Friday preview: IMI's Severe Service division in focus
1st Mar 2012 18:17
IMI, the international engineering company, is the third major engineering company to announce results this week. The market is expecting profit before tax for 2011 of £339.9m on turnover of £2.12bn. Earnings per share are tipped to rise to 77.86p from 66.30p last year, and the dividend to climb to
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Hopes for Greece boost stocks
17th Feb 2012 14:32
Miners were in demand today, buoyed by rising metals prices which leapt on optimism over a Greek bailout. The latest reports from the troubled country are pointing to confirmation of the European Central Bank's participation in the debt swap and an increased control over the bailout by Eurozone offi
Read moreLondon open: Stocks rise on Greek optimism
17th Feb 2012 08:24
- Footsie rises as Greek optimism boosts buying. - Resources stocks track commodities prices higher. - Record underlying earnings for Anglo American. London's blue chips recovered after yesterday's fall with the Footsie rising strongly in early trading on Friday on reports of measures by European l
Read moreIMI snaps up Brazilian valve firm
17th Feb 2012 07:18
International engineer group IMI has spent £22m in cash on buying Brazilian isolation valve business Grupo InterAtiva. InterAtiva operates a 9,000 square metre facility near Sao Paolo in which it design, assembles and distributes isolation valves to several end markets including oil and gas, sugar
Read moreLondon close: Banks fall after GDP data, markets await Fed
25th Jan 2012 16:14
- UK GDP figures disappoint. - Markets await FOMC statement and Bernanke. UK stocks finished firmly in the red after worse-than-expected UK gross domestic product (GDP) figures sent banks reeling early on. Meanwhile, markets in the US were mixed ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) sta
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Ashmore rises on Barclays upgrade
25th Jan 2012 13:34
Investment manager Ashmore was the best performer, rising over 5%, bouncing back after a poor performance yesterday on the back of a downgrade from Royal Bank of Scotland. Today, however, the stock was given a boost after Barclays upgraded it to overweight from neutral. ARM Holdings, the chip desi
Read moreLondon midday: Banks fall as GDP figures disappoint
25th Jan 2012 11:55
- UK GDP contracts in the fourth quarter. - BoE unanimous in decision to maintain rates. - Mortgage approvals rise. In spite of a strong start, London's FTSE 100 experienced a sharp decline in morning trade following some disappointing gross domestic product figures which came in worse than expecte
Read moreLondon open: Stocks up ahead of economic data
25th Jan 2012 08:39
London's Footsie opened slightly higher on Wednesday morning with the mood boosted by last night's strong showing from US tech giant Apple. In UK news, a raft of economic data is due out this morning, including the minutes from the January meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee
Read moreLondon close: Footsie rises as markets await news from Greece
23rd Jan 2012 16:32
- Markets await news from Greece. - Essar Energy jumps over 10%. - EU approves sanctions against Iran. UK stocks finished the day with impressive gains as investors awaited developments from Greece. Meanwhile, finance ministers of the Eurozone were meeting in Brussels to discuss terms of the Greek
Read moreSector movers: Prudential lifts life insurers
23rd Jan 2012 15:55
Life insurers were on the rise on Monday with sector giant Prudential making decent gains on the back of M&A chatter in the global industry. Last week's rumours that AIA is considering a takeover of ING's Asian divisions for $6bn "reinforces the attraction of the region", according to analysts at R
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Essar surges after increasing resource estimates
23rd Jan 2012 15:10
The share price of India-focused integrated energy company Essar Energy increased by over a tenth on Monday afternoon after the firm increased its best estimate contingent resources at the Raniganj coal bed methane exploration block. Total proven and probable reserves at the block came in at 113bn
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks extend gains, RBS and IAG on the rise
23rd Jan 2012 11:46
- Markets await news from Greece. - Lagarde warns of "1930s moment"; - RBS rises on rumours of CEO waiving bonus. London's benchmark index had extended gains by midday with the market showing their optimism as investors awaited news from Greece. US stock futures were also pointing to a positive sta
Read moreBroker snap: IMI, Hunting, Rockhopper
23rd Jan 2012 11:29
UBS has downgraded industrial engineer IMI from buy to neutral, saying it "can't get excited" over the group's growth prospects. "We still like IMI's self-help story and balance sheet optionality but after the disappointment over Q3 growth, at least versus our expectations, combined with a recently
Read moreBroker snap: UBS downgrades IMI on 'lacklustre' growth
23rd Jan 2012 09:53
UBS has downgraded industrial engineer IMI from buy to neutral, saying it "can't get excited" over the group's growth prospects. "We still like IMI's self-help story and balance sheet optionality but after the disappointment over Q3 growth, at least versus our expectations, combined with a recently
Read moreMonday broker round-up - UPDATE
23rd Jan 2012 09:26
BAE Systems: Barclays Capital upgrades to overweight from neutral. Weir: JP Morgan downgrades to neutral from overweight. Royal Dutch: ING initiates coverage at buy. IMI: UBS downgrades from buy to neutral, target cut from 950p to 900p. Renishaw: UBS upgrades from neutral to buy, target hiked
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