FTSE 100 movers: A tale of two companies, Vodafone and Hermes

19th Jul 2012 14:36

Natural gas group BG was under the weather after Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to 'neutral' and cut its target price from 1,660p to 1,500p. Shares in Vodafone have moved into the second to worst spot on the top share index after it became known that Verizon Communications´s conference call ag

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London midday: Markets celebrate global corporate earnings

19th Jul 2012 11:45

- Corporate earnings lift sentiment - UK June retail sales meet forecasts as prices drop - Kingfisher falls after rain dampens sales European stock markets were firmly in the blue on Thursday morning on the back a barrage of upbeat quarterly earnings reports from blue chips across the globe. "A co

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London open: Footsie edges higher, but Kingfisher falls

19th Jul 2012 08:23

- Kingfisher leads fallers on the Footsie - Upbeat European earnings lift sentiment - Fed says US expanding at 'modest to moderate' rate UK stocks edged higher in early trading on Thursday on the back of some upbeat earnings reports from heavyweight European stocks AkzoNobel, Sandvik and Novartis.

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London close: Stocks rise on hopes for the US economy

18th Jul 2012 16:55

After a tentative start, stocks rallied on Wednesday afternoon on the back of some upbeat comments from Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the US Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, markets gave a rather muted reaction to the minutes of the latest policy-making meeting in the UK. Bernanke, speaking on the secon

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Thursday broker round-up

21st Jun 2012 09:13

ARM Holdings: Investec maintains buy rating and 800p target. Ashtead: Jefferies ups target from 300p to 320p, buy rating retained. Bellway: Goldman Sachs downgrades to neutral. British Land: Societe Generale downgrades to sell. CRH: HSBC upgrades to overweight. Dignity: Goldman Sachs downgrades

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Thursday tips round-up: Weir, Rio Tinto, Liontrust

21st Jun 2012 07:12

The Tempus column in the Times looks at engineering group Weir, whose shares have been in a sharp decline since peaking at 2,200p in February as the market began to doubt its exposure to shale. 'Much of the short-selling was by dealers who were expecting the slowdown in shale to mean these [profit f

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Wednesday 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

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Weir Director boosts stake with 3,500 shares

19th Jun 2012 16:36

John Mogford, an independent non-executive director of engineering giant Weir Group, purchased 3,500 ordinary shares on Monday at 1,454p a pop. The £50,890 purchase, which took Mogford's total holding in the company to 11,481 shares, came just one day before the company reconfirmed its full-year g

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London midday: Stimulus hopes drive gains

19th Jun 2012 11:28

- G20 to take 'all necessary policy measures' - UK, US stimulus hopes boost markets - Whitbread, Home Retail rise strongly UK stocks were trading near their highest levels of the day by lunchtime on hopes that the world's leaders can pull together to battle the global financial crisis. According t

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Broker tips: Whitbread, Weir, Shell

19th Jun 2012 11:22

In spite of Whitbread's robust first-quarter results, Investec reiterated its 'sell' rating for the Premier Inn and Costa owner on Tuesday, saying that it retains a bearish long-term outlook on the stock. The broker has raised its full-year earnings per share (EPS) forecast by 2.3% from 140.6p to 1

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Broker snap: Jefferies remains a buyer of Weir

19th Jun 2012 11:09

Jefferies has reiterated its 'buy' recommendation and 2,185p target price for engineering giant Weir Group, saying that consensus upgrades are in order following Tuesday's Capital Markets Day. In a brief statement that highlight the presentations given to investors, Weir reconfirmed its full-year g

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Weir Group confirms full year guidance

19th Jun 2012 10:07

Shares in Weir Group rallied on Tuesday after the company reconfirmed its full year guidance. The firm's owners have been shares lose a third of their value since February, dropping from around £22 four months ago to £15 now. The news that business was on track pushed them back up 5% on Tuesday mo

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London open: Whitbread, Home Retail provide a boost early on

19th Jun 2012 08:30

- Leaders to take 'all necessary policy measures' - Whitbread provides a lift on the Footsie after strong Q1 - Greece, Spain and FOMC in focus The FTSE 100 index advanced in early trading on Tuesday morning after euro members pledged to 'safeguard' the region. According to a leaked draft communiqu

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Glencore boss strikes again, LSE boss sells

12th Jun 2012 15:16

Glencore International's Chief Executive Officer Ivan Glasenberg bought himself another chunk of shares in the mining titan, his third in the past week, it was announced on Tuesday. Since earning a whopping $110m in the latest dividend payout at the start of this month, the director has paid out j

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Thursday broker round-up

7th Jun 2012 09:23

Barclays: Deutsche Bank retains buy rating and 295p target. Burberry: Credit Suisse upgrades to outperform, target lifted from 1,420p to 1,650p. Centamin: Nomrua upgrades from neutral to buy, target lifted from 100p to 130p. Circle Oil: Investec cuts target from 90p to 86p, buy rating maintained.

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