London close: FTSE closes lower as traders sift through data
3rd Mar 2016 16:07
(ShareCast News) - The FTSE 100 closed in the red on Thursday following a batch of downbeat economic data. UK services activity declined much more than expected in February as economic growth slowed to its weakest for almost three years, according to Markit/CIPS data. The Markit/CIPS services purch
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Housebuilders subside on weak construction report
2nd Mar 2016 14:45
(ShareCast News) - The FTSE 100 was back in the red on Wednesday afternoon, led by ITV and a fall from the larger housebuilding companies. ITV was one of the biggest losers of the day, even as the commercial broadcaster reported a surge in underlying pre-tax profits, which were up 18% to £843m. Whi
Read moreThursday newspaper share tips: Current housing climate makes Barratt a good deal
25th Feb 2016 11:14
(ShareCast News) - The Times' Tempus believed the success of Barratt Developments, especially in the current housing climate, is a good reason to 'buy'. The FTSE 100 construction group generated £295m pre-tax profit in the six months to the calendar year end, an increase of 40.3% on revenues that ro
Read moreEnQuest non-exec joins Barratt's board
24th Feb 2016 11:09
(ShareCast News) - EnQuest non-executive director Jock Lennox has been appointed as a non-executive director of Barratt Developments, the housenuilder confirmed on Wednesday. Lennox will continue as a non-executive director at EnQuest. However, Oxford Instruments, on whose board Lennox also serves a
Read moreBarratt Developments hikes dividend as profits fly
24th Feb 2016 07:03
(ShareCast News) - Barratt Developments hiked its dividend by a quarter after the housebuilder's profits mushroomed in the first half of the year. The FTSE 100 construction group generated £295m pre-tax profit in the six months to the calendar year end, an increase of 40.3% on revenues that rose 19%
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners lead index back over 6000
22nd Feb 2016 14:16
(ShareCast News) - The FTSE 100 was back over 6,000 points on Monday, with the index up 106.09 points (1.78%) to 6,056.32. Miners led the market as commodity price were boosted following the recent rally in global equities. Anglo American was at the top of the list on reports that the company may s
Read moreSunday share tips: Panmure Gordon, UK housebuilders, Fastforward Innovations
14th Feb 2016 15:48
(ShareCast News) - Sell shares in Panmure Gordon said the Sunday Times' Inside the City column. The broker's historic, 140-year-old brand gives it an advantage but as a specialist in small cap and mid-cap clients companies, it has seen its pipeline for flotations, fundraisings and M&A deals run rath
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Housebuilders lead market higher
10th Feb 2016 14:26
(ShareCast News) - The FTSE 100 was set to turn things around on Wednesday, with the blue chip market up 48.39 points (0.86%) to 5,680.58 by mid-afternoon. Housebuilders were on the rise, including Taylor Wimpey, Berkeley Group Holdings and Barratt Developments, after sector peer Bellway reported st
Read moreExpect moderate UK house price rises after help-to-buy scheme expansion, Moody's says
27th Jan 2016 08:12
(ShareCast News) - The expansion of the help-to-buy initiative in the UK will increase mortgage lending, leading to "moderate rises in house prices", according to Moody's. The British government has increased the initial equity loan pay out from 20%, as originally enacted, to 40% to compensate for t
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Sports Direct falls as shareholder's concerns laid out
18th Jan 2016 14:06
(ShareCast News) - The FTSE 100 was in a slow decline by mid-afternoon Monday, down 27.76 points (0.48%) to 5,776.34. Sports Direct was the biggest faller after one of the retailer's major investors voiced its concerns about its relationship with Nike as well as its website offering. In comments pu
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks seen higher after better-than-expected China data
13th Jan 2016 07:15
(ShareCast News) - London stocks are expected to open higher on Wednesday following the release of better-than-expected trade data from China. The FTSE 100 is seen starting 54 points higher than Tuesday's close at 5,983. "This morning's latest China December trade data showed that exports only fe
Read moreBarratt says first half completions up 9.4%
13th Jan 2016 07:07
(ShareCast News) - Completions for house builder Barratt rose 9.4% in the six months to the end of 2015 with the average selling price up 10.8% and total forward sales up 20% to £2bn. The company said overall, market conditions were "good and we remain confident in our outlook for the full year", in
Read moreJefferies hoists target prices for housebuilding sector
12th Jan 2016 13:37
(ShareCast News) - Jefferies has upgraded house builders Barratt Developments, Berkeley and Galliford Try due to the UK's continued housing shortage outweighing other concerns. The broker said it believes the government's 100,000-a-year target is not achievable with current construction skills short
Read moreUK housebuilders boosted by upbeat BoA ML note
14th Dec 2015 10:59
(ShareCast News) - Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded its stance on Barratt Developments to 'neutral' from 'underperform' as it took a look at UK housebuilders. The bank said it remained supportive of the sector and reiterated buy-rated Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Bellway as its top picks. "W
Read moreBarratt sees strong rise in forward sales as housing market grows
11th Nov 2015 07:18
(ShareCast News) - Housebuilder Barratt said total forward sales, including joint ventures, rose by 20.7% to £2.5bn in the 19 weeks to 8 November. Net private reservations per week were up 12.5% to 261 with a sales rate of 0.70 net private reservations per active site per week against 0.63 last year
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