Thursday broker round-up
4th Dec 2014 08:46
Aberdeen: Charles Stanley downgrades to 'hold'. Afren: Canaccord reduces target price from 115p to 65p, while staying with its 'speculative buy' recommendation. Amino Technologies: Northland moves target price from 120p to 130p and retains a 'buy' recommendation. Belgravium Technologies: WH Irelan
Read moreLondon open: UK stocks tread water ahead of BoE, ECB policy meetings
4th Dec 2014 08:38
The UK stock market opened more or less unchanged on Thursday as investors scaled back their risk appetite ahead of a busy day, with central bank meetings lying ahead in the UK and Europe. While both the Bank of England and European Central Bank are expected to leave monetary policy unchanged, all e
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Google Tax, Stamp duty, Heathrow...
3rd Dec 2014 20:32
The UK will launch a crackdown on multinational tax avoidance with a hefty new tax helmed by George Osborne. The 25% levy described as the 'Google Tax' will target big tech giants such as Apple, Google as well as other globally renowned firms such as Amazon and Starbucks, preventing them from shifti
Read moreThursday broker round-up
27th Nov 2014 10:15
Amlin: Numis upgrades to 'buy' with a target price of 535p. Amerisur Resources: PeelHunt lowers target price from 58p to 50p and reiterates a 'hold' recommendation. Associated British Foods: Citi raises target price from 3100p to 3700p and maintains its 'buy' recommendation. Avingtrans: FinnCap up
Read moreRBS apologises for misleading MPs
24th Nov 2014 08:25
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has apologised for misleading a parliamentary committee over its treatment of small businesses. The bank's chairman, Sir Philip Hampton, admitted evidence given by two executives was wrong, though he insisted the executive had made "a genuine mistake". Andrew Tyrie, the
Read moreLondon open: UK markets pause at two-month high, but Petrofac plummets
24th Nov 2014 08:24
UK stocks opened broadly flat on Monday with markets pausing for breath after hitting a two-month high last week. The FTSE 100 was trading down just 0.04% at 6,748 in early deals, with oilfield services group Petrofac providing a drag after a profit warning. The index finished Friday at 6,750.76, a
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Aviva-Friends Life, Coutts, Quindell
23rd Nov 2014 18:15
Clive Cowdery, whose Resolution acquisition vehicle bought Friends Provident in 2009, will make about £160m from Aviva's takeover of Friends Life, the Sunday Times said. The roles of chairman, chief executive and finance director at the combined company will go to the Aviva incumbents, according to
Read moreRBS admits to error in stress-test calculation, capital ratio revised lower
21st Nov 2014 16:20
The Royal Bank of Scotland has admitted to an error it made when calculating its capital ratio for the latest round of stress tests in Europe, saying it had "overstated" its estimated common equity tier-1 ratio (CET1). In the published stress tests results by the European Banking Authority (EBA) in
Read moreLondon close: Hopes of Chinese and European economic stimulus lift stocks
21st Nov 2014 16:17
A surprise cut in Chinese interest rates and hints about quantitative easing in Europe put London traders in a bullish mood on Friday. The People's Bank of China cheered markets by reducing its one-year benchmark lending rate by 40 basis points to 5.6% to lift an economy on course for its slowest an
Read moreLondon midday: UK stocks fall as global PMI data dampens sentiment
20th Nov 2014 11:45
The UK stock market slumped on Thursday as a wave of disappointing economic data and speculation about a looming interest-rate hike in the States prompted investors to tread cautiously. London's FTSE 100 was down 0.7% at 6,649 by midday, with the heavyweight mining sector providing a drag as figures
Read moreLondon open: Manufacturing PMIs, FOMC minutes push UK stocks lower
20th Nov 2014 08:31
Weak economic data from China and the Eurozone and a hawkish set of Federal Reserve minutes pushed UK stock markets lower on Thursday morning. The FTSE 100 in London was trading down 0.3% at 6,675 in early deals. The preliminary HSBC purchasing managers' index (PMI) for Chinese manufacturing releas
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks set to slip after FOMC minutes
20th Nov 2014 07:58
UK stocks are expected to fall slightly on Thursday morning as investors react to the latest set of minutes from a policy meeting at the Federal Reserve. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around eight points lower than Wednesday's close of 6,696.60. Minutes from the late-October Federal O
Read moreFCA and BoE fine RBS for IT failures
20th Nov 2014 07:11
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England (BoE) have fined Royal Bank of Scotland £56m for the computer failures that hit more than over 6.5m UK customers for several weeks in 2012. As expected, the financial regulator said it had fined RBS, and its NatWest and Ulster Bank subsid
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Federal Reserve, Lloyds, RBS...
19th Nov 2014 18:27
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's October meeting showed that it was an "easy decision" by policymakers to end quantitative easing, writes the Financial Times. The paper says that minutes showed "little debate or dissent" over the move and underlines a more hawkish stance among the committee.
Read moreTuesday broker round-up
18th Nov 2014 09:42
Aggreko: HSBC raises target price from 1550p to 1650p and maintains a neutral rating. Al Noor Hospitals: Citi initiates with a target price of 1240p and a buy recommendation. Barclays: Credit Suisse ups target price from 230p to 250p and keeps a neutral rating. Bodycote: JP Morgan cuts target pric
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