Lloyds Share News (LLOY)

Most of Lloyds' key financial metrics continued to 'appreciate measurably' in the first quarter, according to Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers."Lloyds is often seen as a proxy for the UK economy, and although they are inextricably linked, both are beginning to prosper after a long period of austerity," said Richard Hunter, Head of Equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers.Numis Securities has downgraded its rating for Weir Group from 'add' to 'hold' despite the company's in-line first-quarter trading update on Thursday, saying that it sees little upside after the stock's recent strong run.Nevertheless, Numis said: "We continue to view Weir as a high quality business with leading market positions, excellent margins and strong cash generation."Bernstein Research has kept an 'underperform' rating and 700p target price for British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB), but admitted that the company's outlook is "beginning to look safer".The broker said that the economic recovery in the UK "should help lift the outlook for TV, both from a demand perspective and from a pricing angle". It added: "If BSkyB were to ratchet back growth on Broadband and Telephony, this might reduce the need for BT to be aggressive on content, which could bode well for a more orderly English Premier League auction next year (a net positive)."Investec remains a 'seller' of BG Group despite first-quarter results looking "fine", saying that the surprise departure of its Chief Executive Officer on Monday is "still a mystery"."After the shock resignation of Chris Finlayson, there had perhaps been a fear that the first quarter might have seen another car crash. In the event, the results were absolutely fine, making his exit all the more mystifying," Analyst Neill Morton said.Cantor Fitzgerald has said that the scale of the profit warning by outsourcing group Serco is "surprising", as it reiterated its 'sell' recommendation for the stock."Serco has had a spectacular fall from grace, in our view, but we are not convinced that the worst is over for shareholders. The new Chief Executive Officer has barely got his feet under his desk and, as we expected, Andrew Jenner, group Chief Financial Officer is stepping down. It is therefore a real possibility in our view that we will see more 'kitchen sinking' by the new management team."BC