London midday: Markets cautious ahead of Eurogroup meeting on Greece

20th Nov 2012 11:27

Following on from a 2.36 per cent surge yesterday, the FTSE 100 pulled back on Tuesday morning with concerns about the Eurozone being reignited ahead of an extraordinary Eurogroup meeting on Greece scheduled for this evening. Eurozone finance ministers are meeting today in Brussels to discuss wheth

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London open: Stocks slip as France downgraded

20th Nov 2012 08:45

With another European nation losing its prized 'AAA' rating last night, UK stocks edged into negative territory on Tuesday morning as Eurozone concerns came back into focus ahead of an extraordinary Eurogroup meeting on Greece. Investors are losing options to safeguard their funds in the highest in

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London close: Footsie rallies on US budget hopes

19th Nov 2012 16:53

- Obama confident that 'fiscal cliff' will be dealt with - Markets await Eurogroup meeting on Greece - Egypt PM says Israel/Gaza truce may be near -Reuters - Banks and miners surge on increased risk Stocks rallied on Monday after hitting a four-month low the previous session on the back of increas

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Sector movers: Banking stocks benefit from market surge

19th Nov 2012 15:16

Banking stocks were performing well on Monday afternoon as investors' appetites for risk were sparked by increased hopes over the US budget. Global lender HSBC rose after confirming press speculation that it is mulling a sale of its minority stake in Chinese insurance giant Ping An Insurance. HSBC

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London midday: Markets rise as concerns over US budget ease

19th Nov 2012 11:35

Stocks advanced on Monday morning as optimistic comments by US lawmakers over the weekend regarding the budget lifted hopes that the government will come to an agreement to avert the impending 'fiscal cliff' by the January 1st deadline. "Today has very little in terms of economic data to be announc

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Broker tips: HSBC, Serco, Ocado

19th Nov 2012 10:58

Investec has upgraded its rating for global banking giant HSBC from 'hold' to 'buy', saying that the downgrade cycle could finally be over. Investec has raised its target price for the stock from 590p to 630p. "From here, we expect outperformance versus Lloyds ('sell') and RBS ('sell')." Credit Su

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Broker snap: HSBC to outperform Lloyds and RBS, says Investec

19th Nov 2012 09:03

Investec has upgraded its rating for global banking giant HSBC from 'hold' to 'buy', saying that the downgrade cycle could finally be over. The broker said on Monday morning that despite the material improvement in credit experience seen in the third quarter and further encouraging trends in underl

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Monday broker round-up UPDATE

19th Nov 2012 07:34

Aquarius Platinum: Nomura raises target price from 35p to 95p and upgrades from neutral to buy. Associated British Foods; Societe Generale upgrades to buy from hold. Atkins: Jefferies reduces target price from 850p to 800p, buy recommendation reiterated. Aveva: Panmure Gordon reduces target price

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HSBC considering sale of Ping An stake

19th Nov 2012 07:22

Global banking titan HSBC confirmed press speculation on Monday morning, saying that it is mulling a sale of its minority stake in Chinese insurance giant Ping An Insurance. HSBC holds a 15.57% stake in Ping An, China's second-largest insurance firm by assets, which is worth an estimated $9.5bn. T

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Sunday newspaper round-up: Gaza, BP, Banks

18th Nov 2012 20:34

President Obama has increased the pressure on Israel and Hamas to agree a truce before a ground war breaks out in Gaza and pushes any prospect of peace "way off in the future". Talks brokered by Egypt were continuing through the fifth day of violence, and Palestinian sources have claimed that a deal

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Friday broker round-up -UPDATE

16th Nov 2012 07:22

Anglo American: Deutsche Bank cuts target price from 2600p to 2520p and reiterates a buy rating. Atkins: JP Morgan Cazenove reduces target price from 862p to 859p, overweight rating maintained. Bodycote: Investec raises target price from 400p to 410p, buy recommendation remains unchanged. Brammer

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Sector movers: Lloyds and RBS lead banks higher after broker comments

12th Nov 2012 14:52

Banking stocks were among the best performers on Monday afternoon with all the big UK lenders making gains. Lloyds was a high riser on the FTSE 100 after UBS raised its target price for the shares from 44p to 46p, saying that the bank's third-quarter results showed "solid progress and improving mom

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London close: Late rally not enough as stocks finish lower

9th Nov 2012 16:42

- Uni of Michigan confidence index rise beats forecasts - Chinese data offset by Greek concerns - Footsie finishes lower, but well off intraday lows After steep falls for most of the session, UK stocks picked up in afternoon trade to finish only slightly lower by the close after a reading of US con

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Sector movers: Talvivaara weighs on industrial metals sector

9th Nov 2012 14:27

Cyclical stocks such as those in the mining and banking sectors were under the weather on Friday afternoon as sentiment on global stock markets continues to be hampered by concerns about Greece's finances. Talvivaara, the FTSE 250 nickel miner, was suffering heavy falls today, pushing the industria

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HSBC alleged to be under investigation by HMRC

9th Nov 2012 12:21

HSBC bank is investigating a leak of confidential information regarding clients´ accounts in Jersey and allegations that criminals are utilizing accounts with the lender in Jersey to channel their funds. According to an article in The Telegraph, the tax authorities have obtained details of every

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