London open: Stocks flat as earnings season kicks off
14th Jan 2013 08:34
London's benchmark index opened more or less flat in early trading on Monday ahead of the official start of corporate earnings season in the US. "Attention remains on corporate earnings this week; in particular the banks, with Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan among others due to report. With earnings ex
Read moreLondon pre-open: Positive start to the year set to continue
14th Jan 2013 07:33
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 14 points from Friday's close of 6,122, extending its strong start to the year. This follows a broadly flat finish in the US on Friday evening, ahead of what is a big week for the banks as the fourth-quarter earnings season kicks into gear. In UK co
Read moreHammerson Chairman to be succeeded by Sainsbury's head
14th Jan 2013 07:07
John Nelson, the Chairman of FTSE 100 real estate investment trust Hammerson is to retire from the company this spring and will be succeeded by Sainsbury's Chairman David Tyler. Nelson, 64, has been working on the board of Hammerson since May 2004 and has previously held positions on the boards of
Read moreAsda boardroom shake-up could benefit rivals
11th Jan 2013 15:21
The relocation by Asda's Chief Operating Officer (COO) to parent company Wal-Mart may not have grabbed the headlines in the supermarket industry on Friday, but one analyst believes that the move has positive read-through for Asda's rivals in the UK. Judith McKenna, who has worked for Asda for many
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
11th Jan 2013 07:01
Aberdeen Asset Management: Credit Suisse raises target price from 380p to 410p reiterating an outperform rating. Afren: Deutsche Bank cuts target price from 175p to 165p stayling with its buy rating. Ashmore Group: Credit Suisse moves target price from 380p to 375p and downgrades to underperform.
Read moreSector movers: Tesco lifts retail sector higher
10th Jan 2013 16:18
The food and drug retail sector was performing well on Thursday afternoon, with a strong rise from Tesco offsetting weakness elsewhere. Shares in supermarket giant Tesco were up 2.28% at 357.1p in afternoon trade today after the company's trading update for the six weeks to January 5th. Sales durin
Read moreBroker tips: Tesco, Sainsbury, M&S
10th Jan 2013 10:59
Seymour Pierce has maintained its 'reduce' recommendation for supermarket titan Tesco in spite of headline sales figures coming in ahead of expectations on Thursday. Like-for-like UK sales excluding petrol and VAT rose 1.8% in the six weeks to January 5th, above the consensus estimated growth range
Read moreBroker snap: Credit Suisse takes more cautious view on Sainsbury's future
10th Jan 2013 10:37
While Credit Suisse has labelled Sainsbury's third-quarter performance as 'robust', the broker decided to take a more cautious view for the supermarket's outlook for 2013/14. An 'underperform' rating and 285p target price for the shares has been maintained. The company's third-quarter like-for-lik
Read moreLondon pre-open: FTSE to nudge higher
10th Jan 2013 07:35
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up two points from yesterday's close of 6,099, taking its lead from Asia where gains were seen after notably stronger-than-expected data emerged from China. UK markets closed significantly higher on Wednesday, up 45 points (equal to £11.41bn), with the i
Read moreThursday broker round-up UPDATE
10th Jan 2013 07:10
Afren: Morgan Stanley takes target price from 215p to 220p and reiterates an overweight rating. Alent: Bank of America starts with a target price of 370p and a buy recommendation. Associated British Foods: Goldman Sachs moves its target price from 1160p to 1190p and maintains a sell rating. AVEVA
Read moreThursday tips round-up: Sainsbury's, Aviva, Hikma Pharmaceuticals
10th Jan 2013 07:10
Sainsbury's update yesterday revealed that Christmas same-store sales rose at the lowest rate seen in eight years. However, Questor thinks there was a lot to be optimistic about in the announcement. The company's like-for-like sales met expectations and its higher-margin (but cheaper) own-label good
Read moreLondon close: Index closes at highest level since 2008
9th Jan 2013 16:33
UK markets closed significantly higher on Wednesday, up 45 points equal to 11.41bn pounds, with the index closing at its highest level since May 22nd 2008. The gains were led by banking stocks after UBS hiked its targets for the Lloyds, Barclays and RBS, saying 'the UK is over its experiment of co
Read moreThursday preview: Tesco unveils trading results
9th Jan 2013 14:54
Tesco will be on everyone's lips Thursday as the world's third largest retailer releases a trading update. The supermarket giant was falling 0.80% to 348.65p on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the announcement. That, despite a hike in shares in the lead up to trading results from other major retaile
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks soar on UBS upgrade
9th Jan 2013 14:53
Banks were leading the risers on Wednesday after UBS hiked its targets for the Lloyds, Barclays and RBS, saying 'the UK is over its experiment of combining fiscal and monetary austerity'. The broker revised its price target on Lloyds to 60p (from 50p), for Barclays to 315p (from 255p) and RBS to 410
Read moreSainsbury's Christmas bonanza fails to excite market
9th Jan 2013 10:46
Sainsbury's may have enjoyed a record-breaking Christmas and increased its market share but investors did not share the firm's celebratory mood. The company's shares were down 3.5% by 1030 as pessimists latched onto news that like-for-like sales growth of 0.9% in the third quarter had dropped marke
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