London open: Japanese data dents the miners
22nd Aug 2012 08:30
- Japan swings to massive trade deficit - Greece to ask officials for more time - BHP and the miners fall steeply early on Following a strong rise for mining stocks on Tuesday, the sector was providing a drag in London this morning after gloomy economic data from Japan dampened sentiment and scale
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 moreThursday broker round-up
16th Aug 2012 10:06
Aegis: UBS downgrades to neutral. Babcock: Espirito Santo downgrades to neutral. Balfour Beeatty: HB Markets downgrades to hold; Deutsche Bank downgrades to hold. BG Group: Morgan Stanley downgrades to equal weight. Capital Shopping Centres: Oriel Securities upgrades to hold. Carclo: N+1 Brewin
Read moreSector movers: Standard Life boosts insurance sector
14th Aug 2012 16:38
Life assurance giant Standard Life jumped on Tuesday, giving a big lift to the life insurance sector, which was at the top of the pile in afternoon trade. Standard Life saw profits rise in the first half after a strong performance in the UK, its biggest market. Operating profit before tax was up 15
Read moreLondon close: Footsie stages late recovery
10th Aug 2012 16:47
After trading in the red for most of the day Footsie put in a late spurt in the last half hour to claw back most of the day's losses. Shares, and in particular miners, had been on the back foot after some disappointing trade data from China. Chinese exports grew 1.0% from a year earlier in July,
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Market approves new Barclays Chairman
10th Aug 2012 14:46
Scandal-hit bank Barclays is to appoint City veteran Sir David Walker as its new Chairman. Walker will join the board on September 1st before replacing the outgoing Chairman, Marcus Agius, in November. Sector peer Standard Chartered, which has been embroiled in a scandal over its wholly-owned subsi
Read moreLondon midday: City approves of new Barclays Chairman
10th Aug 2012 11:54
Footsie bumbled along for most of the morning a little in the red, weighed down by mining stocks, which have been under selling pressure after weak Chinese trade data. The top-share index did briefly venture into positive territory around 11:00 but with US futures markets pointing to a soft opening
Read moreSouth-east Asia gingers up Pru's performance
10th Aug 2012 09:29
Asia continues to be the driving force behind growth at insurance giant Prudential, as the US and European businesses battle weakening economic conditions. "Asia delivered a 21% rise in IFRS [international financial reporting standards] operating profit and an 18% rise in new business profit. Impor
Read moreFriday preview: Pru set for US boost
9th Aug 2012 18:08
Prudential completes a week of results from the big insurers, and broker Jefferies think US variable annuity (VA) hedge costs will be the focus of the interim results. "VA hedge costs have doubled over the last 12 months mainly due to lower interest rates. As recently as November, Jackson's [Jackso
Read moreTuesday broker round-up
7th Aug 2012 09:22
AB Foods: Nomura cuts target from 1,400p to 1,380p, buy rating kept. BBA Aviation: Jefferies keeps buy rating and 250p target. Big Yellow: Goldman Sachs upgrades to conviction buy, target lifted from 360p to 390p. Devro: Investec keeps buy rating and 355p target. Diageo: Investec lifts target fr
Read moreMonday broker round-up
6th Aug 2012 08:26
AstraZeneca: UBS ups target from 3,500p to 3,600p, buy rating kept. Berkeley: Investec raises target from 1,500p to 1,560p, buy rating kept. Catlin: Nomura reiterates buy rating and 506p target. Centrica: Deutsche Bank downgrades to hold from buy, target cut from 365p to 320p. Falkland Oil and G
Read moreSector movers: Miners, financials gain after US jobs data
3rd Aug 2012 15:50
There were no sectors in the red on Friday in London as some uplifting economic data from the US increased investors' risk appetite. Some 163,000 US payrolls were added in July, well ahead of the 100,000 expected by economists. Meanwhile, the non-manufacturing index from the Institute for Supply Ma
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: RBS, Glaxo, National Grid
15th Jul 2012 15:34
Two powerful private equity consortiums are secretly planning to bid for Direct Line, the giant insurer owned by Royal Bank of Scotland ? a move that would scupper a planned float. RBS is expected to push the button on a London listing of Direct Line in September. Two American buyout giants, Blackst
Read moreLondon close: Stocks lifted by production data, Spanish aid
10th Jul 2012 17:15
- UK industrial production up one per cent in May - UK still in recession, says NIESR - Chinese import data disappoints Some better-than-expected production data from the UK helped lift stocks on Tuesday, while falling borrowing costs in the Eurozone periphery also helped to lighten the mood. UK i
Read moreLondon close: Markets look to Fed for more stimulus
20th Jun 2012 16:32
-Greek forms new coalition government -MPC divided on more QE -Markets await the Fed decision later today News of the formation of a Greek coalition and hopes of further stimulus measures in the UK and the US gave stocks a lift on Wednesday afternoon. New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras was swor
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