Sector movers: Retailers sold off after gloomy data
6th Dec 2011 16:15
Retailers were the worst performers of the day on Tuesday, falling an average 2.4% after some gloomy comments from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Consumers are keeping "a tight rein on their spending, despite Christmas being so near", the BRC said today. Total sales were up 0.7%, against a 2
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Lonmin and Vodafone
6th Dec 2011 07:01
"Investors were rightly cheered by Lonmin's announcement of a pay and benefit agreement with its staff yesterday," writes the Investments column in the Independent. However, the paper notes that Lonmin's shares haven't performed well this year, partly because platinum prices have dropped 12% in the
Read moreMonday broker round-up - UPDATE
5th Dec 2011 08:45
Kingfisher: Credit Suisse raises price target to 310p from 295p, outperform rating kept. Berkeley Group: Credit Suisse raises target to 1,225p from 1,079p, maintains neutral. Berkeley Group: UBS raises target to 1,530p from 1,480p. BG Group: UBS ups price target to 1,635p from 1,600p, stays at
Read moreThursday broker round-up - UPDATE
1st Dec 2011 09:56
Royal Bank of Scotland: Evolution Securities cuts target from 40p to 35p, buy rating unchanged. Marks & Spencer: Investec downgrades from buy to hold. Next: Investec upgrades from hold to buy. Kingfisher: Investec reiterates hold, target cut from 245p to 235p. Cairn Energy: UBS cuts target from
Read moreVodafone acquires IT consultancy Bluefish
1st Dec 2011 07:53
Vodafone Global Enterprise, the business within Vodafone which manages the communications needs of its largest multinational customers, has acquired European information technology and communications consultancy Bluefish Communications. The acquisition, the gross assets of which are £3.14m, is set
Read moreTuesday broker round-up - UPDATE
22nd Nov 2011 09:34
British Land: Bank of America-Merrill Lynch upgrades to buy from neutral. Centrica: Goldman Sachs keeps at Conviction Buy. Smith&Nephew: Citi cuts target to 492p from 507p, keeps at sell. Smith&Nephew: Citi reiterates neutral. Thomas Cook: Evolution Securities downgrades from neutral to sell, t
Read moreBroker snap: Credit Suisse sees limited upside to Vodafone stock
22nd Nov 2011 09:29
In a research note issued this morning analysts at Credit Suisse indicate that they see limited upside to Vodafone shares. Simply put, "as Vodafone's best Europe markets (UK and Germany) are likely to get better, Vodafone's worst European markets are likely to get worse." The above means that the
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Spain, US deficit, Vodafone...
21st Nov 2011 06:30
According to the Financial Times, Spain's centre-right Popular Party, led by Mariano Rajoy, won the biggest election victory in the country's history yesterday, "consigning the incumbent Socialists to the political wilderness and making them the latest casualties of the eurozone's deepening sovereig
Read moreFriday broker round-up - UPDATE
18th Nov 2011 09:42
Pennon: Deutsche Bank upgrades to buy from hold. Capita: Peel Hunt reiterates buy and 850p target. Capita: Investec slashes target to 630p from 725p, hold maintained. Chemring: finnCap downgrades from buy to hold, target slashes from 780p to 480p. ICAP: UBS cuts target from 380p to 328p, sell ra
Read moreLondon close: Footsie finishes off lows, but still down
16th Nov 2011 16:32
After sinking down to its intraday low of 5,453 in morning trade, the Footsie recovered to 5,509 by the end of trade, despite some negative comments from the Bank of England. Unfortunately, the unemployment report did little to settle investors' nerves as the Footsie still finished in the red. The
Read moreSector movers: Vodafone drags telecoms lower
16th Nov 2011 15:41
Vodafone has fallen nearly 4%, providing a drag in the telecommunications sector. The stock went ex-dividend today, hence the fall, meaning that investors no longer have the rights to receive the most recently-announced dividend. In other Vodafone-related news, according to Reuters, Dutch telecoms
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Intertek leads the way up
16th Nov 2011 14:16
Intertek, the testing and quality assurance company, rose to pole position after it said year-on-year organic revenue growth for the ten months to the end of October was 8%, in line with the figure published in the half year update in August. Adding revenues from acquisitions and currency effects,
Read moreKPN looks for buyers for Spanish unit, Vodafone included
16th Nov 2011 12:52
Dutch telecoms firm KPN has opened the books at its Spanish operations to prospective buyers, including British telecoms operator Vodafone, a person familiar with the situation told Reuters on Tuesday, confirming reports in the Spanish media. As of 12:53PM shares of Vodafone are falling 2.96% to 17
Read moreVodafone gets boost from US stock pickers
14th Nov 2011 15:02
Vodafone, one of Britain's biggest companies, has been given a boost today after a positive assessment from the respected US business journal Barron's. The magazine argues that Vodafone is undervalued despite its sluggish performance in the last 12 months. The key issue is the firm's 45% stake in
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Smith & Nephew, ITV lead the risers
14th Nov 2011 13:56
Medical equipment manufacturer Smith & Nephew was the high riser helped by Exane BNP Paribas which upped its recommendation on the stock from neutral to outperform. ITV, Britain's biggest private terrestrial broadcaster, was heading north after reporting a 4% rise in revenues in the nine months to
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