London close: Dull end to sparkling quarter
28th Sep 2012 16:50
Early gains dissipated in London and by the time Wall Street opened lower investors were in the mood to bank some of this quarter's handsome gains; despite today's fall, the top share index still put on close to 250 points in the third quarter. Sentiment was boosted early on by consumer confidence
Read moreSector movers: Mixed fortunes in Travel & Leisure
28th Sep 2012 15:47
Goals Soccer Centres, the 5-a-side football centre operator, has expanded its issued share capital by around one-twentieth through a discounted placing of shares. The group raised around £2.8m through the placing of 2.43m shares at 115p per share, some 7.5p below last night's closing price. As is u
Read moreLondon midday: Back to square one
28th Sep 2012 11:37
It is more or less back to square one for Footsie after a bright start. Setiment was boosted early on by consumer confidence data that was not as bad as feared. Consultancy GfK´s consumer confidence gauge for the month of September rose by 1 point in September, to -28. The consensus estimate was
Read moreLate bookings surge at Thomas Cook
28th Sep 2012 10:24
Shareholders apprehensive about the trading update from struggling package tour operator Thomas Cook can come out from behind the sofa; the summer 2012 late bookings have been good. Holidays to the usual hot-spots - Turkey, Spain and Greece - proved the most popular destinations for last minute boo
Read moreLondon close: Equities cruise higher
25th Sep 2012 16:45
US consumer confidence data lit a small fire under equities in the afternoon session, after a drab morning in which leading shares moved mostly sideways. The Conference Board's measure of US consumer confidence rose more than expected in September to its highest level in seven months. M&A activity
Read moreThomas Cook plans to sell and lease back Belgium property
25th Sep 2012 14:12
Travel group Thomas Cook Group has agreed to sell and lease back an office property in Belgium to Koramic Real Estate. Under the terms of the agreement, Thomas Cook will receive a cash consideration of €12.3m with an additional €2.0m retained by Koramic as a prepayment of rent. The property was
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Xstrata, Heathrow, RBS
9th Sep 2012 16:49
Shareholders have warned directors at Xstrata, the FTSE 100 mining company, that they risk being removed if they block the 56bn pound merger with Glencore. Glencore's final offer ? increased in dramatic circumstances last week after the intervention of Tony Blair, the former prime minister ? will go
Read moreBroker tips: StanChart, Diageo, Thomas Cook
7th Aug 2012 11:11
Nomura has downgraded its rating for Standard Chartered (StanChart) from 'buy' to 'neutral' on the back of the allegations of dealings with Iran by the emerging markets lender. Following the bank's interim results, StanChart was Nomura's preferred stock in the sub-sector and on the basis of fundame
Read moreBroker snap: Thomas Cook still struggling with cost control, says UBS
7th Aug 2012 10:41
UBS has maintained its 'neutral' rating for travel group Thomas Cook, saying that a robust top line is still not being reflected in profits. Revenues in the third quarter (three months to June 30th) was £2,294.8m, down 6% mainly due to a currency headwind, while the group reported an earnings befor
Read moreTuesday broker round-up
7th Aug 2012 09:22
AB Foods: Nomura cuts target from 1,400p to 1,380p, buy rating kept. BBA Aviation: Jefferies keeps buy rating and 250p target. Big Yellow: Goldman Sachs upgrades to conviction buy, target lifted from 360p to 390p. Devro: Investec keeps buy rating and 355p target. Diageo: Investec lifts target fr
Read moreOutlook remains challenging for Thomas Cook
2nd Aug 2012 10:36
The heavily indebted travel firm Thomas Cook has said its UK turnaround plan remains on track despite reporting a six per cent decline in revenue during the second quarter of 2012, the result of planned capacity reductions offsetting additional revenue from acquisitions. The firm made an underlying
Read moreThursday preview: Lots of interest in the BoE meeting
1st Aug 2012 17:22
On Thursday, the Bank of England announces its interest rate decision and for the first time in years, we cannot blithely assume that the rate will be kept the same. The terrible second quarter gross domestic product number has raised the prospect of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) count
Read moreTuesday broker round-up
17th Jul 2012 08:15
ARM: Citigroup cuts target from 730p to 600p, buy recommendation maintained. AstraZeneca: Bernstein reduces target from 3,037p to 3,002p, market perform rating kept. Beazley: JP Morgan Cazenove raises target from 147p to 155p, neutral rating kept. Bodycote: JP Morgan Cazenove cuts target from 437
Read moreWednesday broker round-up
20th Jun 2012 09:21
Burberry: Nomura maintains buy recommendation and 1,530p target. Chariot Oil & Gas: Merchant Securities keeps buy rating and 232p target. Home Retail: HSBC downgrades to neutral, target cut from 110p to 100p. Imagination Tech: UBS cuts target from 480p to 470p, neutral rating unchanged. Internat
Read moreSales for both Ffastfill and National Grid directors
18th Jun 2012 16:25
The Corporate Development Director of Ffastfill, has sold 1.383m shares in the firm just a fortnight after the company posted a drop in pre-tax profits. Nigel Hartnell ditched the shares for 13.50p a pop, pocketing £186,705 in the process. Revenue for the full year rose from £15.5m to £17.2m, bu
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