London midday: Stocks erase gains after UK construction data, Eurozone growth forecasts
4th Nov 2014 11:25
A slowdown in UK construction expansion and downgrades to Eurozone growth forecasts hit UK stocks on Tuesday morning, with the FTSE 100 having erased early gains by lunchtime. Well-received results from Imperial Tobacco, Associated British Foods and Legal & General weren't enough to prop up the benc
Read moreBerenberg says 'buy' Legal & General on buoyant annuities
4th Nov 2014 10:53
Broker Berenberg is advising investors to take cover in Legal & General after the insurer and pension provider doubled its annuity sales target for 2014 despite turbulence caused by a UK government pension shake-up. L&G on Tuesday said its retirement arm completed £3.9bn of annuity sales in the nine
Read moreLondon open: FTSE rises as earnings impress, but oil stocks fall
4th Nov 2014 08:31
The UK stock market opened tentatively on Tuesday, with declines in the energy sector offsetting some well-received results from blue chips Legal & General, Associated British Foods and Imperial Tobacco. The FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 6,503 in early deals. However, upside was being limited by falls fr
Read moreLegal & General reaps annuity record despite pension shake-up
4th Nov 2014 07:34
Insurance and pensions group Legal & General (L&G) racked up record annuity sales despite British government changes that have relaxed obligations on people to buy annuities to save for their retirement. L&G said its retirement arm completed £3.9bn of annuity sales in the nine months to September, o
Read moreFriday tips round-up: National Express, Aviva
31st Oct 2014 11:39
National Express seems to be on a firm footing, with a sound base from which to expand into new territories. Nevertheless, the company's chief executive, Mr. Finch, has experienced some setbacks of late. His outfit wasn't picked for Crossrail and he decided not to compete on TransPennine or Northern
Read moreSector movers: Insurers prop up the Footsie
8th Oct 2014 17:05
The insurance sector led the way higher on Wednesday, led by gains in Prudential and Legal & General. Insurers' share prices got a boost from a positive research note on the global insurance sector from Citi analysts. The broker estimates that free-cash-flow yields for global insurers in 2015 are i
Read moreTuesday broker round-up UPDATE
23rd Sep 2014 09:36
AVEVA: JP Morgan reduces target price from 2450p to 1825p, while leaving its overweight rating unchanged. African Minerals: Credit Suisse reduces target price from 120p to 25p, while leaving its neutral rating unchanged. Aviva: Goldman Sachs ups target price from 490p to 515p and reiterates a neutr
Read moreLegal & General's divisional CEO to step down
16th Sep 2014 10:35
Savings and investment provider Legal & General has announced that John Pollock, executive director and chief executive (CEO) of its assurance society division, will step down in May. Having joined the firm in 1980, Pollock was appointed to the board in 2003 and has covered a variety of senior posts
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: BoE, Iraq, Legal & General...
13th Aug 2014 07:13
The Bank of England will publish its latest quarterly outlook for the UK economy [Wednesday], with homeowners and savers alike looking for any indication of when interest rates may begin to rise. November this year or February 2015 remain the best guesses of economists with Britain's economic recove
Read moreRBS hands directors £3.5m in shares
12th Aug 2014 21:17
Royal Bank of Scotland on Tuesday handed 10 directors share allowances worth £3.5m under a new plan by the bank to work around strict rules on bonuses. The directors were given just under 1.02m shares, but sold around 0.48m to satisfy an associated tax liability, the bank said. The sales raised aro
Read moreMonday broker round-up UPDATE
11th Aug 2014 10:22
Avacta Group: Numis lowers target price from 2p to 1.6p retaining its buy recommendation. Braemer Shipping Services: Westhouse Securities reinstates with a target price of 545p and a buy recommendation. British Land: Liberum Capital upgrades to buy with a target price of 763p. Catlin Group: Deuts
Read moreLegal & General beats forecasts, raises interim dividend by 21%
6th Aug 2014 10:45
Growth of 20% in the stock of annuity assets to £38.5bn in the first six months of the year drove a 9% rise in profits after tax at insurance group Legal&General, to reach £507m. Operating profits improved by 11% to hit £636m. That was slightly better than the £631m which the analyst consensus had
Read moreLondon pre-open: Ukraine crisis to send UK stocks lower early on
6th Aug 2014 07:46
Heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine, a late sell-off on Wall Street and a surprise drop in German factory orders are expected to feed into a lower open for UK markets on Wednesday. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around 40 points lower than Tuesday's close of 6,682.48. After
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Bank Rate, Income tax, Cameron
30th Jun 2014 07:32
Interest rates are likely to hit 5% within a decade, according to the outgoing Bank of England deputy governor for monetary policy. Sir Charlie Bean said it would be "reasonable" to expect borrowing costs to return to pre-recession levels in the long term - between five and 10 years. - The Guardian
Read moreThursday broker round-up UPDATE
19th Jun 2014 08:56
BAE Systems: Westhouse Securities initiates with a target price of 360p and a sell recommendation. Berkeley Group: Deutsche Bank increases target price from 2587p to 2877p retaining a hold recommendation. Jefferies raises target price from 2477p to 2543p and keeps a hold recommendation. BG Group:
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