Tuesday newspaper round-up: WM Morrison, Pensions, Osborne
29th Sep 2014 22:20
Wm Morrison's former treasurer and head of tax has been charged with two offences of insider dealing by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. Paul Coyle was arrested in December in North Yorkshire, as part of an investigation the FCA said was related to trad
Read morePetrofac chief financial officer acquires 20,000 shares
16th Sep 2014 16:17
Tim Weller, the chief financial officer of Petrofac, has acquired 20,000 shares in the oil and gas group. The director spent 510.50p on each of shares, giving the deal a total trade value of £206,606. The transaction takes Weller's stake in the company to 77,068. It comes just a few weeks after th
Read moreLondon midday: UK stocks near one-month low as retailers drop
16th Sep 2014 11:49
UK stocks were trading at levels not seen in nearly a month on Tuesday as a sharp drop in German economic confidence and disappointing data from China dampened sentiment. A profit warning from online fashion retailer ASOS and a disappointing updates from Thomas Cook, N Brown and Crest Nicholson were
Read moreFriday tips round-up: Next
12th Sep 2014 12:12
Fashion retailer Next’s latest trading statement showed that its Directories business grew at a slower rate than its stores even after making allowance for new outlets – a first for the firm. So it’s fair for investors to ask where the growth will come from going forward? Fortunate
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Next results fall short of City expectations
11th Sep 2014 14:53
FTSE 100 retailer Next confirmed total sales growth of 10.3% in the first half and slightly upgraded its full-year earnings guidance, but shares slumped after the figures fell short of City analysts' ambitious forecasts. Retail stores and its online business both delivered significant growth to lift
Read moreSector movers: Retailers fall as Next and Home Retail disappoint
11th Sep 2014 13:00
Poorly-received updates from the likes of Next and Home Retail Group ensured that the UK-listed general retail sector was firmly in the red on Thursday afternoon. High street giant Next delivered a solid first half with both sales and profits ahead of the company's original expectations, but under a
Read moreLondon midday: Miners pull UK stocks lower after weak Chinese data
11th Sep 2014 11:56
Weakness in the heavyweight mining sector pushed UK equity markets into the red on Thursday, outweighing a decent performance by financial stocks. Underwhelming interim results from the likes of Morrisons and Next were also weighing on sentiment in London. The FTSE 100 was trading 0.4% lower at 6,8
Read moreLondon open: UK markets flat despite decent gains from banks
11th Sep 2014 08:28
Despite decent gains by Royal Bank of Scotland, the UK stock market opened more or less flat on Thursday morning as investors speculated about stimulus measures in China. London's FTSE 100 was trading at 6,828 in early deals, down slightly on Wednesday's close of 6,830.11. While concerns about the
Read moreLondon pre-open: FTSE to track gains in the US
11th Sep 2014 07:44
Blue chips are expected to begin the day on a positive note on Thursday, lifted by an upbeat performance in the US overnight and following comments from the Bank of England (BoE) Governor about the risk of Scottish independence on bank stability. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around 20
Read moreNext lifts earnings guidance after solid interims
11th Sep 2014 07:21
FTSE 100 retailer Next confirmed total sales growth of 10.3% in the first-half and slightly upgraded full-year earnings guidance, but fell short of City analysts' ambitious forecasts. Retail stores and its online business both delivered significant growth to lift profit before tax 19.3% to £324.2m f
Read moreThursday preview: Wm Morrison dividend in focus
10th Sep 2014 15:43
Tomorrow is “Super Thursday” for retail followers in the City, with interim results from FTSE 100 heavyweights Next and Morrison, as well as but also a quarterly updates from FTSE 250 pair Ocado and Home Retail, together with updates from small caps Dunelm and Darty and the privately hel
Read moreLondon close: Referendum jitters weigh on stocks
9th Sep 2014 18:20
London shares ended Tuesday’s session in the red as jitters about the Scottish independence referendum offset more positive economic news. The FTSE 100 Index closed 5.77 points down at 6,829 as investors chewed over one poll giving Scottish separatists the lead and another with the ‘no&r
Read moreLondon close: Inflation in focus as geopolitical tensions ease
19th Aug 2014 16:59
- FTSE closes up 38.06 at 6,779.31 - UK CPI drops to 1.6% - US housing starts jump 15.7% in July techMARK 2,800.98 +0.68% FTSE 100 6,779.31 +0.56% FTSE 250 15,895.26 +0.63% It was another positive finish for London's blue chips on Tuesday, which saw a jump at the opening bell followed by relativel
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Retailers, housebuilders lead gains
19th Aug 2014 16:24
Retailers Kingfisher, Sports Direct and Next were occupying the top 10 on the FTSE on Tuesday, while housebuilders were also performing well as forecasts for a rate hike were pushed back after the inflation figures. Persimmon moved higher after pleasing with a 57% jumped in first-half profits, whi
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
1st Aug 2014 10:33
AstraZeneca: Deutsche Bank ups target price from 3950p to 4000p staying with its hold recommendation. Avacta: Numis places both its target price and its buy recommendation under review. Barclays: Berenberg upgrades from sell to hold with a target price of 220p. Bodycote: UBS shifts target price f
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