London pre-open: Equities held in check by US budget fears
26th Aug 2009 07:45
London seems unsure which way to turn on Wednesday morning despite a strong showing by the US market yesterday and Asian markets overnight. Enthusiasm for equities has been dampened by a White House report predicting a federal budget deficit of $9 trillion over the next decade, $2 trillion more tha
Read moreSerco posts strong figures
26th Aug 2009 07:23
Outsourcing specialist Serco said its strong performance in the first half, and the good start to the second period, supports its expectation in achieving its financial guidance for 2009 and beyond. The group, which recently won the contract to operate the new London Cycle Hire Scheme, saw pre-tax
Read moreWednesday preview: Serco, WPP, Tullow Oil
25th Aug 2009 16:54
Outsourcing specialist Serco releases half-year results on Wednesday that are expected to show a substantial improvement in pre-tax profit on the back of some chunky contract wins. Broker Charles Stanley is forecasting a pre-tax profit of £85m, versus £67.3m in the first half of last year, and is t
Read moreSerco to run London cycle hire scheme
12th Aug 2009 08:43
Support services firm Serco has been chosen to design, build and operate the London cycle hire scheme (LCHS). Transport for London (TfL) handed the UK company a six-year contract worth £140m with a possible two-year extension. It wants to generate an extra 40,000 bicycle journeys every day in Centr
Read moreBroker tips: Serco, Xchanging, Admiral
11th Aug 2009 12:14
The recent tendency of investors to favour cyclical stocks over defensives has gone too far according to Charles Stanley, which has lifted its target price on the outsourcing group Serco to 460p from 440p. Charles Stanley expects Serco, whose projects include running London's Docklands Light Railwa
Read moreBroker snap: Serco defensiveness applauded
11th Aug 2009 09:18
The recent tendency of investors to favour cyclical stocks over defensives has gone too far according to Charles Stanley, which has lifted its target price on the outsourcing group Serco to 460p from 440p. Charles Stanley expects Serco, whose projects include running London's Docklands Light Railwa
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Informa, Serco, Premier Foods
30th Jun 2009 06:42
FTSE 250-listed Informa has a solid business, whose publications tend to be in niche, subscription-based titles that do not suffer as badly as its more commercial counterparts in a downturn. Its Academic and Professional & Commercial divisions are still growing, and management has also kept a tigh
Read moreLondon close: Late gains lift Footsie
29th Jun 2009 16:50
After a rather sluggish start to the day, Footsie ended with chunky gains, helped by buoyancy on Wall Street. Lloyds Banking topped the list of risers after Goldman Sachs raised its rating on the shares from "neutral" to "buy" and added them to its "conviction buy" list. Goldman Sachs has also lif
Read moreLondon afternoon: Financials spearhead the advance
29th Jun 2009 14:21
Banks and insurers lead the way as London continues its steady advance. Lloyds Banking tops the list of risers after Goldman Sachs raised its rating on the shares from "neutral" to "buy" and added them to its "Conviction Buy" list. Goldman Sachs has also lifted its target price from 61p to 107p, af
Read moreLondon midday: Lloyds leads banks higher
29th Jun 2009 11:51
Risers outnumber fallers by around three to one among Footsie constituents, as the index pushes ahead despite weakness among miners. Lloyds Banking tops the list of risers after Goldman Sachs raised its rating on the shares from "neutral" to "buy" and added them to its "Conviction Buy" list. Goldm
Read moreLondon open: Footsie makes steady start
29th Jun 2009 08:32
London's blue chips have made a steady start with banks pushing on and insurers making gains. Lloyds and Barclays are both ahead with the new government paper on regulation of the sector likely soon and expected to see a defeat for the ideas of Bank of England governor Mervyn King. Outsource gian
Read moreLondon pre-open: Shares to drop
29th Jun 2009 07:38
London's blue chips are expected to open slightly lower with traders forecasting Footsie to drop around 15 points early on. Hovis to Branston Pickle maker Premier Foods's trading this year has continued on track, with sales of bread especially described as excellent. The heavily indebted group, wh
Read moreSerco on track to deliver guidance
29th Jun 2009 07:02
Outsource giant Serco said it remains on track to deliver on its 2009 guidance and continues to see significant opportunities in the current challenging economic environment. The group also announced that it has signed an A$370m (£180m) contract with the Australian Government's Department of Immigr
Read moreSerco chief raises stake
16th Jun 2009 17:08
Serco chief executive Christopher Hyman has bought shares and exercised options in the support services firm. Hyman purchased 38,303 ordinary shares at a price of 404.50p per share, which are to be held as Investment Shares under the terms of the company's deferred bonus plan. In addition, Hyman e
Read moreLondon close: Footsie clings to gains
16th Jun 2009 16:39
London's benchmark index finished just above flat, reversing earlier gains, as Wall Street started in a lacklustre fashion. Tesco's first quarter trading update was well received. Like-for-like (LFL) sales growth came in at the top end of expectations, helped by a resumption of growth in non-food
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