London close: Financials lead the way higher
15th Dec 2011 16:56
Footsie limped back above the 5,400 level in thin trade, with financial stocks leading the way. OLD MUTUAL SURGES AFTER DISPOSAL South African savings and insurance group Old Mutual was the best performing blue-chip after announcing that it is to sell its Nordic business Skandia AB for £2.1bn in
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Old Mutual jumps into first place
15th Dec 2011 14:36
Old Mutual, the savings and investment group, leapt into the top spot on news it is to sell its Nordic business Skandia AB for £2.1bn in an effort to "reduce complexity" and pay down debt. The deal, which still needs regulatory and shareholder approval, is expected to complete during the first quar
Read moreLondon midday: Old Mutual and miners provide a lift
15th Dec 2011 11:46
The Footsie held on to gains by lunchtime, breaking through the 5,400 level, with strong gains for Old Mutual and the miners lifted London's blue chip index 0.6% higher. In domestic news, the volume of UK retail sales fell by 0.4% in November compared to the month before, according to the latest da
Read moreLondon open: Footsie nudges higher, Old Mutual rockets
15th Dec 2011 08:25
The Footsie opened moderately higher on Thursday morning, as the market attempts to claw back from yesterday's 2.25% sell-off. In economic news, the HSBC "flash" purchasing managers' index for the Chinese manufacturing sector rose to 49.0 in December from 47.7 the month before, according to the la
Read moreWeir completes Seaboard acquisition
15th Dec 2011 07:12
The Weir Group, a FTSE 100 listed industrial engineer, has completed the acquisition of the wellhead solutions provider Seaboard Holdings for $675m. The transaction was paid in cash and funded from new and existing bank facilities. For the year to 31 December 2011, Seaboard is forecast to achiev
Read moreLondon close: Merkel comments weigh, Footsie pares gains
13th Dec 2011 16:21
London's blue chip index experienced a boost on Tuesday afternoon, helped by a strong Spanish bond auction and a better-than-expected German confidence survey. However, stocks began to retreat late on after some worrying comments from Angela Merkel and rumours of disruption to oil exports in the Per
Read moreBroker tips: Weir, Drax, Marston's
30th Nov 2011 12:17
UBS has raised its target price for industrial engineer Weir from 2,400p to 2,500p, saying that comments from US peer Halliburton have made it much more optimistic. At last week's Reverse Energy Roadshow in Houston, Halliburton said that it expects the pressure pumping industry to raise capacity by
Read moreBroker snap: UBS raises target for Weir
30th Nov 2011 11:13
UBS has raised its target price for industrial engineer Weir from 2,400p to 2,500p, saying that comments from US peer Halliburton have made it much more optimistic. At last week's Reverse Energy Roadshow in Houston, Halliburton said that it expects the pressure pumping industry to raise capacity by
Read moreWednesday broker round-up - UPDATE
30th Nov 2011 09:42
Weir: UBS increases target from 2,400p to 2,500p, buy rating kept. BG Group: Nomura ups target from 1,750p to 1,850p, buy rating unchanged. BHP Billiton: Investec reiterates buy rating and 1,919p target. International Power: Nomura cuts target from 410p to 390p, buy recommendation kept. Sage: In
Read moreLondon close: Footsie rises above 5,300
28th Nov 2011 17:29
Footsie stormed above 5,200 in trading and kept on going, finishing north of 5,300 on hopes that tomorrow's meeting of Eurozone finance ministers in Brussels will be the occasion on which a number of new measured, aimed at getting to grips with the region's debt problems, will be announced. Banks w
Read moreMonday broker round-up
28th Nov 2011 10:52
Burberry: UBS keeps at neutral, cuts target to 1,250p from 1,450p BHP Billiton: Nomura reinitiates coverage at buy; raises target to 2,500p from 2,400p. Rio Tinto: Nomura reinitiates coverage at buy; establishes a target of 97p. Xstrata: Nomura keeps at buy; cuts target to 1,500p from 2,200p. EN
Read moreFriday tips round up: Weir Group, Pennon
25th Nov 2011 07:51
The Times's Tempus column looks at Weir Group, which has taken a significant bet on the gas extraction method known as hydraulic fracturing with its $675mn takeover of Texas firm Seaboard. The purchase puts Weir in the business of building the type of well heads used in "fracking" - a process which
Read moreLondon close: Retreat moves into ninth day
24th Nov 2011 17:12
After once again showing signs in the morning session of bringing the losing streak to an end, Footsie once again relapsed in the afternoon session, as investors took fright at German Chancellor Angela Merkel once again banging on about what a bad idea it would be to have common interest rates for a
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners recover, Vedanta tops the risers
24th Nov 2011 13:41
With metals prices recovering on Thursday after yesterday's falls - on the back of ongoing worries in the Eurozone and some disappointing Chinese manufacturing data - the miners were in demand. Vedanta Resources, Fresnillo, Kazakhmys and Xstrata were all performing well. The sector was making an av
Read moreBroker tips: Weir, Rexam, BowLeven
24th Nov 2011 12:59
Peel Hunt has upgraded FTSE 100 industrial engineer Weir from hold to buy following yesterday's acquisition of Seaboard Holdings. Weir, which operates in the oil, gas, power and mineral markets, announced that it would pay $675m for US wellhead specialist Seaboard, a deal which Peel Hunt thinks loo
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