London close: Stocks finish flat on US budget uncertainty
20th Dec 2012 16:52
The FTSE 100 index finished broadly flat on Thursday afternoon, taking a pause of two days of decent gains, with the focus remaining on the US 'fiscal cliff' ahead of the Christmas holiday. Even a positive surprise in US gross domestic product (GDP) failed to give markets a boost. The American econ
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Carnival drops after full-year revenue decline
20th Dec 2012 15:25
Carnival , the largest cruise company in the world, reported a fall in full-year revenues after what it called its most challenging year ever. Shares dropped nearly 6% on Thursday afternoon after the company reported that revenue came in at $15.4bn, down from $15.8bn previously. Leading the risers
Read moreBroker tips: Vodafone, Serco, Weir
20th Dec 2012 12:09
Nomura has kept its 'neutral' rating for telecoms group Vodafone, saying that the higher-than-expected costs from last week's Dutch spectrum auction raise more questions of the company's 'inflated' dividend. "Paying an inflated ordinary dividend has been discredited as a way to reward shareholders,
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks pause on 'fiscal cliff' concerns
20th Dec 2012 11:54
UK stocks traded broadly sideways on Thursday morning with 'fiscal cliff' uncertainty dashing hopes that a deal between US politicians can be struck before Christmas. Trade was cautious in London this morning with just 14 points separating the Footsie's intraday low and high. Stocks finished sligh
Read moreBroker snap: Mathena acquisition fits in nicely at Weir, says Investec
20th Dec 2012 09:26
Investec has raised its target price for engineering group Weir from 2,020p to 2,100p and reiterated its 'buy' rating for the stock, following Thursday's announcement that it is set to acquire pressure control provider Mathena. "This acquisition fits in nicely with Seaboard and diversifies Oil & G
Read moreLondon open: Stocks flat on 'fiscal cliff' uncertainty
20th Dec 2012 08:33
The FTSE 100 was trading little changed on Thursday morning, taking a pause after coming close to its 52-week high the day before, with US 'fiscal cliff' concerns acting as a drag on sentiment. "In scenes reminiscent of the debt ceiling debacle of 2011 US markets slid back last night as the impasse
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks to pull back on 'fiscal cliff' concerns
20th Dec 2012 07:28
Stocks are expected to pull back slightly on Thursday morning following two days of decent gains with concerns resurfacing over the US 'fiscal cliff' after the White House vetoed the Republicans' 'Plan B'. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 13 points from yesterday's close of 5,962.
Read moreWeir increases shale exposure with acquisition of Mathena
20th Dec 2012 07:05
Engineering solutions group Weir is to buy pressure control rental equipment firm Mathena as it attempts to up its exposure to the fast-growing shale oil and gas market. Mathena, which makes a range of pressure control products including hydraulic chokes, mud-gas and shale-gas separators for the fo
Read moreWednesday Broker round-up UPDATE
14th Nov 2012 07:24
Anglo American: Deutsche Bank reduces target price from 2700p to 2600p, buy recommendation unchanged. Chemring: Credit Suisse reduces target price from 330p to 210p, neutral rating kept. CRH: UBS raises target price from 1110p to 1140p, neutral rating unchanged. Daily Mail and General Trust: Deut
Read moreWednesday broker round-up
7th Nov 2012 08:59
3Leg Resources: Jefferies keeps buy rating and 100p target AB Foods: Barclays Capital ups target from 1,375p to 1,475p, overweigh rating kept; Nomura ups target from 1,380p to 1,500p, buy rating kept. Aberdeen: UBS ups target from 340p to 370p, buy rating kept. Babcock: Jefferies ups target from
Read moreTuesday broker round-up
6th Nov 2012 09:03
AB Foods: Jefferies keeps hold rating and 1,365p target; Panmure Gordon ups target from 1,300p to 1,450p, hold rating kept; Investec keeps hold rating and 1,300p target. Aviva: Panmure Gordon maintains buy rating and 425p target. Babcock: Jefferies keeps buy rating and 970p target; Seymour Pierce
Read moreTuesday tips round up: BG Group, Telecity and Weir
6th Nov 2012 06:45
In The Times Tempus writes that the fall in the BG Group share price since last Wednesday's profits warning looks unjustified. The company was not saying that large chunks of its reserves were not actually in the ground, after all, simply that some would take longer than expected to reach production
Read moreLondon close: Stocks taken down by global uncertainty
5th Nov 2012 16:49
- All eyes turn to the US elections - Greece attempts to agree on austerity - UK and US services PMI disappoint After a sharp fall early on, the FTSE 100 traded broadly sideways for the remainder of Monday's session as investors refrained from building positions ahead of a busy week for the global
Read moreSector movers: Weir and Avintrans lift engineers higher
5th Nov 2012 15:34
Industrial engineering stocks were performing well on Monday with a well-received update from sector heavyweight Weir lifting sentiment. Weir reassured that it is on set to deliver double-digit profit growth this year despite weak order inputs and a slowdown in growth in the third quarter. While
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners provide a drag
5th Nov 2012 15:15
Mining stocks were providing a drag as investors digested the economic figures out in China overnight. The HSBC China services PMI fell from a four-month high of 54.3 to 53.5 in October, contrasting with the official services PMI from the National Bureau of Statistics this weekend which rose from 53
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