FTSE 100 movers: Talis purchase boosts Capita
4th Mar 2011 13:27
Outsourcing firm Capita Group has acquired Talis Information, a provider of management software and managed services to the academic sector. Fellow outsourcing group Serco is also higher after Bank of America Merrill Lynch raised its recommendation from neutral to buy. Advertising giant WPP made
Read moreBroker tips: Aviva, WH Smith, WPP
4th Mar 2011 13:02
Nomura continues to believe that insurance giant Aviva offers investors good growth prospects at an attractive price after an impressive 2010. The insurance group's cost reduction and focus on higher-margin product selection were the main drivers of a 26% increase in operating earnings. However,
Read moreLondon midday: Shares move cautiously higher
4th Mar 2011 12:06
The top share index is moderately higher today following big gains yesterday. Traders will be looking ahead to US job figures due at 1.30pm London time. The US non-farm payroll numbers at lunchtime will get the day traders excited, but may also show that the US economy's recovery is at last startin
Read moreBroker snap: WPP too light on UK exposure
4th Mar 2011 10:52
Barclays Capital (BarCap) expects advertising giant WPP to benefit from short-term momentum but sees better value in sector peers with more exposure to the UK. The debt ratings agencies have been down on WPP of late, which has affected the group's access to cheap capital, but this may be about to c
Read moreLondon open: Footsie higher ahead of US jobs
4th Mar 2011 08:49
Wall Street may have had its best day of the year so far yesterday but London is taking things a bit more sedately today. The US non-farm payroll numbers at lunchtime will get the day traders excited, but may also show that the US economy's recovery is at last starting to generate a decent amount o
Read moreLondon pre-open: Cautiously firmer start foreseen
4th Mar 2011 07:36
Wall Street may have had its best day of the year so far yesterday but London is taking things a bit more sedately today, with City traders expecting the Footsie to advance by around 15 points at the outset from last night's closing level of 6,005. Advertising giant WPP made over £1bn for the first
Read moreWPP enjoys 'significant' recovery in 2010
4th Mar 2011 07:03
Advertising giant WPP made over £1bn for the first time ever in 2010, but violence in the Middle East, which accounts for 1.7% of revenue, is a worry. Headline profit before tax increased 27.3% to £1.03bn on revenue up 7%, or 5.6% at constant currency, to £9.33bn, while like for like sales grew 5.3
Read moreFriday preview: WPP set for strong rebound
3rd Mar 2011 17:07
Advertising giant WPP invariably announces its results on a Friday, traditionally a quiet day for results, which ensures its figures get their share of the limelight. As an advertising company, it knows the value of getting exposure. The expectations are that the firm will be glad of the publicity,
Read moreWPP's cheque book gets another outing
28th Jan 2011 07:23
Advertising agency WPP completed a hat trick of acquisitions this week, with the focus this time switching from South Africa to Germany. The company has acquired the entire issued share capital of Spring Wirtz und Pischke, an information, insight and consultancy network, and has also snapped up Wir
Read moreWPP back on acquisition trail
27th Jan 2011 07:52
Advertising agency WPP's focus on South Africa in 2011 continued with news that the company is to buy a majority stake in Ogilvy South Africa, part of the Ogilvy Worldwide network. On Wednesday, the company purchased a 50% stake in Mindshare South Africa from Ogilvy South Africa. Ogilvy South Afri
Read moreWPP buys further stake in Mindshare South Africa
26th Jan 2011 07:35
Advertising conglomerate WPP has upped its stake in Mindshare South Africa by acquiring Ogilvy South Africa's 50% stake for an undisclosed sum. Mindshare is a media buying and planning operation within South Africa. In 2009 its audited consolidated revenues totalled 53.23m rand, and at the end of 2
Read moreThursday tips round-up: Greggs, Vodafone, Moneysupermarket
13th Jan 2011 06:29
Britain's biggest bakery chain Greggs shrugged off the effects of the big freeze, reporting trading over Christmas that was stronger than expected, with a 3.5% rise in sales, or 0.6% on a like-for-like basis, over the five-week period. The current valuation of 11 times 2011's projected profits fairl
Read moreWPP buys US digital agency
30th Dec 2010 14:56
Advertising agency WPP has acquired all the assets of US digital agency Blue State Digital (BSD). Founded in 2004 in Washington DC, BSD employs 130 people across its offices in Washington DC, Boston, New York, Los Angeles and London. The agency's expertise is in online fund raising, advocacy, soci
Read moreWPP buys stake in Asian media group
20th Dec 2010 10:53
Grey Group, the wholly-owned subsidiary of advertising agency WPP, has acquired a majority stake in digital media company Yolk Pte Ltd. Yolk is a Singapore-based group with operations in Malaysia, Thailand and Australia. It works on digital strategy, social media, online advertising and marketing f
Read moreNew WPP director takes a stake
8th Dec 2010 16:19
Solomon Trujillo, a recently-appointed director at the advertising group WPP, has splashed out about £76,000 shares in the firm. He took 2,000 American Depositary Receipts, paying $59.90 (3,800p) for each one, and now has the equivalent of 10,000 shares in the company. Trujillo has worked with se
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