Friday tips round-up: Booker, Investec, Great Portland
21st May 2010 06:48
There is cash in cash and carry ? at least at Booker, which showed black ink on its balance sheet yesterday for the first time since returning to the stock market three years ago. At 40¼p, the shares are trading at 12 times current-year earnings ? not stretched, given the combination of strong ear
Read moreLondon close: Footsie slides again on euro woes
20th May 2010 16:34
London took its place in line on another miserable day for European stock markets as concern about the health of Europe sparked a switch into bonds. US shares also slumped as German chancellor Angela Merkel issued more controversial comments, including advocating a hands-on global response to marke
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie lower on weak US
20th May 2010 14:24
Futures pointing to a sharp dip in US markets early on knocked blue chips in London as the afternoon session got underway. Rio Tinto leads the miners lower after Bank of America Merrill Lynch removed the stock from its "Europe 1" list and downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "buy". The broker sa
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie drifts into the red
20th May 2010 12:07
Footsie dipped into negative territory shortly before the lunch time session commenced, with miners largely responsible for the downturn. Rio Tinto leads the miners lower after Bank of America Merrill Lynch removed the stock from its "Europe 1" list and downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "buy".
Read moreRotork expands nuclear capability
20th May 2010 07:02
Rotork the manufacturer of electric, pneumatic and hydraulic valve actuators, is to buy a US designer and manufacturer of nuclear actuators. Rotork is paying $7.8m in cash for Ralph A. Hiller, a 60-year old company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Around $1.3m of the cash consideration will be de
Read moreRotork says year begins in line
23rd Apr 2010 12:58
Engineer Rotork said the year has begun well and in line with expectations. "The current trading levels support our confidence that the company will make progress again this year as we continue to see increased activity in many of our end user markets and geographies," it added. The group said ord
Read moreLiontrust executives buy following trading update
25th Mar 2010 16:54
Liontrust Asset Management's two executive directors have added to their shareholdings following the release of a trading statement for the year to March 2010. Chief executive Nigel Legge and chief operating officer and finance director Vinay Abrol each bought 180,039 shares at 105p a share. Legge
Read moreFD sells after Invista bid talks end
8th Mar 2010 16:49
Invista Real Estate Investment Management finance director Guy Eastaugh sold nearly one-third of his shares in the company the day after it announced that bid talks had ended. Eastaugh sold 150,000 shares at 49p each, which raised £73,500. Prior to the announcement that the takeover talks had ende
Read moreBroker tips: Whitbread, Aviva, Rotork
4th Mar 2010 12:38
Andy Harrison, chief executive officer (CEO) of easyJet, should inherit a company in robust shape when he takes over as CEO of restaurants and hotels group Whitbread in late November. Charles Stanley approves of the appointment and thinks his 'experience of yield management and international market
Read moreBroker snap: KBC Peel Hunt upgrades Rotork
4th Mar 2010 12:22
KBC Peel Hunt has taken Rotork off its sell list after the engineer's results earlier this week. The broker has bumped up its 2010 forecasts substantially and is now predicting profit before tax of £97.7m, compared to £79.1m previously and a market consensus of £88m, and underlying earnings per sha
Read moreRotork shrugs off tough conditions
2nd Mar 2010 08:32
Engineer Rotork posted a rise in profits despite tough conditions in 2009 and said it was seeing an improvement in general market conditions. Pre-tax profits for the year climbed by 20% to £90.9m on revenues that were up by 10.4% to £353.5m. The company was helped by currency benefits. On constant
Read moreFamily purchase at BATS
16th Dec 2009 16:09
Dr Gerald Murphy's family interests have acquired 3,000 shares in British American Tobacco. Dr Murphy joined the board of British American Tobacco as a non-executive director on the 13 March. This is the first time he and his family interests have acquired any shares in the tobacco company since he
Read moreLondon afternoon: Equities drift lower
20th Nov 2009 22:49
Around two thirds of the Footsie's constituents are in the red today as the blue-chip index looks set to finish the week lower than it started it. US bank Morgan Stanley has rained on the parade of package tour operators Thomas Cook and TUI Travel. The bank has cut its rating on both stocks, prompt
Read moreLondon close: Volatile Footsie closes lower
20th Nov 2009 16:34
Footsie ended slightly in the red after a topsy-turvy day which saw UK shares at the mercy of the US dollar. Shares in miner Antofagasta resumed their position near the top of the leaderboard after a brief dip into negative territory that came as commodity prices slipped in line with strength in th
Read moreLondon midday: Holiday firms in the shade
20th Nov 2009 12:11
Leading shares lack direction, with Footsie's early advance turning into a retreat, as early gains on mining stocks are pared. The outlook for package tour operators Thomas Cook and TUI Travel is as miserable as London's weather, according to US bank Morgan Stanley, which has cut its rating on both
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