BEST OF THE BROKERS February 1, 2012 BABCOCK INTERNATIONAL Numis upgrades the engineering company from “add” to “buy” with a target price of 870p after a management statement that was largely in line with expectations. The broker expects organic growth of around five per cent for the current year, which it sees as a strong performance when compared to the rest of [...]
FTSE gains as manufacturing bounces back February 1, 2012 The FTSE rose this morning as better-than-expected UK and Chinese manufacturing data gave investor sentiment a boost and fuelled gains in mining and banking. Britain’s manufacturing sector unexpectedly returned to growth in January as orders rose for the first time in six months, indicating the UK could avoid recession if the sector continues to recover [...]
Four admit plotting LSE bomb attack February 1, 2012 Four men have admitted plotting to detonate a bomb in the London Stock Exchange. Mohammed Chowdhury, Shah Rahman, Gurukanth Desai and Abdul Miah pleaded guilty to the charge of engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism. They had been inspired by the preachings of the Islamic extremist Anwar Al-Awlaki, connected to Al-Qaeda. The [...]
Court rules BAA must sell Stansted February 1, 2012 Airport operator BAA must sell London Stansted airport in order to pave the way for better competition, a court has ruled. The ruling is the latest twist in a long battle between BAA and the Competition Commission (CC), which stretches back to 2009 when it was ruled that the group exerted a dominant hold on [...]
Deutsche Boerse says Brussels blocked NYSE deal February 1, 2012 Deutsche Boerse said it will unwind a deal to take over NYSE Euronext after European Commission regulators said they would block a combination of the two companies.
Manufacturing bounces back February 1, 2012 Britain’s manufacturing sector unexpectedly returned to growth in January as orders rose for the first time in six months, indicating the UK could skirt recession if the sector continues to recover in coming months. The Markit/CIPS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 52.1 – the highest level since May – from an upwardly revised [...]
Lloyds shakes up management February 1, 2012 Lloyds has shaken up its management structure, helping take pressure off its chief executive, who recently had two months off work due to fatigue. Alison Brittain becomes group director for retail banking, while Antonio Lorenzo is to run the asset finance division along with the group strategy and international and wealth management arms. Wholesale banking [...]
ICAP profits take hit from Eurozone crisis February 1, 2012 Financial markets broker ICAP has cut its profits forecast for the current year due to weaker trading linked to the euro zone crisis. ICAP, an inter-dealer broker in the bond, foreign exchange and swaps markets, said it now expects to make a profit of between £336m and £358m, down from its prediction in November of [...]
BHP sells titanium business to Rio February 1, 2012 Global miner BHP Billiton has sold its stake in a South African titanium operation to rival Rio Tinto, marking its exit from the titanium minerals industry. BHP said it had exercised an option to sell its 37 per cent stake in Richard Bay Minerals to Rio Tinto, with the final cost to be agreed by [...]
Home Retail appoints new Argos boss February 1, 2012 Home Retail Group has appointed a former Best Buy executive to be the new boss of its struggling Argos business. The firm named John Walden as managing director of the 759-store Argos chain, reporting to group chief executive Terry Duddy. Walden, who was at top US electricals retailer Best Buy between 1999 and 2007 before [...]