Sector movers: Barclays, HSBC lead banks higher
8th Mar 2013 15:50
Strong economic data from the States pushed markets higher on Friday, with the banks benefitting from the bullish mood. UK banking heavyweights Barclays and HSBC were among the best performers on the FTSE 100 in afternoon trade. Barclays hit the headlines on Thursday night after its Chief Executiv
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks rise as market prices in strong US jobs data
8th Mar 2013 11:36
Markets maintained their positive bias on Friday morning as traders showed confidence ahead of a key reading of labour-market strength in the US later on, the February employment report. Increased risk appetite in London meant that financial stocks were leading the way higher today. Expectations r
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: GKN boosted by upgrade
4th Mar 2013 12:45
GKN shares rose into the top spot after Goldman Sachs raised its target price from 195p to 272p and upgraded the stock from sell to neutral. Capita Group followed closed behind after Jefferies raised its target price from 840p to 1,010p and kept a buy recommendation. The business process manager a
Read moreBoE says Funding-for-Lending Scheme will 'take time', as lending falls
4th Mar 2013 10:50
Just 13.8bn pounds was drawn down from the Bank of England (BoE) Funding-for-Lending Scheme (FLS) last year, figured published Monday revealed. The research also showed that net lending to UK households and business by FLS participants fell by £2.4bn during the three month period, compared to a ri
Read moreMonday broker round-up UPDATE
4th Mar 2013 07:12
Aggreko: JP Morgan takes target price from 1845p to 1870p, while reiterating a neutral rating. Anglo American: Nomura reduces target price from 1800p to 1700p and downgrades from neutral to reduce. ARM Holdings: Deutsche Bank increases target price from 400p to 445p, but still recommends selling.
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Bankers´ bonuses, Lloyds, Sterling
3rd Mar 2013 18:09
Banks are furious. Last week they were caught off guard after Germany, under pressure from negotiators at the EU parliament, changed sides in the debate over bankers´ bonuses. A compromise agreement had been struck in Brussels. Now however the European Union wants the caps to extend to employees of
Read moreSunday share tips: BHP Billiton, Lloyds, Greencoat
3rd Mar 2013 14:39
New management sometimes tries to leave its mark when it enters a company and so it will be with Andrew Mackenzie at miner BHP Billiton. However, as opposed to Marius Klopper, whom he will substitute, he is unlikely to unveil a world-beating takeover a few weeks into the job, points out The Times´s
Read moreLondon close: Strong US data prompts late rally...again
1st Mar 2013 17:13
For a third day in a row, the FTSE 100 index rallied in afternoon trade on the back of strong economic figures from America, as investors temporarily shrugged off concerns about the automatic spending cuts which kick in later today. US President Barack Obama met with congressional leaders this afte
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Capita leads the risers
1st Mar 2013 15:45
Outsourcing group Capita continued to be a high riser having said that it has acquired debt recovery specialists iQor Holdings UK and subsidiaries (iQor UK) for an enterprise value of 42m pounds. Insurance group Old Mutual was in demand after posting an 18% increase in annual profits in 2012, drive
Read moreLloyds sees shares drop as government prepares to offload stake - UPDATE
1st Mar 2013 15:14
Lloyds was one of the worst performing constituents on the FTSE 100 on Friday afternoon on speculation that the government is looking to sell its stake in the lender at a lower price than when it bailed out the bank five years ago. The government took a 39% interest in Lloyds during the financial c
Read moreLondon midday: Risk appetite declines as US budget cuts loom
1st Mar 2013 12:04
After an initial stint in positive territory, UK stock markets swung sharply into the red by Friday lunchtime as concerns about budget cuts in the US take their toll on risk appetite. Sequestration is continuing to dominate headlines this morning as the deadline for across-the-board automatic budge
Read moreBroker tips: Lloyds, Man Group, William Hill
1st Mar 2013 11:48
Canaccord Genuity has retained its 'hold' rating and 35p target price for UK banking group Lloyds after a mixed set of full-year results on Friday morning. As for the stock's valuation, Canaccord said that unless the regulator allows an earlier resumption of ordinary dividend - something that is li
Read moreBroker snap: Canaccord keeps 'hold' of Lloyds after mixed results
1st Mar 2013 10:39
Canaccord Genuity has retained its 'hold' rating and 35p target price for UK banking group Lloyds after a mixed set of full-year results on Friday morning. Underlying (core) profit before tax came in at £2.61bn for 2012, well ahead of Canaccord's £2.31bn estimate. While income and costs were bang
Read moreLondon open: Footsie edges higher despite mining weakness
1st Mar 2013 09:02
UK stocks opened broadly higher on Friday morning but a disappointing reading of Chinese manufacturing weighed on the mining sector, limiting gains for the resource-heavy FTSE 100 index. The official Chinese manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell from 50.4 to 50.1 in February. While t
Read moreLondon pre-open: FTSE to track US stocks lower
1st Mar 2013 07:36
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 20 points from yesterday's close of 6,361, tracking losses seen in the US in late trading last night. The decline came after it became clear the automatic budget cuts of $85bn were likely to come into play on Friday after neither a Republican nor a
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