London open: Eurozone GDP figures worry markets early on
15th May 2013 08:39
Worse-than-expected growth figures from Eurozone powerhouses Germany and France dampened market sentiment in London on Wednesday morning, as stocks pulled back after hitting fresh multiyear highs the day before. The FTSE 100 finished Tuesday's session at 6,686 after nine straight days in positive t
Read moreThursday broker round-up UPDATE
9th May 2013 07:23
Alkane Energy: Liberum Capital initiates with a target price of 44p and a buy recommendation. Anite: Panmure Gordon shifts target price from 170p to 171p and maintains a buy recommendation. Atkins: Credit Suisse raises target price from 770p to 822p, but downgrades to underperform. Avacta Group:
Read moreBroker snap: Sage stock is expensive, says Investec
8th May 2013 13:39
British software company Sage posted a six per cent increase in first half pre-tax profit of 184m pounds which met market forecasts. The company, which provides software to more than 6.0m small businesses, reported a 3.0% rise in underlying revenue as more customers subscribed to its accountancy pa
Read moreLondon midday: Slow grind higher continues
8th May 2013 11:41
Equities in London are continuing their slow grind higher, with the benchmark Footsie now gaining 19 points to the 6,576 point mark. That followed yesterday´s rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average to above the 15,000 point mark for the first time in its 117 year history and stronger-than-expected
Read moreWednesday broker round-up UPDATE
8th May 2013 09:08
Altitude Group: WH Ireland initiates with a target price of 50p and a buy recommendation. Betfair Group: Deutsche Bank increases target price from 725p to 884p, while staying with its hold recommendation. Nomura raises target price from 766p to 883p and reiterates a neutral rating. Exane BNP ups ta
Read moreSage CFO announces plans to exit and take up role at WANDisco
8th May 2013 07:03
Sage Group, the FTSE 100 listed company which provides business management software, has announced that its Chief Financial Officer has given notice of his plan to leave to take up the same role at WANDisco. He will leave at the end of August this year, the company said, adding that it has started i
Read moreWeek ahead: All eyes on Sainsbury and Sage
3rd May 2013 16:00
Next week looks set to be somewhat quieter than the one just gone, partly because of the Bank Holiday on the Monday and partly because of less market-moving economic events that we have seen as of late, such as the rate cut in Europe and the all-important US jobs report. Nevertheless, a handful of
Read moreSage completes sale of four non-core assets
2nd May 2013 08:01
Business management software provider Sage has completed the sale of four of its non-core assets, namely C&I, ATL, Automotive and Aytos. The assets were sold as part of a seven-part deal which will earn the company £93.4m, the proceeds of which are being returned to shareholders. Sage has previo
Read moreBroker tips: Barclays, Sage, United Utilities
26th Apr 2013 12:49
Tradenext has recommended investors to pick up shares of banking giant Barclays at current levels, highlighting the company's M&A business and 'Transform Programme'. Barclays' shares dipped below 290p on Friday morning after rising to an intraday high of 305p on Wednesday after its first-quarter re
Read moreBroker snap: Sage a 'hold' ahead of interims, says Panmure
26th Apr 2013 12:44
Panmure Gordon has kept its 'hold' rating and 309p target price for accountancy software group Sage ahead of its interim results in May. "The mixture of a poor macro, on-going challenges in Europe, a punchy valuation, the share price ahead of our target price and downgrades from the peer group mean
Read moreThursday broker round-up UPDATE
18th Apr 2013 07:16
African Barrick Gold: Investec reduces target price from 315p to 286p keeping a hold recommendation. BHP Billiton: JP Morgan cuts target price from 2380p to 2330p, while leaving its neutral rating unchanged. Deutsche Bank lowers target price from 2350p to 2334p keeping a buy recommendation. Big Ye
Read moreSage Group completes disposals
21st Mar 2013 09:12
Accountancy software giant Sage Group has completed the sale of Sage ACT! and Sage Saleslogix to Swiftpage and Sage Nonprofit Solutions to Accel-KKR, following agreements made in February. The share price was 1.58% lower at 336.10p by 09:15. NR
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 breaches 6,500 despite mixed data
11th Mar 2013 16:30
The FTSE 100 breached the psychological barrier of 6,500 on Monday afternoon, hitting fresh five-year highs, though gains were only slight given a barrage of mixed economic data released earlier in the session. The fact that a number of benchmark indices around the globe are trading at (or close to
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks decline on calls for operations to be divided
11th Mar 2013 15:09
Barclays and RBS were both in the biggest fallers after the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards called for British banks to be forced to divide its routine retail operations from investment operations. The panel is looking for ways to bring about banking reform as part of the Banking Refor
Read moreLondon midday: Markets cautious after mixed economic data
11th Mar 2013 11:46
The FTSE 100 was trading within a narrow range on Monday morning as traders remained cautious following a barrage of mixed economic data over the past few days. With indices across the globe trading at (or close to) record highs, markets are appearing to pause for breath after a strong run so far t
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