London midday: Shares buoyant as commodities soar
8th Apr 2011 12:13
Miners are leading the rally in the FTSE 100 as commodity prices advance, though the higher oil price is causing concern. Shares in Fresnillo, which mines for silver in Mexico, were the best performing in London's leading share index. Silver hit $40 an ounce for the first time since 1980, while gol
Read moreLondon open: Shares bounce back
8th Apr 2011 08:28
Shares have rebounded after a late dive yesterday following an earthquake aftershock in Japan, which was not as bad as feared. Indian mining giant Vedanta produced record volumes of metals in the fourth quarter as it sought to benefit from soaring commodity prices. In its Indian zinc-lead-silver op
Read moreBrainspark chief executive takes shares
4th Apr 2011 15:52
The chief executive of investment company Brainspark, Alfredo Villa, has spent £112,500 on shares in the company. He took 31,000 shares, paying 34.5p a share. Following the acquisition and the conversion of some other shares awarded to Villa into ordinary shares, he now has about 5.3m ordinary shar
Read moreLondon midday: Slide continues in quake aftermath
15th Mar 2011 12:09
The blue chip index continues to be hurt by the crisis in Japan as sentiment remains battered by fears of a nuclear disaster. While off its lows for the day so far, the FTSE 100 still remains over 2% under at around 5,640, a level not seen this year. A third explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi nucle
Read moreLondon close: Footsie in full retreat
10th Mar 2011 16:57
Blue chips took a beating as investors focused on weak economic data from China and a downgrade for Spanish debt, rather than the Bank of England decision to keep its key lending rate at 0.5%. China posted a trade deficit of $7.3bn in February compared with the usual surplus, due mainly to the shut
Read moreLondon afternoon: Drugs firms provide some cheer
10th Mar 2011 14:47
Investors are finding plenty of reasons to be fearful but at least the Bank of England has stuck to the script and held its key lending rate at 0.5%. Otherwise, weak economic data from China and a downgrade for Spanish debt has put the situation in Libya into the shade today. China posted a trad
Read moreLondon close: Lower finish as Libya turmoil persists
4th Mar 2011 16:56
The top share index closed in the red going into the weekend as the spectre of high oil prices remerged amid continuing turmoil in Libya. Brent crude rose above $116 a barrel as the conflict in Libya continues. Government forces have been cracking down on protesters in Tripoli and there have been c
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie turns red
4th Mar 2011 15:19
A weak start on Wall Street has sent London to an intra-day low, with miners turning tail. US monthly non-farm payrolls were better than expected, but not by much. Investors don't look keen to open up any new positions ahead of the weekend. Mining heavyweights Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Kazakh
Read moreAnglo American boss digs deep again
28th Feb 2011 17:57
Anglo-American's chairman Sir John Parker has added to his stake in the company again with the purchase of nearly £100,000 in shares. He bought 2,890 at 3,282.5p a time. Last week he bought 3,000 at 3,238p each. Anglo American announced earlier this month that it is merging its UK cement, aggregat
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 back above 6,000 as oil retreats
25th Feb 2011 16:47
Shares surged past 6,000 heading into the weekend as a Saudi pledge to pump more oil if needed reassured markets following the turmoil in Libya. The London Stock Exchange, which recently switched over to a new computer system, suffered an embarrassing glitch which resulted in the exchange shutting
Read moreLondon afternoon: Lloyds left behind
25th Feb 2011 14:15
Share prices moved sideways over the lunch time session, but at least they were moving; the London Stock Exchange, which recently switched over to a new computer system, suffered an embarrassing glitch which resulted in the exchange shutting down for most of the morning. Shares have been lifted by
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Anglo American, Informa, Devro...
23rd Feb 2011 06:43
Anglo American has a clear growth strategy, with a pipeline of 60 projects requiring $70bn of investment. It plans to double production of its commodities over the next decade. Anglo's Barro Alto nickel project in Brazil will begin production imminently and its Los Bronces copper expansion in Chil
Read moreSector movers: BHP leads the miners
22nd Feb 2011 15:23
The miners are providing a lift to the market today, with sector giant BHP Billiton among the blue chips rising higher. The company bolstered its oil and gas operations after the $4.75bn acquisition of Chesapeake Energy's Fayetteville shale assets. Mining peers Rio Tinto, African Barrick Gold, Ang
Read moreAnglo American chairman invests £97,000
21st Feb 2011 16:36
Anglo American chairman Sir John Parker has bought £97,000 worth of shares in the mining giant but this did nothing to stop the share price sliding further after last week's results and deal with Lafarge. Sir John bought 3,000 shares at £32.38 each on Monday but the share price closed at £31.85.
Read moreSector movers: Anglo American leads miners lower
18th Feb 2011 15:01
The mining sector is being weighed lower by blue chip Anglo American which is losing nearly 3%. The group is in the red despite reporting that underlying earnings leapt to $4.98bn last year from $2.57bn in 2009 on revenue up 34% to $32.93bn. It's also agreed a 50:50 joint venture with Lafarge to
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