London midday: Stocks hit by Syria concerns, BG Group drops
9th Sep 2013 11:29
Markets shrugged off improving economic data from Asia on Monday morning with stocks falling into the red on concerns over a potential Western military intervention in Syria. Syria will be in firm focus this week ahead of a vote by US Congress over whether or not to proceed with a military attack a
Read moreLondon open: Syria, taper uncertainty weigh on stocks
9th Sep 2013 08:26
Markets opened broadly lower on Monday morning as improving data from Asia was offset by continuing concerns over tensions in Syria. With the economic data calendar for Europe and the US looking pretty thin for Monday, investors are likely to focus on figures from China where trade and inflation nu
Read moreSuntory to buy GSK's Lucozade and Ribena - UPDATE
9th Sep 2013 07:56
Suntory Beverage & Food has agreed to buy GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) drink brands Lucozade and Ribena for 1.35bn pounds in cash. GSK is selling the brands as part of overhaul announced in April to focus on developing new medicines. Suntory Beverage is spending up to 500bn yen on takeovers after hold
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: North Sea, Glaxo, Wonga
6th Sep 2013 07:30
Government borrowing costs in the US and Europe surged as investors became more optimistic that the developed world has embarked on a period of sustained and rapid growth and anticipated that central banks will increase interest rates earlier than previously thought. Yields on sovereign debt, which
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 at three-week high after policy meetings
5th Sep 2013 17:03
A host of central-bank policy meetings, a dovish tone from Mario Draghi and the continued improvement in US economic data helped lift stocks higher on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 closing at levels not seen in three weeks. London's benchmark index ended the day up 57.7 points at 6,532.44, its highes
Read moreSuntory 'in talks' to buy GSK's Ribena, Lucozade
5th Sep 2013 15:34
Japanese drinks firm Suntory may make an early pounce for GlaxoSmithKline's Lucozade and Ribena brands in a move that would remove the need for an auction and likely disappoint some quarters of the private equity industry. Suntory, which already owns Orangina Schweppes after buying it four years ag
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: M&S leaps after HSBC upgrade
5th Sep 2013 15:20
High Street department store Marks & Spencer surged today after HSBC upgraded the stock from 'neutral' to 'overweight', saying it is the most operationally geared among its peers to play on the UK consumer recovery. Hotels group IHG was also a high riser after UBS raised its rating from 'neutral to
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks trim gains, BoE holds rates
5th Sep 2013 11:27
After a strong start for UK stocks, the FTSE 100 pared gains by lunchtime as nervousness set in ahead of a number of risk events that have the potential to spark some volatile moves on financial markets. Risk appetite was also scaled back ahead of the G20 meeting which begins in St Petersburg today
Read moreBroker tips: Glaxo, IHG, Retailers
5th Sep 2013 11:25
Panmure Gordon has maintained its 'buy' recommendation for pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline but admitted that it was disappointed with the firm's setback on its potential new skin-cancer treatment. The broker explained that MAGE-A3 is a theraputic cancer vaccine - "the holy grail of the industr
Read moreBroker snap: Panmure still upbeat about Glaxo despite clinical-trial disappointment
5th Sep 2013 10:25
Panmure Gordon has maintained its 'buy' recommendation for pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline but admitted that it was disappointed with the firm's setback on its potential new skin-cancer treatment. Glaxo said on Thursday morning that its MAGE-A3 treatment did not meet the first co-primary endpo
Read moreSetback for GSK's potential new skin cancer treatment
5th Sep 2013 07:05
GlaxoSmithKline's potential new anti-cancer treatment for patients with melanoma has suffered a significant setback in clinical trials. The drugs giant said that independent analysis of its third phase trials of its MAGE-A3 cancer immunotherapeutic product showed that it did not significantly exten
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Wood Group, CRH, Miners
20th Aug 2013 15:03
Wood Group was in the bottom spot after it warned problems with its Canadian business would have an impact on earnings growth. The group said it was scaling back its full-year EBITA growth guidance for its engineering division from 15% to 10-15%, reflecting some project delays and further weakenin
Read moreLondon midday: Corporate earnings weigh on stocks ahead of Fed minutes
20th Aug 2013 11:41
A number of poorly-received results from blue-chip companies and ongoing concerns about the future of US stimulus weighed heavily on markets on Tuesday morning, dragging the FTSE 100 to levels not seen in over six weeks. London's benchmark index reached an intraday low of around 6,400 early on befo
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
16th Aug 2013 08:52
African Minerals: Barclays initiates with a target price of 220p and an underweight rating. Aviva: Exane downgrades to neutral with a target price of 403p. Avon Rubber: Investec ups target price from 470p to 500p, but downgrades from add to hold. AZ Electronic Materials: Deutsche Bank reduces tar
Read moreLondon close: Markets lower despite better-than-expected Eurozone GDP
14th Aug 2013 17:27
A return to growth in the Eurozone wasn't enough to buoy markets today with the FTSE 100 finishing down 24.51 points at 6,587.43 after a choppy session. Eurozone gross domestic product (GDP) figures showed that the single-currency region exited a recession in the second quarter by expanding 0.3%, a
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