London open: Footsie flat as investors show caution
9th Sep 2011 08:31
The Footsie opened unchanged from yesterday's close, with the markets digesting an underwhelming jobs speech by President Obama last night. Describing the stalling of US economic growth as a "national crisis", Obama unveiled his much-trailed American Jobs Act, which Obama pledged "will cut payroll t
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks set to slide after Obama speech
9th Sep 2011 07:28
London seems less than overwhelmed by President Obama's latest plans to kick-start the US economy, with the FTSE 100 set to open around 50 points down from yesterday's close of 5,340. Describing the stalling of US economic growth as a "national crisis", Obama last night unveiled his much-trailed A
Read moreAdmiral hit by ban on referral fees
9th Sep 2011 07:06
FTSE 100 motor insurer Admiral could see "a small proportion" of its profits put at risk under the government's plans to ban the payment of referral fees to insurers. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced on Friday that it plans to tackle rising insurance costs by placing abolishing the fees, as
Read moreLondon close: Late rally pulls FTSE 100 into blue
8th Sep 2011 16:32
It was a volatile day for the Footsie on Thursday, as a steady decline after the Bank of England (BoE) rate decision was met with a late afternoon comeback. The Footsie managed to pull above water by 16:30 to finish with a gain of 0.41%. The BoE announced at midday that it had kept interest rates u
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks stay buoyant
8th Sep 2011 12:02
Shares are posting continued gains as investors take an extended break from fretting about the eurozone crisis. Supermarket chain Morrisons' focus on value helped it post sales and profits ahead of expectations in the half year to 31 July. Pre-tax profits rose to £449m from £412m the previous year
Read moreGlencore non-exec buys first shares
30th Aug 2011 17:19
Non-executive director Peter Coates has opened his account in Glencore, spending £320,000 on shares in the Swiss commodity trading house. He took 82,700 shares at 387.2p a time and has already banked a tidy profit, with the shares closing just short of 400p today. Coates is the chairman of Austral
Read moreAdmiral directors rally round
26th Aug 2011 17:09
Shares in Admiral won back some recent losses after the car insurance company announced some big director purchases. Chief operating officer David Stevens and his wife Heather bought 75,450 shares at 1,324p and now have 10.3m. Non-executive director John Sussens's wife Cheryl bought 22,000 at 1,320
Read moreLondon close: Stocks rally but finish lower
26th Aug 2011 16:41
Stocks rallied ahead of the close but finished slightly lower on a day that was dominated by uncertainty surrounding the Federal Reserve annual meeting. The Fed still has tools to stimulate the economy chairman Ben Bernanke said, while declining to provide details as to when they might be used. A
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Admiral directors wade in
26th Aug 2011 13:13
Car insurer Admiral hit rough seas after results on Wednesday disappointed, but the shares are clawing back some losses today, after directors and their family members bought some shares. Admiral Group Chief Executive Officer, Henry Engelhardt, bought 22,845 Admiral Group shares at an average pric
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks slip but share-buying boosts Admiral
26th Aug 2011 12:18
Stocks have drifted into the red amid apprehension ahead of this afternoon's annual meeting of the US Federal Reserve. The results stream has slowed sharply, giving investors an opportunity to digest figures released earlier this week. AMEC, which yesterday reported a strong performance in its min
Read moreLondon open: FTSE 100 falls into red, markets await Bernanke
26th Aug 2011 08:31
The FTSE 100 fell into the red in early trading, with heavyweights AMEC, Resolution and ARM Holdings dragging the blue chip index lower, after a poor performance on Wall Street last night and a mixed session in Asia. Meanwhile, financials were on the rise, with Hargreaves Lansdown, Lloyds, RBS and
Read moreThursday tips round-up: Admiral, Melrose, Pennon...
25th Aug 2011 06:41
Admiral's shares suffered yesterday, says the Investment Column at the Independent. The company reported high headline numbers: first-half profits of £16.6m were 27 per cent ahead of the same period last year, while turnover rose by 53 per cent to £1.1bn. But some analysts expected better for the sh
Read moreSector movers: Admiral drives down non-life insurance stocks
24th Aug 2011 14:49
A huge 13% fall in Admiral's share price on Wednesday was weighing down the non-life insurance sector. The car insurer plummeted despite unveiling record interim pre-tax profits that jumped 27% to £160.6m, from £126.9m the year before. While the profit figure was more or less in line with estimat
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Admiral on the rocks
24th Aug 2011 14:37
Africa-focused oil giant Tullow Oil reported a huge surge in sales and profits in the six months ended 30 June, helped by increased production from the Jubilee field off Ghana and higher commodity prices. The strong results enabled the firm to double its interim dividend from 2p per share to 4p pe
Read moreBroker tips: Admiral, ARM, Punch
24th Aug 2011 12:44
Despite the tumble in Admiral's share price on Wednesday, Nomura has reiterated its positive stance on the stock, saying that headline results from the car insurer came in more or less in line. "The highlight is strong group policy growth of 33% in the first half, where first quarter momentum has b
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