London midday: Stocks fall on concerns over Italy and Cyprus
27th Mar 2013 11:52
Worries about Italy and Cyprus weighed heavily on stock markets on Wednesday morning as the Eurozone crisis showed no signs of abating. The political impasse in Italy has continued with centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani failing to persuade Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right party to support a min
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: Cyprus, Mervyn King, East Coast rail...
26th Mar 2013 06:43
According to the Financial Times, banks in Cyprus are to remain closed until Thursday following this weekend's last-minute bailout deal with the Troika that involved the restructuring of its two largest lenders. President Nicos Anastasiades has confirmed that capital controls would be imposed but as
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: RBS boosted by Liberum Capital upgrade
20th Mar 2013 15:49
Royal Bank of Scotland was higher after Liberum Capital upgraded the stock to 'buy' with its target price at 340p. Hammerson also climbed following an upgrade by Oriel Securities to add. A number of property and construction & materials companies were higher, boosted by new plans unveiled in the
Read moreLondon open: Sentiment fragile in aftermath of Cypriot bailout
19th Mar 2013 08:28
Markets across Europe were mixed in early trading on Tuesday as traders continue to digest developments in Cyprus after the controversial proposal to tax depositors prompted fears of a bank run yesterday. Weighing on London's resource-heavy FTSE 100 this morning was Goldman Sachs' move to lower its
Read moreLondon close: Stocks trim losses as bank-run fears subside
18th Mar 2013 16:44
After registering sharp declines early on, stock markets across Europe had clawed back losses by the close of trade on Monday, as concerns of a contagious bank run across the Eurozone periphery were eased. Markets suffered a steep sell-off in the morning session after this weekend's controversial b
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: M&S leads risers on Qatar rumours
18th Mar 2013 15:43
Takeover speculation at M&S stepped up a gear this weekend with Qatar's sovereign wealth fund thought to be mulling a bid for the High Street giant worth eight billion pounds. According to the Sunday Times, the Qatar Investment Authority is said to be assembling a consortium of private-equity invest
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Glencore, Meggitt, Ophir
6th Mar 2013 07:07
The rise in shares of Glencore and Xstrata, yesterday, was due to rising hopes that Beijing will indeed approve their merger. After all, it has already said 'yes' to the purchase of Viterra despite food security being a highly sensitive subject. Investors are also crunching the 'synergy' numbers alt
Read moreWednesday broker round-up UPDATE
6th Mar 2013 07:03
Advanced Medical Solutions: Investec takes target price from 68p to 74p and maintains a buy recommendation. Aggreko: Citigroup reduces target price from 2550p to 2100p, while keeping a buy rating. Ashtead Group: Citigroup raises target price from 590p to 660p leaving its buy recommendation unalter
Read moreHigher oil volumes drive revenue rise at Glencore
5th Mar 2013 08:53
Revenue rose 15 per cent to 214bn dollars in the year ended December 31st at commodity trading giant Glencore. This was primarily driven by higher oil volumes handled and partially offset by lower period-on-period metals prices, the group reported. Adjusted EBIT (earnings before interest and tax)
Read moreLondon open: MPC expected to be watching services PMI data
5th Mar 2013 08:09
London stocks have begun the day higher, boosted by the strong showing seen overnight on Wall Street - on the back of dovish comments from US Fed Vice-Chairman Janet Yellen - and ahead of potentially key data expected to be released today, in the United Kingdom. At 09:30 Markit will release its se
Read moreLondon close: Strong US data prompts late rally...again
1st Mar 2013 17:13
For a third day in a row, the FTSE 100 index rallied in afternoon trade on the back of strong economic figures from America, as investors temporarily shrugged off concerns about the automatic spending cuts which kick in later today. US President Barack Obama met with congressional leaders this afte
Read moreSector movers: Weak Chinese manufacturing data hits miners
1st Mar 2013 16:31
Mining stocks tanked on Friday after a series of disappointing manufacturing figures dampened risk appetite. The official Chinese manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell from 50.4 to 50.1 in February. While this marked the fifth straight month of expansion (shown by figures above the m
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Capita leads the risers
1st Mar 2013 15:45
Outsourcing group Capita continued to be a high riser having said that it has acquired debt recovery specialists iQor Holdings UK and subsidiaries (iQor UK) for an enterprise value of 42m pounds. Insurance group Old Mutual was in demand after posting an 18% increase in annual profits in 2012, drive
Read moreLondon midday: Risk appetite declines as US budget cuts loom
1st Mar 2013 12:04
After an initial stint in positive territory, UK stock markets swung sharply into the red by Friday lunchtime as concerns about budget cuts in the US take their toll on risk appetite. Sequestration is continuing to dominate headlines this morning as the deadline for across-the-board automatic budge
Read moreLondon open: Footsie edges higher despite mining weakness
1st Mar 2013 09:02
UK stocks opened broadly higher on Friday morning but a disappointing reading of Chinese manufacturing weighed on the mining sector, limiting gains for the resource-heavy FTSE 100 index. The official Chinese manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell from 50.4 to 50.1 in February. While t
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