Editor's Picks
Sunday tips round-up: Surgical Innovations, National Grid, Utilities
Friday 05 Aug 2011
Investors, “have a genuine appetite for risk and are looking for low-priced shares that may not pay out dividends but are expected to deliver good growth over the next few years,” the Midas column at the Financial Mail on Sunday writes, and Surgical Innovations neatly fits the bill. The Leeds based company designs and manufactures specialised instruments, primarily for use in keyhole surgery.
US mid-afternoon: Stocks trading mixed on a very volatile day
Friday 05 Aug 2011
The major US market averages are still trading 'mixed' at mid-afternoon (Dow Jones: 13 to 11,392, Nasdaq Composite: -31 to 2,525, S&P 500: 6 to 1,194), following the release of better than expected employment data this morning and in another day with outsized levels of volatility and high trading volumes.
Sunday newspaper round-up: UK banks, Gazprom, Autonomy, QE III
Friday 05 Aug 2011
Britain’s banks are lucky there is a global stock market rout going on. It did something to disguise investors’ concerns on Friday that the government-appointed Vickers Comission (ICB) will force some groups into a dramatic overhaul of their business models. This, the FT’s Weekend Edition believes, is the reason why RBS and Barclay’s shares led losses on Friday in their sector, as it is they that
Market overview: Eurozone paymasters to meet tonight
Friday 05 Aug 2011
0906: Top of the hour, 8th inning. Bears-9, Bulls-1. Volatility is the name of the game this morning following the outsized losses seen on Wall Street last night. No ‘flash crash’ here, just your standard ‘run of the mill’ selling, according to traders, with some renowned bears coming out of their caves last night warning of the potential for large losses in equity markets looking out to the
Bellway announces small improvements in in trading update
Friday 05 Aug 2011
Housebuilding company Bellway has announced a slight like-for-like improvement in operations compared with last year.
London pre-open: Stocks set for slide as global rout continues
Friday 05 Aug 2011
The top share index is set for triple-digit falls and then some in early dealings as worries over the global economic situation continue to grip markets.
Strong growth in Asia drives profits at Prudential
Friday 05 Aug 2011
First half profits at insurance titan Prudential jumped by a quarter to top expectations, driven by strong growth in Asia. Operating profit, on a International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) basis, rose 25% from £0.85bn to £1.06bn, ahead of expectations of £0.96bn. IFRS basic earnings per share increased 27% from 25.4p to 32.2p.
Public sector squeeze in Netherlands hurts Logica
Friday 05 Aug 2011
Software provider Logica reported a 5% rise in interim revenues in the six months to 30 June but pre-tax profits were lower after its exposure to the squeezed public sector pushed it to an underlying loss in the Benelux countries. Full-year revenue growth is expected to be at a similar level to the first half, but margin improvement now depends on progress in Benelux, the company said.
Friday tips round-up: Schroders, British Land, Fiderweb...
Friday 05 Aug 2011
It appears institutional investors are willing to trust Schroders to look after their money in turbulent times. The blue-chip and blue-blooded fund manager yesterday reported a rise in assets under management to £204.8bn, which was ahead of most analysts' forecasts and was helped by net new business of £5bn. All the same, the company is still reporting healthy earnings – they rose to £215.7m from
Friday newspaper round-up: Global sell-off, Income tax, BNY Mellon...
Friday 05 Aug 2011
Asian stocks tumbled as fears rose that the global economy may be heading for a recession with the European debt crisis spreading and the US economy slowing, enduring a heavy sell-off as investors shun risk after global central bankers failed to stem fears of rapidly slowing growth. Following the biggest decline since the financial crisis for both the S&P 500 index and US Treasury yields, the ...
London close: Footsie plummets to 5,393
Thursday 04 Aug 2011
Hefty losses from large-cap equities dragged the Footsie over 3.43% lower on Thursday, a day after the blue chip index hit its lowest levels in 2011. Moderate falls turned into steep declines as the sell-off accelerated in the afternoon period, on the back of a bad start on Wall Street, which saw the three US benchmarks drop over 2% in early trade.
Premium tips: International Power, FCAM, Unilever...
Thursday 04 Aug 2011
Credit Suisse maintained an underperform rating on International Power (IPR), noting that the stock has been the worst performing UK utility on a total return basis over the past three, six and nine months. IPR has also fallen 4% more than the MSCI European Utilities index in 2011 so far which comes despite it being one of the few utilities with positive free cash flow. “Such statistics attract
Trichet vexes markets
Thursday 04 Aug 2011
Investors were speculating that the European Central Bank would start buying up sovereign bonds today after its governor said he wouldn't be surprised if there was intervention by the end of the press conference he was giving.
Gilts stay at lows despite equity slide
Thursday 04 Aug 2011
UK gilts are notable for their lack of movement today, staying flat despite the slide in equities.
Broker snap: Spirit Pub is 'freed', says RBS
Thursday 04 Aug 2011
A demerger of Punch Taverns has now “freed” Spirit Pub Company, says RBS who initiates coverage on the pubs group with a buy recommendation.
Market overview: The selling pressure accelerates
Thursday 04 Aug 2011
1551: The selling has accelerated in the equity space, tracking losses on Wall Street. Of note, we will have to wait until the close to see if the FTSE 100 loses technical support at 5,500 points. Likewise, some believe that the chart formations, on the S&P500, point to further losses in the day and weeks ahead. The CBOE VIX volatility index is now up 9% to 25.38. The President of the ECB, Jean
Europe midday: Veolia takes a bath
Thursday 04 Aug 2011
The Swiss market is going its own way, heading higher after it surprised markets yesterday with an interest rate cut to nearly zero and a pledge to take further intervention measures if needed, but other European markets have turned lower after a bright start.
Broker snap: Standard Chartered 'maintaining the story', says Nomura
Thursday 04 Aug 2011
First-half results at Standard Chartered met expectations, says Nomura, who keeps its positive view on the shares and maintains its buy rating.
US close: Steepest decline in over two years
Thursday 04 Aug 2011
US benchmarks suffered their worst one-day decline since the financial crisis of 2008/09 as investors reflected their concerns over the global economic outlook.
Bank of England holds rates at 0.5%
Thursday 04 Aug 2011
There were no surprises from the Bank of England today as its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) opted to keep interest rates at 0.5% and the quantitative easing (QE) programme unaltered at £200bn. Speculation that the Bank would look to tighten monetary policy some time this year has largely given way to a belief that recent signs of economic
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