Tuesday preview: Whitbread, GKN, Serco, Persimmon
27th Feb 2012 18:55
Tuesday will be the day to wake up and smell the coffee as Costa Coffe chain owner Whitbread issues a trading update at 7:00am. Whitbread is not just about Costa Coffee, however; it also owns pub restaurants such as the Beefeater chain, not forgetting the Premier Inn hotels chain. It is the latter
Read moreLondon open: Stocks fall as Greek talks drag on
27th Jan 2012 08:20
UK stocks slipped in early trading on Friday, giving up some gains made yesterday on the back of the post-Fed rally, as focus again returns to Greece with talks over the debt swap continuing to weigh on investors' minds. Both sides taking part in the negotiations over the degree of private sector i
Read moreLondon pre-open: Moderate fall expected
27th Jan 2012 07:22
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 27 points from yesterday's close of 5,795, following in the footsteps of US markets, which yesterday settled lower on poor economic data. Public sector services group Serco has signed a contract with the UK Ministry of Defence to provide training a
Read moreSerco awarded MoD contract
27th Jan 2012 07:01
Public sector services group Serco has signed a contract with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to provide training and support to the British Army prior to deployment on operations around the world. Serco will provide pre-deployment training including language, culture and operational environment
Read moreBroker snap: Credit Suisse downgrades Bunzl to underperform
16th Jan 2012 10:18
Credit Suisse has downgraded its rating for distribution and outsourcing firm Bunzl from neutral to underperform, saying the "valuation has gone too far". "We appreciate Bunzl's defensive, cash generative qualities at a time of macro concern, but after a strong run (34% in five months vs. FTSE All
Read moreLondon open: Footsie up early on, pharmas fall
9th Jan 2012 08:18
London's FTSE 100 opened slightly higher on Monday morning helped by banking titans Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC. Oil stocks Essar Energy, Tullow Oil and Royal Dutch Shell were tracking oil prices higher. Today's big event will be the meeting of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French Preside
Read moreExperian announces death of CFO
9th Jan 2012 07:08
Experian's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Paul Brooks has passed away, the credit-checking and information services firm revealed on Monday. According to Experian's statement, Brooks, who joined the group as Finance Director of its former International division back in 1999, died suddenly over the w
Read moreBroker tips: IG Group, Mothercare, Business service stocks
29th Nov 2011 12:58
Prime Markets recommends buying shares in IG Group, saying that the European sovereign debt crisis creates "ideal conditions" for the spread-betting firm. The group said this morning that it has continued to see high levels of client activity during its second quarter and first half revenues will b
Read moreBroker snap: Credit Suisse assesses impact of euro recession on business services
29th Nov 2011 10:22
Credit Suisse has reassessed its ratings and forecasts across the business services sector to reflect a more challenging environment in which it envisages Europe falling back into a recession in the fourth quarter. The broker said: "Our base case FY12-13 EPS estimates fall by an average of 4-5% to
Read moreFriday tips round-up: Rexam, HICL and Serco
18th Nov 2011 07:16
The Independent's Sharewatch column assesses Rexam, the FTSE 100 company which makes beverage cans. It made a decent gain on the FTSE yesterday compared to many of its peers and the Indy thinks it knows why. Rexam has said it is considering selling its personal care division. This would have defini
Read moreLondon open: Retailers dip as consumer confidence dives
17th Nov 2011 09:07
After yesterday's shake-out on Wall Street, London's blue-chips are mostly lower, though trading updates have generated some bright spots. Centrica, which trades under the British Gas brand, is not one of the those bright spots, after it warned that full-year earnings will be a bit lower than the m
Read moreSerco trundling on
17th Nov 2011 07:58
Outsourcing leviathan Serco is on target to deliver a performance in line with expectations in the current financial year, despite continued tough trading conditions on both sides of the Atlantic. "While short-term headwinds remain, particularly those facing the US federal contracting industry, lon
Read moreUPDATE: Wednesday broker round-up
2nd Nov 2011 09:51
G4S: Credit Suisse upgrades from neutral to outperform, target raised from 240p to 285p. Standard Chartered: Evolution Securities downgrades from buy to neutral, target unchanged at 1,800p. Standard Chartered: Nomura maintains buy rating and 1,800p target. Next: Investec places 2,350p target unde
Read moreGlencore non-exec buys first shares
30th Aug 2011 17:19
Non-executive director Peter Coates has opened his account in Glencore, spending £320,000 on shares in the Swiss commodity trading house. He took 82,700 shares at 387.2p a time and has already banked a tidy profit, with the shares closing just short of 400p today. Coates is the chairman of Austral
Read moreLondon close: Results drive stocks higher, Man up after upgrade
24th Aug 2011 16:38
Stocks finished with good gains after an uncertain start, with strong economic data from the US overriding the earlier mixed reception to today's raft of company updates. US orders for goods made to last more than three years, such as planes, cars and washing machines, rose by 4% in July, having fa
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