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Comment: Sterling Fluctuates; Further Manoeuvring from Pharmaceutical Firms
April 29, 2014 8:14 amVideo
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There were large fluctuations in Sterling this morning, as the pound rose prior to the UK GDP announcement; and dropped sharply when the figure turned out to be slightly lower than expected. Predictions had been for growth of 0.9%, but the actual number turned out to be 0.8% – still an increase on the 4th quarter of 2013, which saw 0.7% growth.
Pharmaceutical stocks continued to move in the wake of Pfizer’s manoeuvring for AstraZeneca, and were exacerbated by reports that Allergan, the US maker of Botox, is contemplating a bid for the Irish pharmaceutical company Shire PLC. This is at least in part a defensive measure for the US company, which it itself facing a takeover bid from Valeant Pharmaceuticals.
Looking at earnings releases, strong quarters for both Premier Inn and Costa led to parent company Whitbread PLC reporting a 13% rise in full year revenues. Meanwhile, BP first quarter profits dropped to $2.3 billion, a far cry from the $4.2 billion it posted in the first quarter of 2013. However, BP stocks rose on the back of the company raising its quarterly dividend by 8.3%, up to 9.75 cents per share.
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