HomeServe to cut 200 jobs as struggles continue
8th Feb 2012 07:36
FTSE 250 emergency repair group HomeServe has assured that full-year profits will be in line with expectations in spite of its recent travails that are still preventing the group from restarting some marketing operations. With customer numbers falling and the restarting of outbound calls taking lo
Read moreMonday broker round-up - UPDATE
6th Feb 2012 09:12
Supergroup: Oriel Securities upgrades to buy from hold. Glencore: Jefferies ups target from 525p to 575p, confirms buy rating; Credit Suisse maintains outperform rating and 550p target. Royal Dutch Shell: Credit Suisse downgrades from outperform to neutral, cuts target from 2,750p to 2,600p. Xst
Read moreHomeserve CFO moves up to clean house
31st Jan 2012 08:44
Homeserve's current Chief Financial Officer, Martin Bennett, is being promoted to become Chief Operating Officer of the home repairs firm. Bennett's move will see him take responsibility for "risk management and best practice" as the firm looks to move on from an awkward mis-selling scandal. The c
Read moreLloyds boss wakes up and buys 0.6m shares
15th Dec 2011 15:45
Announcing his return to work just six short weeks since taking leave on medical advice, Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio celebrated his recovery with the purchase of $226,962-worth of shares in the part-nationalised lender. The director, who was signed off sick with extreme fatigue and sleep depr
Read moreLondon open: Whitbread loses its froth
13th Dec 2011 08:47
London has opened on the front foot, which comes as a relief after yesterday's bashing, but the top-share index's modest advance is largely due to the strength of miners, which more than outweighs the weakness of banks. Results from Costa Coffee show owner Whitbread have left a sour taste, with evi
Read moreHomeserve to outsource handling of complaints
13th Dec 2011 08:01
Homeserve, the troubled emergency repair company, is to outsource its complaints handling following a mis-selling scandal. The firm, which in essence provides emergency insurance cover, had to stop all telesales activity in October after evidence that some customers did not really understand what t
Read moreTuesday broker round-up - UPDATE
6th Dec 2011 09:27
Wolseley: Charles Stanley gives accumulate recommendation. Wolseley: Panmure Gordon keeps sell rating and 1,500p target. Meggitt: Credit Suisse downgrades to underperform from outperform; cuts target to 330p from 410p. Shire: Goldman Sachs reiterates buy. SABMiller: Nomura maintains buy recomme
Read moreMonday broker round-up - UPDATE
5th Dec 2011 08:45
Kingfisher: Credit Suisse raises price target to 310p from 295p, outperform rating kept. Berkeley Group: Credit Suisse raises target to 1,225p from 1,079p, maintains neutral. Berkeley Group: UBS raises target to 1,530p from 1,480p. BG Group: UBS ups price target to 1,635p from 1,600p, stays at
Read moreBroker tips: Admiral, Homeserve, Greene King
2nd Dec 2011 11:32
Investec has maintained its sell rating on car insurer Admiral, saying the stock is "going like a freight train...downhill". "It is not clear whether the claims shocks described in the 9M IMS will be a one-off. This note illustrates what could happen with a significant reserve increase next year. I
Read moreBroker snap: Doméo deal good for Homeserve, but UK issues still uncertain
2nd Dec 2011 11:30
Homeserve's shares nudged higher on Friday after the proposed acquisition of Doméo SA, but brokers have maintained their sell ratings on the stock as sentiment is still being dampened by problems arising from the mis-selling scandal. Repair services firm HomeServe announced that it is set to acquir
Read moreDigital Look broker talk
2nd Dec 2011 11:16
Tesco: "We expect Q3 will allow Tesco to evidence the early gains made in UK food (Price Drop), and possibly non-food (ranging and merchandising), reinforcing our view of a palpable shift in momentum at Tesco" [Nomura]. Admiral: "The profit warning at 9M 2011 has increased the risk in holding this
Read moreFriday broker round-up - UPDATE
2nd Dec 2011 09:42
Rolls Royce: UBS downgrades to sell from neutral, cuts target to 600p from 610p. Admiral: RBC initiates at underperform with a price target of 890p. Standard Chartered: Nomura reiterates buy recommendation and 1,800p target. Admiral: Investec maintains sell rating, cuts target to 570p from 843
Read moreLondon open: Investors raise a glass to RBS's pub sale
2nd Dec 2011 08:51
The equity bandwagon is back on the road after pulling over into a lay-by for repairs yesterday, after French President Nicolas Sarkozy said last night it is necessary 'to put an end to all doubts' over the European Union's commitment to sorting out the region's debt crisis. In what may be a sneak
Read moreHomeserve to acquire rest of Doméo SA
2nd Dec 2011 07:58
Repair services firm HomeServe is set to acquire Veolia Environnement's 51% share of Doméo SA, giving HomeServe 100% ownership, for a consideration of £83m. The two firms have also agreed a long term marketing agreement which allows for continued use of Veolia's brands by Doméo in France. Doméo S
Read moreLondon close: Retreat moves into ninth day
24th Nov 2011 17:12
After once again showing signs in the morning session of bringing the losing streak to an end, Footsie once again relapsed in the afternoon session, as investors took fright at German Chancellor Angela Merkel once again banging on about what a bad idea it would be to have common interest rates for a
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