Wednesday broker round-up UPDATE
21st Nov 2012 07:10
Avocet Mining: Goldman Sachs downgrades from neutral to sell. Barr (AG):Numis upgrades to add with a traget price of 525p. British Land: Morgan Stanley raises target price from 540p to 570p and upgrades to overweight. Jefferies raises target price from 554p to 561p, hold recommendation maintained.
Read moreLondon 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
Read moreLondon 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
Read moreTuesday broker round-up UPDATE
20th Nov 2012 07:17
Beowulf Mining: Seymour Pierce initiates coverage with a buy recommendation and a target price of 18p. Berkeley Group: JP Morgan raises target price from 1616p to 1620p, overweight rating kept. Blinkx: Citigroup downgrades from buy to neutral. Compass Group: Investec raises target price from 740p
Read moreLondon 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
Read moreSector 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
Read moreLloyds to sell off Irish commercial loan portfolio in early 2013
19th Nov 2012 12:35
Lloyds Banking Group has announced that it is selling a portfolio of Irish commercial real estate loans as part of its strategy to de-risk its balance sheet and reduce its non-core assets. The portfolio will sell for £149m, and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2013. The sale pro
Read moreBroker 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
Read moreBroker 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
Read moreSunday 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
Read moreLondon close: Footsie closes at worst levels since July
16th Nov 2012 16:37
- Stocks shaken by Middle-East tensions, reports of oil rig fire - US lawmakers class 'cliff' discussions as 'constructive' - Greek haircut worries dent sentiment The FTSE 100 sunk to its lowest level since July on Friday as rising tensions in the Middle East, Eurozone debt concerns and the worries
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie nears four-month low
16th Nov 2012 11:34
- Footsie near levels not seen since end of July - 'Fiscal cliff' and Greek uncertainty clouds the markets - Melrose drops 13 per cent After a fairly subdued start, UK stocks had sunk firmly into negative territory for the third straight day, owing to some heavy falls from Melrose, the banks and re
Read moreLondon open: Stocks flat ahead of US budget talks
16th Nov 2012 08:27
The UK benchmark index opened flat on Friday morning as investors turn to the US where President Barack Obama is to hold budget talks in Congress to discuss the impending 'fiscal cliff'. The Footsie finished yesterday's session at 5,678, its lowest closing value since September 5th when it finished
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: ITV soars after beating market expectations
13th Nov 2012 14:59
Shares in ITV leapt after the broadcaster beat market expectations, despite net advertising revenue falling in the third quarter. NAR for the 'ITV Family' was down 10% in July, down 9% in August and down 1% in September, after taking a hit from the Olympics and Paralympics, which were shown on the B
Read moreLondon close: Stocks finish flat as Eurogroup meets
12th Nov 2012 17:00
- Eyes turn to Eurogroup meeting - Greece approves 2013 budget - Japanese GDP decline worse than feared Concerns about Greece and a worse-than-expected contraction in Japan meant that it was a rather subdued day on the UK stock market on Monday, with the FTSE 100 broadly unchanged by the close. "E
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