London close: Good gains for FTSE 100
18th Jan 2010 16:33
Footsie finished the day in the blue despite a sharp reversal in the fortunes of International Power, which earlier had soared on speculation of a takeover by French power giant GDF Suez. Shares in the energy company slid from their earlier highs after it admitted it held talks with GDF Suez about
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks keep climbing
18th Jan 2010 14:49
Ongoing bid speculation, stronger retailers and buoyant miners have pushed London above 5,500. International Power is top of the pile on press reports that French power giant GDF Suez has made a takeover approach to the group, but there has been no statement from either side over the truth of the s
Read moreBroker tips: Miners, Tate & Lyle
7th Jan 2010 14:32
Cazenove remains ‘overweight’ on the mining sector and expects some aggressive increases to consensus EPS forecasts for 2010. Last year was a ‘tremendous’ one for mining stocks and the broker believes some favourable, ‘albeit slightly tired themes’ remain, like BRIC economic growth, infrastructure
Read moreBroker snap: Caz still backs miners
7th Jan 2010 10:20
Cazenove remains 'overweight' on the mining sector and expects some aggressive increases to consensus EPS forecasts for 2010. Last year was a 'tremendous' one for mining stocks and the broker believes some favourable, 'albeit slightly tired themes' remain, like BRIC economic growth, infrastructure
Read moreLondon close: Dull day for blue chips
30th Dec 2009 16:44
Footsie closed near its low for the day after banks and miners turned down on very low volumes ahead of a short day's trading tomorrow. A flat start on Wall Street didn't help, but it was Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Standard Chartered that led the the banks down while miners Fresnillo, Rio
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks slip lower
30th Dec 2009 11:43
Tops stocks are lower with two of the bigger sectors of the market weighing. Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Standard Chartered are down amongst the banks while miners Fresnillo, Rio Tinto, Lonmin and Anglo American also fall. Petrofac, the oil services firm, is outperforming after news of
Read moreBATS chairman invests £200,000
21st Dec 2009 16:12
Recently appointed British American Tobacco chairman Richard burrows has bought 10,000 shares in the cigarettes supplier. He previously held no shares in the company. His initial investment is just short of £200,000. the shares were acquired for 1,949.35p each. Burrows has a background in the dr
Read moreLondon close: Modest gains for FTSE 100
11th Dec 2009 16:55
Footsie finished the week with modest gains as miners rallied following strong economic data from China. Industrial production growth in China rose again in November to hit 19.1% year-on-year. It is fastest pace of growth in industrial production since June 2007. In UK economic news, factory ga
Read moreLondon afternoon: China data lifts miners
11th Dec 2009 14:30
Mining stocks are more than offsetting losses on banks, as metal prices pick up following some strong economic data from China. Industrial production growth in China rose again in November to hit 19.1% year-on-year. It is fastest pace of growth in industrial production since June 2007. In UK eco
Read moreAnglo American beefs up board
11th Dec 2009 07:02
Mining company Anglo American has appointed Ray O’Rourke to the board as a non-executive director. The 62-year-old O’Rourke is the founder, chief executive and chairman of Laing O’Rourke, the largest privately owned construction company in Europe.. He is the third new non-executive to join the boa
Read moreLondon midday: Banks lead rally
10th Dec 2009 12:34
Financial stocks are driving the market higher, with banks and insurers featuring prominently among the best performers. In the banking sector RBS, Lloyds and Barclays rack up the best gains while among insurers Standard Life, Legal & General and RSA are to the fore. Property stocks, however, are
Read moreLondon open: Shares start down
10th Dec 2009 08:15
London's top stocks are slightly lower in early dealings Thursday morning despite progress from US blue chips last night. United Utilities is leading the fallers following news that its chief financial officer Tim Weller is to jump ship to take over the CFO role at the Cable & Wireless division, Ca
Read moreLondon close: Glum faces as stocks slide
8th Dec 2009 16:40
A weak start on Wall Street and serious concerns about Greece's public finances and Dubai's debt restructuring ensured London ended deep in the red Tuesday. Fears over the solvency of Greece reached new levels after Fitch downgraded its outlook on the country by one rating to 'negative'. Fellow rat
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: RBS remains a concern
8th Dec 2009 11:20
It has been a mixed day for banks. Royal Bank of Scotland tops the worst performers and Standard Chartered is also in decline but Lloyds Banking Group is one of the best performers. The prospect of the inclusion a windfall tax on bonuses in tomorrow's pre-budget report is worrying the sector, but
Read moreLondon close: Rate rise fears fuel late slide
4th Dec 2009 17:17
Euphoria over the better than expected US jobless figures proved short-lived as week-end profit taking took hold and miners headed underground. Metal prices weakened in the afternoon session, taking mining stocks with them, as some pundits suggested that with the better than expected jobless figure
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