London midday: Footsie maintains lead
25th Nov 2009 12:09
Stocks are steady at lunchtime Wednesday as miners remain firmly on the front foot, while bid speculation is behind big gains at International Power. The hot money is on International Power at the moment, with investors betting that French utility GDF Suez will bid £6bn, or 400p-a-share, for the el
Read moreLondon open: Good gains as miners rally
25th Nov 2009 08:43
Footsie has posted good gains in early dealings, despite a lower finish on Wall Street last night. Miners are again behind the rise, with an end to the brief rally by the dollar sending buyers in search of alternatives. Second liners Randgold and Kazakhmys are leading the way, but the gains are pre
Read moreLondon pre-open: Strong start expected
25th Nov 2009 07:36
Footsie is expected to post good gains in early dealings, despite a lower finish on Wall Street last night. Contract caterer Compass Group saw little growth in revenue when it declared full year results this morning, but pre-tax profit still showed a healthy rise on the back of a strong improvement
Read moreCompass grows profit despite flat sales
25th Nov 2009 07:03
Contract caterer Compass Group saw little growth in revenue when it declared full year results this morning, but pre-tax profit still showed a healthy rise on the back of a strong improvement in margins and currency gains. Pre-tax profit came to £773m, up from £566m last year, on sales of £13,444m
Read moreWednesday preview: Compass, UU, Johnson Matthey, GDP
24th Nov 2009 17:35
Contract caterer Compass Group is expected to show little or no like for like growth in revenue when it declares full year results on Wednesday, but pre-tax profit is still expected to show a healthy rise on the back of a strong improvement in margins and currency gains. Market consensus is for pr
Read moreBroker tips: Compass, Autonomy, miners
5th Oct 2009 11:04
Charles Stanley has gone into more detail about its reasons for its ratings downgrade of contract caterer Compass Group last week following the company's September 29 trading update. The broker shifted from 'strong buy' to 'buy' as the stock approached the 400p price target, and still thinks the s
Read moreBroker snap: Compass still on the menu
5th Oct 2009 11:00
Charles Stanley has gone into more detail about its reasons for its ratings downgrade of contract caterer Compass Group last week following the company's September 29 trading update. The broker shifted from 'strong buy' to 'buy' as the stock approached the 400p price target, and still thinks the s
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Compass, Moss Bros, Close Brothers
30th Sep 2009 06:45
Caterer Compass shares trade on a 2009 price earnings rating of 12.7 times, and offering a dividend yield of 3.7%, there are certainly better value stocks around, but Compass is a core holding; an investment to add to the portfolio and not worry about. Investors should take the chance to stock up. B
Read moreLondon close: Directionless day for FTSE 100
29th Sep 2009 16:52
Footsie finished slightly in the red after another day of flitting between the red and the blue while not showing any real sense of direction. Swiss bank Credit Suisse has issued a bearish note on the property sector prompting the likes of Land Securities, SEGRO and Hammerson to shift into reverse
Read moreLondon afternoon: Back to square one
29th Sep 2009 14:34
It's back to square one for the Footsie which is barely changed on the day, with gains on banks and insurers counterbalanced by miners and property stocks. Swiss bank Credit Suisse has issued a bearish note on the property sector prompting the likes of Land Securities, SEGRO and Hammerson to shift
Read moreBroker tips: Compass, Daily Mail, Straight
29th Sep 2009 12:53
Despite a strong set of fourth quarter results from contract caterer Compass Group, Charles Stanley is downgrading the stock to 'buy' from 'strong buy' as the share price approaches the broker's 400p price target. After the third quarter update in July, which showed organic revenue growth in declin
Read moreLondon midday: Blue chips still struggling
29th Sep 2009 12:06
Miners and property stocks are keeping Footsie in the red despite the banking and insurance sectors going well. Swiss bank Credit Suisse has issued a bearish note on the property sector prompting the likes of British Land, Land Securities, SEGRO and Hammerson to shift into reverse. Credit Suisse's
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Compass points higher
29th Sep 2009 11:51
Contract caterer Compass is pointing higher after it reported trading has gone well in the fourth quarter with underlying earnings to be up by around 14% on a constant currency basis. Operating profit will get a boost of £120m from the movement of our key currencies compared with last year. Rumours
Read moreBroker snap: Compass reassures
29th Sep 2009 09:58
Despite a strong set of fourth quarter results from contract caterer Compass Group, Charles Stanley is downgrading the stock to 'buy' from 'strong buy' as the share price approaches the broker's 400p price target. After the third quarter update in July, which showed organic revenue growth in declin
Read moreLondon open: Dull start for Footsie
29th Sep 2009 08:51
Three-figure gains in the US overnight haven't helped London much with blue chips going lower in early dealings. Property groups are weak with all of the sector heavyweights - British Land, Land Securities and Hammerson - under pressure. Banks are offsetting some of this weakness after the Times
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