FTSE 100 movers: Banks rise on Eurozone outlook
17th Aug 2012 15:35
Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds were in demand today as banking stocks across Europe made gains on improving developments in the Eurozone, boosted by comments from German Chancellor Angela Merkel which expressed strong support for the 'save the euro at any cost' stance of European Centra
Read moreBroker tips: Lloyds, Lonmin, Laird
17th Aug 2012 12:35
Given Lloyds's resilient share price performance so far this year, Investec has downgraded its rating on the bank from 'buy' to 'hold'. Analyst Ian Gordon said: "Up 27%, Lloyds' shareholders can take satisfaction from the stock's year-to-date outperformance against all other UK banks." Nevertheles
Read moreBroker snap: Investec downgrades Lloyds after outperformance
17th Aug 2012 12:21
Given Lloyds's resilient share price performance so far this year, Investec has downgraded its rating on the bank from 'buy' to 'hold'. Analyst Ian Gordon said: "Up 27%, Lloyds' shareholders can take satisfaction from the stock's year-to-date outperformance against all other UK banks." He said tha
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks hold on to gains
17th Aug 2012 11:58
- Merkel backs Draghi's bond-buying proposal - Finland says to prepare for a Eurozone break-up - Lonmin pares losses after violent protests UK stocks edged higher on Friday morning on the back of positive remarks from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, though gains were also modest with just 19 point
Read moreFriday broker round-up
17th Aug 2012 09:22
Afren: Goldman Sachs downgrades to neutral. Borders & Southern Petroleum: Goldman Sachs downgrades to neutral. Coastal Energy: Goldman Sachs upgrades to buy. CRH: Credit Suisse downgrades to underperform. ENRC: Nomura cuts target from 500p to 400p, reduce rating kept. Faroe Petroleum: Goldman S
Read moreLondon open: Stocks rise as Merkel backs bond-buying
17th Aug 2012 08:24
- Merkel backs Draghi's pledge to do 'whatever it takes' - Lonmin drops as violence at South African mine escalates - European banks make gains Banking stocks were pulling the Footsie higher on Friday morning as optimism regarding the Eurozone increased with Angela Merkel backing Mario Draghi's bon
Read moreLondon close: Stocks rally on hopes for Spain
16th Aug 2012 16:52
- Spanish aid hopes drive stocks late on - Global economic data comes in mixed - Miners, banks rise in afternoon trade The Footsie rallied in afternoon trade, tracking European markets higher on the back of increased speculation that Spain could be close to requesting some sort of aid to help its a
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners rise on stimulus hopes
16th Aug 2012 15:33
The mining sector was broadly higher on Thursday on hopes that potential stimulus measures in China would boost the demand for commodities. Evraz, Kazakhmys, Vedanta and Fresnillo were among the best performers. Banking peers Lloyds and RBS were also making decent gains, despite news that they, al
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks fall despite retail data and stimulus hopes
16th Aug 2012 11:46
- UK retail sales beat estimates in July - Investors eye US data - Chinese stimulus hopes increase After a pretty subdued start, the Footsie had fallen further into the red by Thursday lunchtime in spite of some better-than-expected UK retail sales data. Sales volumes rose by 0.3% during July, up
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie stays lower despite jobless data
15th Aug 2012 11:38
- MPC in wait-and-see mode - UK jobless rates falls more than expected - StanChart, Resolution lead the risers UK equities were stuck in the red by Wednesday lunchtime as minutes from the latest rate-setting meeting at the Bank of England dampened expectations that the Monetary Policy Committee (MP
Read moreBroker snap: Investec downgrades HSBC, sees more upside elsewhere
15th Aug 2012 10:21
Investec has moved its recommendation on banking giant HSBC from 'buy' to 'hold', saying that there is limited upside left in the stock. "Despite recent relative share price underperformance, we would argue that HSBC's shares have held up reasonably well in the context of its broad-based money laun
Read moreLondon open: Tobacco stocks provide a drag early on
15th Aug 2012 08:28
- Greece to ask for more time - Markets await MPC minutes - Tobacco stocks fall on Australian plain packaging issue UK stocks slipped on Wednesday morning on the back of concerns over Greece and ahead of a keenly awaited report on US industrial output; tobacco companies were leading the decline in
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks to track losses in Asia
15th Aug 2012 07:26
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 25 points from yesterday's close of 5,865, tracking losses seen overnight in Asia. Investors are also awaiting the release of minutes from the latest policy meeting of the Bank of England, as well as the July employment report from the Office for Na
Read moreLloyds to offload loss-making private equity portfolio
15th Aug 2012 07:01
UK banking group Lloyds is intending to sell its interest in a portfolio of private equity-related investments worth over a billion pounds which made a loss last year. The lender said that it has agreed the sale of the investment, with gross assets of around £1,050m and the transfer of underway com
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Petrofac and the miners provide a drag
13th Aug 2012 15:26
Oilfield services firm Petrofac was leading the fallers on the Footsie on Monday afternoon despite reporting a strong first half as investors turned cautious on the pace of growth going forward Earnings per share were up 32% to 94.8c, with pre-tax profits rising to $412.5m, from $300m the year befo
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