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Friday broker round-up
Ocado Group: Berenberg downgrades to hold with a target price of 2,390p.
US personal consumption misses forecasts in February, but incomes stronger
Personal spending in the US undershot analysts' forecasts last month, but revised figures showed that incomes had grown significantly more quickly than expected.
Chamberlin raises £3.5m, carries on with cost-cutting programme
Castings and engineering group Chamberlin said on Friday that it has conditionally raised approximately £3. 5m thanks to a placing of 40. 83m new ordinary shares at a price of 6. 0p per share with both institutional and other investors and a subscription for 17. 5m new ordinary shares at the placing price by non-executive director Trevor Brown.
Honda sells UK factory to warehouse group Panattoni
Honda has agreed to sell the site of its Swindon car factory to Panattoni, Europe's biggest warehouse developer, for redevelopment.
Jefferies upgrades BAT, downgrades Imperial Tobacco
Jefferies downgraded Imperial Tobacco on Friday as it pointed to risks from its focus on legacy assets, and upgraded British American Tobacco and Altria.
Renishaw upgrades full-year profit, revenue guidance
FTSE 250 engineering company Renishaw upgraded its full-year guidance on Friday as it pointed to "good momentum" in the business.
Haydale awarded £1.1m UK innovation loan
Haydale Graphene Industries has been awarded a £1. 1m loan by the UK government's innovation agency to expand its manufacturing operations.
US pre-open: Dow on track to end volatile week on a high
Wall Street futures were mixed ahead of the bell on Friday, with the Dow Jones hoping to end what has been a volatile week for trading on somewhat of a high note.
Europe midday: Shares rally on US recovery optimism
European shares held gains at midday on Friday, driven by hopes of a strong US recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and positive UK retail sales data.
Immotion raises £300,000 from investor
Immotion has agreed to raise £300,000 from one of its investors in a transaction that values the shares at 15% more than Thursday's closing price.
Asda loses latest round in UK equal pay case
Shopworkers at UK supermarket chain Asda have won the latest stage in their fight for equal pay.
London midday: Stocks in the black after retail sales; Smiths Group rallies
London stocks were in the black by midday on Friday following encouraging UK retail sales data, with Smiths Group pacing the advance after well-received interim results.
WeWork to go public in $9bn Spac deal - report
WeWork has agreed to merge with a blank cheque company in a deal that would take the shared-office group public almost two years after the collapse of its initial public offering, according to a report.
BP rejects shareholder resolution on climate change
BP has rejected a shareholder resolution calling on the company to set stricter targets to meet goals to combat global heating.
UK commercial vehicle production down 45pc in February
Commercial vehicle production in the UK declined 45. 4% year-on-year in February, with 4,308 units built, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Canaccord Genuity downgrades IQE to 'hold'
Analysts at Canaccord Genuity lowered their rating on semiconductors outfit IQE from 'speculative buy' to 'hold' on Friday, citing what it called a "gross margin conundrum".
Asia report: Markets higher as US moves buoy sentiment
Stock markets in Asia were mostly positive at the end of Friday, with China and Japan leading the gains, as investors digested comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on the US recovery overnight.
Berenberg cuts Ocado to ‘hold’, says high expectations are built in
Berenberg downgraded Ocado shares to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ on Friday and cut the price target to 2,390p from 2,925p as it said it’s a great company but expectations are high.
German business activity beats expectations - Ifo
German business activity beat expectations in March as sentiment jumped to the highest for almost two and a half years, a widely read survey showed.
Panthera encouraged by sampling results at Bassala
West Africa and India-focussed gold exploration and development company Panthera Resources announced on Friday that soil sampling was now complete at the Bassala Project in Mali.