Market Pulse
French Treasury planning sale of 20 ad 50-year debt
News that French authorities were planning to sell 20 and 50-year debt via a syndicate of banks weighed on the prices of its sovereign bonds on Tuesday.
Cranswick gobbles up Crown Chicken
Food producer Cranswick announced the acquisition of CCL Holdings, and its 100% owned subsidiary Crown Chicken Limited from the Thacker family and management on Monday.
Fade February/March bounce in stocks, JP Morgan says
Investors would be best advised to 'fade' the February/March bounce in equities, despite the weaker headwinds US corporates were now facing in the run-up to the quarterly results seasons and low earnings estimates from analysts, JP Morgan said.
Tuesday preview: UK inflation to improve in March, analysts expect
UK inflation on Tuesday is expected to show a slight improvement in March but is forecast to remain well below the Bank of England’s 2% target.
Gateley makes UK legal history with first acquisition since listing
Gateley Holdings has made its first acquisition since becoming the first UK law firm ever to list on the stock market, last June.
Darren Cornwall to leave Entu board
Home energy solutions provider Entu has announced that its corporate development director Darren Cornwall will step down from its board in order to work “on a more flexible basis. ”.
RBC ups target price on Fresnillo
Shares in Fresnillo were moving higher after analysts Tyler Broda and Alexandra Slattery at RBC bumped their target price on the stock from 610p to 750p, albeit while downgrading their recommendation from 'sector perform' to 'underperform'.
Nomura said to plan job cuts in Europe and Americas
Nomura Holdings is said to be planning job cuts in the Americas and Europe as it looks to bring down costs amid a slump in its overseas operations.
Exane BNP cuts target price for Next, sees shares trading at a discount
Retailer Next fell off its perch, falling victim to downwardly revised earnings guidance, a misjudged buyback and a downbeat outlook reflecting less potential to grow its digital footprint and a move by customers away from credit, broker Exane BNP said.
EKF Diagnostics non-exec resigns as new chairman joins
Ron Zwanziger has resigned as non-executive director of EKF Diagnostics with immediate effect.
TyraTech appoints industry veteran Barella as chairman
AIM-listed life sciences technology group TyraTech has appointed industry veteran José Geraldo Ramalho Barella as non-executive chairman with immediate effect following the resignation of Alan Reade.
Europe midday: Stocks turn higher as Italian banks rally
European stocks reversed opening losses to trade higher, with Italy’s FTSE Mib pacing the advance as the country’s bank stocks rallied.
Russian police station hit by suicide bombing
Three men have attacked a police station in a village in Stavropol, Russia, according to the interior ministry, one of whom was a suicide bomber.
US pre-open: Stocks seen a little higher ahead of Alcoa results
US futures pointed to a slightly firmer open on Wall Street as the dollar stabilised against the yen, with investors looking ahead to the start of the earnings season.
Utilitywise forms IoT technology partnership with Dell
Utilitywise has been signed up as a partner by US technology giant Dell as part of a joint strategy to sell internet of things (IoT) solutions to business customers.
Tesco planning to offload Dobbies Garden Centres
Tesco was reported to be preparing plans to sell its loss-making divisions on Monday, with chief executive Dave Lewis appointing an adviser to assist with a sale of garden centre chain Dobbies.
BoJ ready to add to stimulus, Kuroda says
The Governor of the Bank of Japan, Haruhiko Kuroda, said the central bank was ready to add to its monetary stimulus if necessary in order to meet its inflation target.
RBS said to close India business by end of the year
Royal Bank of Scotland will reportedly close its banking operations in India after deciding against the sale of the division due to worries about red tape.
James Cropper eyeing reems of paper profits
James Cropper said it was confident of far surpassing the market's expectations as the specialist paper maker's sales trends from last year have continued in encouraging fashion.
Barclays downgrades Direct Line to 'equalweight'
Barclays downgraded Direct Line Insurance to ‘equalweight’ from ‘overweight’ and cut the price target to 369p from 443p as it took a look at UK motor insurers.