Monday broker round-up UPDATE
4th Feb 2013 07:17
Antofagasta: Nomura lowers target price from 1400p to 1250p and keeps a neutral rating. Aviva Group: Barclays cuts target price from 317p to 302p leaving its underweight rating unaltered. Beazley: Berenberg starts with a target price of 217p and a buy recommendation. Big Yellow Group: UBS reduces
Read moreFirstGroup awarded franchise extension as DfT cancels competition
31st Jan 2013 08:44
FirstGroup, the FTSE 250 transport company, confirmed the extension of the First Great Western franchise after the Department for Transport (DfT) binned the bidding competition and awarded the company an extension. The 15-year franchise, which operates the Great Western service between London and
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Barclays, Shell, Great Western...
31st Jan 2013 06:55
The man responsible for setting boardroom pay at Barclays was hammered by MPs and peers yesterday and warned not to pay a one million-pound bonus to the new chief executive. Sir John Sunderland, one of Britain's most eminent industrialists and a for- mer CBI president, was hit by a barrage of hostil
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
25th Jan 2013 07:03
Aberdeen Asset Management: Goldman Sachs upgrades to buy with its target price at 360p. APR Energy: JP Morgan lowers target price from 1005p to 950p, while its overweight rating is left unchanged. Brooks Macdonald Group: Numis ups target price from 1400p to 1470p and retains a hold recommendation.
Read moreLondon close: Footsie jumps one per cent as economic data impresses
24th Jan 2013 17:09
Better-than-expected economic data lifted the FTSE 100 over one per cent higher on Thursday afternoon, as markets shrugged off disappointing results from the world's largest technology company, Apple. American jobless claims and a US manufacturing survey from Markit came in better than forecasts to
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Chemring rises on full-year results
24th Jan 2013 15:36
Defence tech group Chemring was on the rise after presenting its full-year results. While the company recorded a sharp drop in profits, they were in line with expectations which 'counts as a positive given the recent history', according to analysts at Investec. Transport firm FirstGroup rose after
Read moreLondon midday: Markets boosted by economic data from Europe and China
24th Jan 2013 11:20
London's benchmark index was registering decent gains by Thursday lunchtime as earlier concerns about disappointing earnings from Apple were outweighed by better-than-expected economy data from Europe and China. Investors began today's session in a cautious fashion with the FTSE 100 struggling to
Read moreLondon open: Markets flat as Apple disappoints
24th Jan 2013 08:26
UK stocks opened broadly flat on Thursday morning as a disappointing earnings report from the world's largest technology company weighed on sentiment early on. US tech titan Apple saw shares tumble after the closing bell in New York last night after its fiscal first-quarter results missed forecasts
Read moreFirstGroup in line with expectations
24th Jan 2013 07:05
FTSE 250 transport firm FirstGroup said third quarter trading at the group, excluding the one-off effect of Hurricane Sandy, was in line with company expectations but remains cautious in respect of continued economic weakness. Like-for-like (LFL) passenger revenue at its UK bus operations grew 2.1%
Read moreStagecoach completes acquisition of Merseyside bus operations
14th Jan 2013 07:40
Glenvale Transport, a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Stagecoach, has completed the acquisition of certain bus operations and assets of subsidiaries of FirstGroup in Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales. MF
Read moreLondon close: Markets end the week with slight gains
11th Jan 2013 17:04
- Japan launches new stimulus package - Chinese inflation rises in December - Tullow misses production forecasts in 2012 UK stocks finished with slight gains on Friday on the back of plans for economic stimulus in Japan, as markets were able to shrug off some weakness in the mining sector. The F
Read moreFTSE 250 movers:Centamin continues to rise on Q4 production
11th Jan 2013 14:59
Gold miner Centamin continued to rise after its fourth-quarter production results on Wednesday, in which it beat output guidance by five per cent. Liberum Capital labelled the stock as a compelling buy this morning. The shares have now risen by over a third in the last five days. Price comparison
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
11th Jan 2013 07:01
Aberdeen Asset Management: Credit Suisse raises target price from 380p to 410p reiterating an outperform rating. Afren: Deutsche Bank cuts target price from 175p to 165p stayling with its buy rating. Ashmore Group: Credit Suisse moves target price from 380p to 375p and downgrades to underperform.
Read moreVirgin Rail to run West Coast franchise until end of 2014
6th Dec 2012 07:31
As the Department for Transport (DfT) hopes to put the West Coast Mainline franchising debacle behind it, the government has announced that current operator Virgin Rail Group (VRG) will continue to run the trains until November 2014. VRG, the joint venture between Stagecoach and Virgin Group which
Read moreMonday broker round-up UPDATE
3rd Dec 2012 07:16
ARM Holdings: Exane BNP Paribas upgrades from neutral to buy. Ashtead Group: Bank of America starts with a target price of 460p and a buy recommendation. AstraZaneca: Berenberg raises target price from 3080p to 3100p; hold recommendation kept. Balfour Beatty: Investec reduces target price from 21
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