Bankers dash for the cash in Standard Chartered’s 5k race July 10, 2014 Some 6,500 City workers ran through the streets of the Square Mile last night, not to All Bar One for first dibs on Thursday drinks, but as part of Standard Chartered’s annual 5k Great City Race. The rain held off as teams from firms such as Investec, KMPG, Lloyd’s of London, PwC and [...]
Best of the Brokers for 11 July 2014 July 10, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com AVIVA Morgan Stanley has reiterated its “overweight” rating on the insurer, with a target price of 568p. The broker thinks there is scope for further upside as Aviva is in the early stages of a multi-year turnaround, with shares not reflecting its medium [...]
888 Holdings share price rises after it forecasts strong growth in earnings July 9, 2014 888 Holdings, operator of online gambling websites, enjoyed a near-four per cent rise in its shares to 125p yesterday, after it said it expects earnings to have risen strongly in the first half of the year. The London-listed company, based in Gibraltar, said it expects half-year earnings to be “significantly ahead” of last year’s $38.6m [...]
Shock fall: UK manufacturing production drops in May July 8, 2014 UK output looks to be taking a tumble, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Industrial and manufacturing production both dropped in May, down by 0.7 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively. The picture is a little confusing for economy watchers. The news follows survey data suggesting we'd see strong [...]
Robert Walters buoyed by rise in UK hiring July 7, 2014 WHITE-COLLAR recruiter Robert Walters yesterday announced a five per cent rise in second-quarter gross profit, as an improved business environment encouraged firms to bring more permanent employees on board. The company, which places workers in engineering, legal, marketing and banking jobs, said it expected full-year profit before tax to be at the upper end of [...]
Best of the Brokers for 08 July 2014 July 7, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com BALFOUR BEATTY Berenberg has kept its “buy” rating, while cutting the target price to 280p from 290p. The broker believes that there is a good chance the company is nearing the end of its problems in the UK, with a cheap valuation compared [...]
Best of the Brokers for 07 July 2014 July 6, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com DIRECT LINE INSURANCE GROUP Citigroup has upgraded to “buy” from “neutral”, lifting the target price to 306p from 244p. The broker believes Direct Line can increasingly use its market-leading position to give it a competitive advantage, with further improvements in costs savings and [...]
Best of the Brokers for 04 July 2014 July 3, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com BP UBS has kept its “neutral” rating on the oil giant, raising the target price to 540p from 525p. UBS thinks BP has been effective in recalibrating strategy by prioritising shareholder value, but has concerns about whether long term opportunities will match the [...]
Fever-Tree seeking to put fizz into market June 30, 2014 Premium mixer-maker Fever-Tree could be floated on the stock market. According to Sky News, LDC, the buyout division of Lloyds Bank, is about to call in Investec to oversee a review of its investment in Fever-Tree. It was set up in 2005 by Charles Rolls and Tim Warrillow with the aim of targeting consumers’ willingness [...]
Analyst Views: Do Dixons’ results bode well for its merger with Carphone Warehouse? June 26, 2014 KATE CALVERT | INVESTEC The results confirmed the business remains in great shape ahead of the proposed Carphone merger… We see strategic logic in the merger given the way the industry is moving, with increasing convergence in technologies and interconnectivity. We maintain our ‘buy’ rating. JOHN CUMMINS | WH IRELAND The prelims read well, demonstrating [...]