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Friday broker round-up
Whitbread: Barclays upgrades to Equal Weight with target price of 4150p.
Whitbread's shares bolstered by Barclays upgrade
Whitbread’s shares were given a boost on Friday after Barclays lifted its rating on the stock to ‘equal weight’ from ‘underweight’ and raised the target price to 4,150p from 3,340p.
US pre-open: Stocks seen mixed ahead of Trump inauguration
US futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street as investors looked to Donald Trump’s inauguration as the country’s 45th president.
Asia report: Markets mixed as focus shifts from red dragon to orange man
Markets in Asia finished the week mixed, as investors looked towards the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, and reacted to a relatively positive release of economic data from China.
Avacta expects licensing deal for therapeutics product in 2017, order book swells
Life science firm Avacta expects to have its first licensing deal for Affirmer, its biotherapeutics product, this year as its order book swelled.
MySale's half-year earnings double as customer base expands
Australian online retailer MySale Group’s half-year earnings doubled after a surge in revenues as its company base expanded.
UK retail sales fall more than expected in December, ONS reveals
UK retail sales in December fell the most since April 2012 as an increase in average store prices deterred shoppers, official data revealed on Friday.
Abzena signs licensing agreement for 'ThioBridge' technology
Life sciences group Abzena announced on Friday that it has signed a licensing agreement with an unnamed San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company for its site-specific ‘ThioBridge’ antibody drug conjugate linker technology.
Ten ways markets could surprise us this year - Credit Suisse
As Donald Trump prepares to pick up the keys to the White House and the Brexit debacles rumbles on, Credit Suisse highlighted 10 ways in which financial markets could surprise us this year, along with its 10 core views.
Gradual pace of interest rate increases prudent, Fed´s Yellen says
Letting the US economy run "too hot" would be risky and unwise, the head of the country´s central bank said, while reiterating her support for a gradual removal of the then current lax policy settings.
Elecosoft's pre-tax to be 'significantly' ahead of expectations after record sales
Shares surged in Elecosoft after the construction software company said that it expects pre-tax profit to be “significantly” ahead of expectations after achieving record sales during 2016 and benefiting from movements in currency exchange rates.
Heineken in talks with Kirin to buy Brazil business
Dutch brewer Heineken confirmed it is currently in discussions with Kirin Holdings about a potential acquisition of its Brazilian beer business.
BrainJuicer performs 'strongly' after two years of 'modest' growth
Marketing firm BrainJuicer said that it performed “strongly” during 2016 after two years of “modest” growth, as profit increased.
Argon bankruptcy still causing headaches for Ranger Direct
Ranger Direct updated the market on Friday, on the status of its platform agreement with the now-bankrupt online lender Argon.
Trump and May doomed to failure, Soros at Davos
Billionaire investor George Soros has told the World Economic Forum in Davos that he believes incoming US president Donald Trump will be a failure and British prime minister Theresa May will not last in the position.
Pets at Home shares fall as HSBC cuts rating to 'hold'
Pets at Home shares fell on Friday after HSBC downgraded the stock to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ and lowered the target price to 230p from 290p after the company reported its third quarter trading update.
IBM year-on-year revenues decline for 19th consecutive quarter
New York-based enterprise technology firm International Business Machines Corp. posted its nineteenth consecutive fall in revenues when it reported its fourth quarter earnings on Thursday, despite the fact it beat analyst estimates on both its top and bottom lines.
Midatech Pharma expects a rise in full-year revenue
Shares soared in Midatech after the oncology pharmaceuticals firm said it has the potential to deliver double-digit growth in 2017 and expects to report a significant increase in revenue for 2016.
Close Brothers confident over outlook, reports loan book growth
FTSE 250 merchant bank Close Brothers expressed confidence over its full-year results as it reported growth in its loan book.
Aviva to develop digital insurance company with Hillhouse, Tencent
FTSE 100 insurer Aviva has agreed to develop an insurance company in Hong Kong focusing on digital insurance with Hillhouse Capital and Tencent Holdings.