London 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.

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Weir 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

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Wednesday 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

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Wednesday 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

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Tuesday 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

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Tuesday 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

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London 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

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Sector 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

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FTSE 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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London midday: Investors flee from risk ahead of US elections

5th Nov 2012 11:26

- Investors risk averse ahead of elections - UK services PMI disappoints - Greece to vote on austerity Nervousness ahead of the US presidential elections saw stocks head lower on Monday morning, with losses cemented by a worse-than-expected reading of service-sector activity in the UK. In regards

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Broker tips: Weir, William Hill, Millennium & Copthorne

5th Nov 2012 10:57

Investec has put upgraded its forecasts for engineering group Weir after the firm's well-received third-quarter update on Monday. Investec has raised its 2012 adjusted PBT estimate by around 2% from £437m to £445, implying an earnings per share of around 151p. As such, target 1,850p target price is

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Broker snap: Investec raises forecasts for Weir

5th Nov 2012 09:35

Investec has upgraded its forecasts for engineering group Weir after the firm's well-received third-quarter update on Monday. Weir said that it is on track to deliver full-year adjusted profit before tax (PBT) in the range of £440-450m. Group order input in the third quarter was down 8% (-15% on a

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London open: HSBC and miners provide a drag early on

5th Nov 2012 08:39

UK stocks declined sharply on Monday morning on the back of a mixed reaction to economic data from China and caution ahead of the presidential elections in the US and a parliamentary vote in Greece. The HSBC China services sector purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell from a four-month high of 54.3

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London pre-open: Investors await outcome of US election

5th Nov 2012 07:26

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 29 points from yesterday's close of 5,869, as investors await the outcome of the US presidential election, the results of which are due this week. Furthermore, there is some nervousness ahead of key votes in Greece this week on further austerity measu

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Weir on track despite weak third quarter

5th Nov 2012 07:04

Engineering giant Weir Group said that it is set to deliver double-digit profit growth this year despite weak order inputs and a slowdown in growth in the third quarter. Weir, which designs and manufactures products and engineering services for the minerals, oil and gas, and power and industrial ma

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