What you need to know before the open March 25, 2014 European bourses are expected to see a positive start this morning, although trading’s still choppy as geopolitical tensions continue. Speculation on further stimulus from China has been growing, which seems to have boosted sentiment. On the other hand, this could be misplaced – the government’s determined to trim recklessness in the banking system, so added [...]
London Report: Ukraine strife and China data hit FTSE shares March 24, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index fell yesterday on concerns about the situation in Ukraine and a slowdown in Chinese growth, while energy providers were hit by worries they may be forced to break up their businesses. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended 0.6 per cent lower at 6,520.39 points, falling for nine of the past 12 [...]
Best of the Brokers for 16 January 2014 January 15, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com WETHERSPOONS Brokers at Numis have increased their target price on the stock to 925p and put an “add” rating on the stock due to a faster rate of expansion at the pub chain and falling swap costs. The pub plans to open eight [...]
What you need to know before the open February 20, 2014 Europe is expected to open lower this morning, after disappointing Chinese manufacturing data and yesterday’s release of the latest Federal Open Market Committee minutes. The minutes showed a further taper of $10bn is likely in March. The Chinese HSBC purchasing managers’ index has come in at 48.3, considerably below expectations of 49.4. Corporate news Centrica [...]
Cuadrilla plans to frack at two Lancashire sites February 4, 2014 SHALE GAS explorer Cuadrilla Resources yesterday said that it plans to start fracking at two new sites in Lancashire, to the alarm of environmental groups who say it will not solve the UK’s energy problems. The company, which has British Gas-owner Centrica as a stakeholder, said that it plans to apply for permission to hydraulically [...]
Political risk prompts Brewin Dolphin downgrade of UK utilities February 13, 2014 The UK’s utilities sector was given another blow today with a downgrade from Brewin Dolphin to underweight. The researchers are also downgrading their recommendations on the two FTSE 100 energy suppliers Centrica and SSE to "hold". The downgrades were partially triggered by energy secretary Ed Davey writing to the regulators this week, calling for the [...]
Meet the CEO betting big on his company’s success January 6, 2014 The new chief executive (CEO) of Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) is investing more than just his time in the company's success. Phil Bentley, who replaced Tony Rice as CEO on 1 January has bought 4.3m shares in the company since his appointment. The value of the shares amounts to three times Mr Bentley's base [...]
Industry leaders arrive for business summit January 21, 2014 BUSINESS leaders and politicians are descending on the Swiss town of Davos this week for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, one of the most high-profile networking events of the year. Topics that will certainly be on the agenda include everything from the worrisome slowdown in emerging markets to uncertainty over the tapering [...]
Is the UK still open for business? Not if politicians keep meddling in markets April 14, 2014 AFTER seven years at the top, last month London lost its place as the number one city in the Global Financial Centres Index. Is this a temporary slippage, or should we be concerned? I have always thought of the City, and the UK, as one of the best places to invest and do business. We [...]
Don’t just blame energy giants: Government is blunting competition March 27, 2014 IT IS not entirely unwelcome that the energy industry has been referred to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) by Ofgem. It may lance a festering boil; it may do some good. However, this will only be the case if the investigation is handled correctly. Too often, competition inquiries have created huge uncertainty and disruption. [...]