London afternoon: RBS buoyed by pension moves
26th Aug 2009 14:32
Equity prices are mixed with a lower bias. The Footsie continues to drift lower, weighed down by underperforming resource stocks. Pre-tax profits plunged at Tullow in the first half of the year as the firm felt the pinch of the slide in oil prices. The oil company posted a pre-tax profit of £34.
Read moreBroker tips: M&S, electrical retailers, Serco
26th Aug 2009 13:10
Singer Capital Markets has lifted its target price for food and clothing retailer Marks & Spencer while maintaining its 'hold' rating. 'Although heavily indebted and exposed to a large pension scheme where actuarial liabilities are likely rising, the investment case for M&S has stabilised as self-h
Read moreLondon midday: Resource stocks a drag
26th Aug 2009 12:09
Given that resource stocks are in the dog-house the Footsie is doing well to be only moderately in the red on a day of mixed results for blue chips. Pre-tax profits plunged at Tullow in the first half of the year as the firm felt the pinch of the slide in oil prices. The oil company posted a pre-t
Read moreBroker snap: Serco delivers pleasant surprise
26th Aug 2009 11:35
Support services group Serco surprised the market with better than expected results on Wednesday morning, prompting Charles Stanley to reiterate its recommendation to stock up on the shares. 'The announcement should be well received for a number of reasons. Firstly, the group has surprised with a m
Read moreLondon open: Lower start for FTSE 100
26th Aug 2009 08:20
Footsie is slightly lower in early dealings, with the advertising group WPP the leading share index's heaviest faller after reporting interim results. WPP said half-year results continue to reflect the impact of the global economic contraction, which continued to intensify in the second quarter, th
Read moreLondon 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 more