9% higher. Operating margin was flat at 6.9% but would have imp
Read moreLondon open: Chinese data weighs on stocks
23rd Nov 2011 08:31
The Footsie fell below the 5,200 level early on, as some gloomy data from China dampened the mood. Weighing on sentiment today is the poor data out from China, which showed factory activity levels dropping to their lowest in 32 months. The HSBC flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI),
Read moreLondon pre-open: Chinese data to dampen the mood
23rd Nov 2011 07:21
The Footsie is expected to be hit by another wave of selling on Wednesday, its eighth in a row, with City sources predicting the index to open at around 5,156, almost 1% down from yesterday's close of 5,207. The blue chips have lost an average of 6% since Friday 11 November when the FTSE 100 stood a
Read moreCompass breaks through billion pound profit barrier
23rd Nov 2011 07:20
Contract caterer Compass saw its underlying profits before tax burst through the billion pounds barrier for the full year ended 30 September. The firm achieved a 9.4% leap in revenue from £14.47bn to £15.83bn, which led to a 10.6% increase in underlying profit from £922m to £1.02bn (reported profi
Read more