Season points trading on Manchester United August 14, 2014 IT IS possible bookmakers have over-reacted to the appointment of Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford and his new club’s pre-season form. Sporting Index traders have made Manchester United joint-third favourites with Arsenal on the Championship 60 Index and have pitched their season points at 75.5-77 – despite the team picking up just 64 last [...]
Swiss Life buys up German real estate firm as it looks to diversify August 13, 2014 Swiss Life announced yesterday that it was buying a German real estate firm as the insurance company moves increasingly into asset management to diversify its revenue stream under new chief executive Patrick Frost. The Swiss insurer said it was buying property service provider Corpus Sireo for €210m (£168m), with the deal due to close later [...]
SeaWorld’s share price tanks as Blackfish film becomes a whale of a problem August 13, 2014 US amusement park group SeaWorld yesterday reported poor second-quarter results and slashed its revenue guidance for the year, blaming the crash on recent media debate about its treatment of captive orcas had hurt attendance. Shares in the company, down 22 per cent over the past year through to Tuesday, plunged by more than one-third in [...]
Page sees jump in profit despite strong sterling August 13, 2014 SPECIALIST recruitment group Michael Page International reported “solid performances” from all four of its geographic regions in its six monthly update yesterday. If current trends continued, the business said it should perform to forecast for the full year. The FTSE-250 group reported revenue up 1.8 per cent to £512.2m and pre-tax profit 11.1 per cent [...]
Best of the Brokers for 14 August 2014 August 13, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com HENDERSON GROUP Analysts at Berenberg retained their “hold” rating on the fund management group and a target price on the stock of 230p. The analysts said sentiment in the market was softening, adding the outlook “may be a little more muted” in the [...]
London Report: FTSE is bolstered by doveish Bank data and thin trading August 13, 2014 THE FTSE yesterday ended slightly higher in thin trade, boosted by a doveish message from the Bank of England. Britain’s leading index closed 24.26 points higher, or 0.4 per cent, at 6,656.68 points after a choppy session marked by low trading activity. Shares in G4S, the world’s biggest security company, led advances, up 5.3 per [...]
New York Report: Biotechs help to lift Wall St August 13, 2014 US STOCKS ended higher yesterday as surging biotech shares helped investors shrug off disappointing retail sales data. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 91.13 points, or 0.55 per cent, to close at 16,651.67. The S&P 500 was up 12.97 points, or 0.67 per cent, to close at 1,946.72. The Nasdaq Composite added 44.88 points, or [...]
Premier League 2014-15 Preview: Part three August 13, 2014 LAST SEASON: Defied doomsayers and opening-day defeat to spend more days at top of table than any other team, without ever really looking like winning the title. Embarrassed by top four rivals, but overall a year of improvement crowned by FA Cup win TRANSFERS: Key ins: Alexis Sanchez, Calum Chambers, Mathieu Debuchy, David Ospina. Key [...]
Petra share price rises as 122.52 carat blue diamond worth £60m is unveiled August 12, 2014 Petra Diamonds took the wraps off their 122.52 carat blue diamond yesterday, no bigger than a strawberry, but potentially worth more than £60m – and the sale process will begin next Monday, 18 August. That is when viewing of the diamond will begin and the longing looks will be allowed until 12 September, also [...]
King Digital share price crashes as Candy Crush maker is hit by poor quarter results August 12, 2014 Candy Crush maker King Digital entertainment yesterday announced poor second-quarter revenue, sending its share price crashing by 21 per cent in after-hours trading. This was the UK-based, but New York-listed company’s second quarterly report as a public company since its IPO in late March. Revenue in the three months ended in June rose to $593.5m (£353m), [...]
