BEST OF THE BROKERS January 19, 2011 NOKIA Standard & Poor’s Equity Research has moved the mobile maker from “strong buy” to “hold” and downgraded the target price to €8 from €9 as it feels its board has limited strategy options against competitors such as Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android. The broker says Nokia’s operating systems lack exciting apps and it should [...]
Apple soars over forecasts to $6bn quarterly profit January 19, 2011 Apple delivered a record quarterly $6bn (£3.8bn) net profit for the three months to Christmas after trading in the US closed last night. The maker of iPhones, iPads and mac computers generated its highest-ever revenues of $26.74bn and earnings per share of $6.43, nearly double the $3.67 generated in the same quarter a year earlier. [...]
Relief for Apple as sales soar January 18, 2011 APPLE beat expectations with its quarterly results yesterday, buoyed by strong Christmas figures that saw the company sell 7.3m iPads, 16.2m iPhones and 19.5m iPods during the period. Analysts had expected earnings per share (EPS) of $3.95 versus an actual EPS of $4.64. Revenues were $26.7bn (£16.7bn) compared with a consensus forecast of $24bn. Apple executives will [...]
US stocks climb on hiked price targets January 18, 2011 US stocks gained yesterday, overcoming weak Citigroup results and concerns circling Apple after Chief Executive Steve Jobs’ medical leave. Investors focused instead on increased price targets for Google, which reports later this week, and Dow component Caterpillar, whose results are due next week. Shares of Apple slipped 2.3 per cent to $340.65 ahead of its [...]
Bullish corporate results bolster FTSE January 18, 2011 THE FTSE rose healthily today and though it gave back some of the gains in the afternoon it closed in the black, up 1.18 per cent or 65.10 to 6,050.80. Banks boosted trading as conditions in the eurozone continued to stabilise, while Burberry was in demand after releasing excellent third-quarter results that showed revenues rose [...]
Apple rocked as Jobs sick again January 17, 2011 APPLE shares tanked in European trading yesterday after talismanic boss Steve Jobs announced he will take an open-ended leave of absence on medical grounds. The bombshell, dropped on the eve of tonight’s Apple trading update, caused panic among investors who fear the firm could struggle without Jobs at the helm. US markets were closed for [...]
Nokia calls time on free music download service January 17, 2011 MOBILE phone manufacturer Nokia is to discontinue its free music downloads service in most of the major markets it operates in. The Finnish multinational communications company will drop its Ovi Music Unlimited service in the UK and 26 other countries. Launched in 2008 as “Comes with Music” the service was designed to compete with the [...]
THE TIPSTER January 17, 2011 INDUSTRIAL giant General Electric reports its fourth quarter earnings on Friday. The company is often seen as something of a barometer for the global economy as a whole but the share price still remains somewhat depressed from the highs of 2007. Demand from emerging economies will continue to lend support to sectors such as its [...]
FTSE tumbles to lowest close for a week as bank shares fall January 17, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index fell yesterday, with declines from miners and banks offsetting a lift from merger and acquisition moves, as finance ministers were gathering to discuss changes to the Eurozone’s rescue fund. Smiths grabbed top spot on the blue-chip leaderboard, up 7.7 per cent, after the engineering firm rebuffed a £2.45bn bid for its [...]
FTSE closes under a cloud January 17, 2011 THE FTSE 100 closed down 0.3 per cent or 16.37 points at 5,985.70 today, under a cloud as EU finance ministers gathered to discuss changes to the eurozone’s bailout fund, and weighed down by miners and banks. Trading was also lacklustre as US markets were closed for the Martin Luther King Jr day holiday. Merger [...]