London open: Stocks drift lower after BoJ holds policy steady
21st May 2014 09:02
- Petrofac leads gains after Barclays upgrade - Dollar/yen trading below 101 - Russian troops have yet to pull back, negotiations ongoing in Ukraine techMARK 2,710.51 +0.15% FTSE 100 6,801.35 -0.01% FTSE 250 15,467.06 +0.17% Stocks were trading slightly lower little over an hour after the start of
Read moreSSE increases FY profit and dividends
21st May 2014 07:00
SSE said retail profits fell by nearly a third, but the power and gas supplier still increased underlying annual group profits and hiked its dividend. SSE blamed lower energy use by households and businesses and higher wholesale gas costs for a 32.2% fall in energy supply operating profit to £246.2
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
9th May 2014 08:44
Advanced Medical Solutions: Numis ups target price from 105p to 121p and retains its hold recommendation. Arrow Global: Numis upgrades from add to buy with a target price of 285p. Bank of Georgia: Numis downgrades from buy to hold with a target price of 2708p. Barclays: Citi lowers target price f
Read moreBroker tips: RBS, InterContinental, SSE, Resolution
2nd May 2014 12:43
Shares in RBS jumped on Friday after the company beat forecasts with its first-quarter results as pre-tax profits doubled. Analysts, however, chose to remain cautious on the outlook for the UK bank. Richard Hunter, Head of Equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers, said that the quarterly perfor
Read moreUBS hails dividend yield at SSE, lifts target price
2nd May 2014 11:25
UBS has hiked its target price for SSE from 1,475p to 1,620p and maintained a 'buy' rating, saying that the utility group's dividend yield is both highly attractive and sustainable. The bank said that dividend yields across the European utilities sector are "increasingly attractive", yet SSE's 6% y
Read moreSector movers: Electricity stocks fall as Drax tumbles
23rd Apr 2014 15:29
Electricity stocks were the worst performers in London on Wednesday with Drax falling sharply after the government changed the terms of a key subsidy for conversion from coal to biomass. The government said last December that it had shortlisted two of the company's generating units at the Drax Powe
Read moreLondon close: Stocks finish in the red, World Bank forecast drags
7th Apr 2014 16:55
- World Bank cuts China growth forecast - UK consumer confidence slides - German industrial output grows techMARK 2,730.09 -1.46% FTSE 100 6,622.84 -1.09% FTSE 250 16,262.84 -1.04% UK stocks kicked off the week in a negative fashion, weighed by a poor performance in other markets across the globe
Read moreSector movers: Electricity, utility stocks gain as risk appetite falls
7th Apr 2014 15:27
Just two sectors - electricity and utilities - were trading in positive territory on Monday as investors sought out 'safer' defensive stocks in the face of a wider market sell-off. Defensives sectors are those which have a low correlation to economic activity and generally perform well in times of
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Tullow Oil climbs after unveiling refinancing deal
7th Apr 2014 14:29
Tullow Oil has refinanced its 500m dollar corporate revolving credit facility to boost its balance sheet. The oil and gas company has increased the facility to 750m dollars and extended the tenor to April 2017. Irish building materials group CRH was also making gains today following news that its t
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: IMF, Business investment, Consumer spending
7th Apr 2014 07:14
Almost one year ago the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged the Chancellor George Osborne to abandon austerity and implement a so-called 'Plan B' to stimulate growth. However, as he prepares to head to the US this week, for the IMF's spring meetings, the Washington-based international lender is
Read moreSSE appoints BAE Finance Director as a director
4th Apr 2014 11:16
Gas and electricity supplier SSE has appointed Peter Lynch as a non-executive director of the group and will join the board on July 1st. Lynas is currently Finance Director of BAE systems the FTSE 100-listed aerospace and security company. As announced on March 11th 2014, non-Executive Directors S
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Top rate of tax, SSE, RBS
4th Apr 2014 07:31
George Osborne is facing demands to cut the top rate of tax again to 40p after figures suggested the wealthy had paid more tax since he cut the 50p rate. The amount raised from top-rate taxpayers is expected to increase by 9bn pounds in 2013-14, the year for which it was reduced to 45p by the Chance
Read moreLondon close: Markets may be underestimating deflation risks in euro area
2nd Apr 2014 17:15
- Stocks extend three-week high - ECB, US data ahead - Antofagasta unharmed by Chile quake techMARK 2,782.92 -0.04% FTSE 100 6,659.04 +0.10% FTSE 250 16,415.96 +0.05% The Footsie ended the day slightly in the blue after the release of largely in-line data on US manufacturing orders alongside a sli
Read moreLondon midday: Markets edge higher but gains limited
2nd Apr 2014 11:48
- Stocks extend three-week high - ECB, US data ahead - Antofagasta unharmed by Chile quake - Sports Direct extends gains on expansion potential techMARK 2,795.73 +0.42% FTSE 100 6,666.62 +0.21% FTSE 250 16,470.77 +0.39% The FTSE 100 had pushed into positive territory by Wednesday lunchtime, but ga
Read moreTuesday broker round-up UPDATE
1st Apr 2014 09:39
African Barrick Gold: Deutsche Bank raises target price from 240p to 310p and keeps a hold recommendation. African Minerals: Deutsche Bank lowers target price from 399p to 382p, while its buy recommendation is kept. Allergy Therapeutics: Panmure Gordon ups target price from 16p to 25p and retains
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