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Wed 15 May 2013
Icap is fighting to restructure and survive. Hence the very positive market reaction on Tuesday when it announced that it would beat its target for cost savings. Far more important even, traders breathed a sigh of relief that it did not cut its dividend payment. Nevertheless, a 12 per cent revenue decline alongside pre-tax profits off by 20 per cent at 284m pounds shows how difficult it is to align costs with declining markets. In addition, there are pending regulatory changes the impact of which, positive or negative, is hard to discern. Icap has been dragged into the Libor scandal, and if found guilty, could face a fine of up to 25m dollars. "The yield of 6.5 per cent may look attractive, but, given the uncertainties, I would be in no mood to chase," The Times´s Tempus says.
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Tue 14 May 2013
Severn Trent topped the leaderboard after it confirmed press speculation that it has received a bid approach from a consortium of investors, which is rumoured to value the UK utility company around 5.3bn pounds. In a statement released this morning, Severn Trent said it had received an approach with a view to making a proposal from Canadian infrastructure investor Borealis, the Kuwait Investment Office and Universities Superannuation Scheme.
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Tue 14 May 2013
Strong gains in the utilities sector after a takeover approach for Severn Trent and some well-received results from Babcock International weren't enough to lift markets into positive territory by Tuesday lunchtime, as the FTSE 100 snapped an eight-day winning streak.
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Tue 14 May 2013
Nomura has kept its 'neutral' rating and 195p target price for telecoms giant Vodafone after the announcement of a 2.1bn-pound dividend payment from its stake in Verizon Wireless (VZW).
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Tue 14 May 2013
Strong gains for Severn Trent and other utility providers helped offset weakness elsewhere on Tuesday morning as the FTSE 100 paused for breath following an eight-day winning streak.
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Wed 03 Apr 2013
Sharp falls in the mining sector and a number of heavyweight stocks going ex-dividend ensured that London markets were firmly in negative territory on Wednesday morning, with investors scaling back risk ahead of some key events later this week.
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Wed 03 Apr 2013
Credit Suisse made across-the-board target-price cuts in the mining sector on Wednesday, highlighting the impact of supply overhang on metals prices this year.
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Wed 03 Apr 2013
Markets shrugged off some strong economic data from China on Wednesday morning to trade firmly in the red with traders nervous ahead of central bank meetings tomorrow and US employment data on Friday.
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Wed 03 Apr 2013
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 18 points from yesterday's close of 6,491, following a mixed performance across Asia overnight, with Japanese stocks rising strongly on the back of a potentially crucial central bank policy meeting.
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Sun 31 Mar 2013
Last Thursday shares of engineering and outsourcing giant Babcock International hit roughly twice their level of five years ago. The company – whose businesses span everything from baggage handling at Heathrow airport to building frigates for the Royal Navy – is humming, bolstered by orders from both the public sector as well the private.
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Mon 18 Mar 2013
Takeover speculation at M&S stepped up a gear this weekend with Qatar's sovereign wealth fund thought to be mulling a bid for the High Street giant worth eight billion pounds. According to the Sunday Times, the Qatar Investment Authority is said to be assembling a consortium of private-equity investors and has spoken to banks about financing a potential offer. A potential offer is thought to value M&S's shares, which closed Friday's session at 372.5p, at a price of 500p each.
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Thu 31 Jan 2013
A host of FTSE 100 heavyweights disappointed with earnings reports on Thursday morning, as market sentiment was still fragile after yesterday's shock economic contraction in the States.
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Thu 31 Jan 2013
The FTSE 100 slumped in early trading on Thursday with heavyweight stocks AstraZeneca, Diageo, Shell and Vedanta providing a drag after disappointing the market with results.
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Thu 31 Jan 2013
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 19 points from yesterday's close of 6,323, tracking declines seen in the US and Asia overnight.
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Tue 29 Jan 2013
Nat Rothschild escalated his battle with Bumi's board yesterday, dismissing their plans for a radical shake-up of the Indonesian coal miner he co-founded – before they had even been announced. Mr Rothschild, pictured, rubbished the promotion of Eko Budianto to be new head of a key Bumi subsidiary, due to be announced today, claiming he is too close to the group's other founders, Indonesia's Bakrie brothers. Mr Budianto will replace Rosan Roeslani, a 9.8 per cent shareholder in Bumi, a month after the Takeover Panel ruled there had been improper disclosure about Mr Roeslani's close relationship with the Bakrie brothers. [The Independent]
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Wed 02 Jan 2013
- Footsie surges 2.2 per cent
- Global stock markets helped by manufacturing figures
- Miners benefit from increased risk appetite
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Wed 02 Jan 2013
- US leaders pass budget deal to avert fiscal cliff
- Mining and banking stocks celebrate with decent performance
- UK manufacturing ends 2012 on a high
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Wed 02 Jan 2013
The FTSE 100 surged on Wednesday morning as investors celebrated the news that the fiscal cliff deal Stateside, with mining and banking stocks benefitting from the increase in risk appetite.
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Wed 12 Dec 2012
UK stocks finished Wednesday's session with decent gains, extending its recent winning streak into its sixth day, with investors widely expecting the US Federal Reserve to reveal more stimulus measures in the coming hours.
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Wed 12 Dec 2012
Resource stocks were leading the way on the FTSE by the afternoon on Wednesday, boosted by rising metal prices and hopes that US law-makers can come to an arrangement over the impending 'fiscal cliff'.
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