London close: Late rally helped by the US
6th May 2011 16:41
The Footsie finished over 1% higher as an afternoon rally was helped by some better-than-expected US non-farm payrolls figures. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, non-farm payrolls rose by 244,000 in the month of April, while consensus had been pointing to a gain of 198,000. Banking gian
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: RBS's profit impresses
6th May 2011 14:47
RBS is topping the risers after making £1.05bn in underlying first quarter operating profit, p from £0.88bn the year before. Flying higher is airline IAG after it saw an improved performance in the first quarter as it reported its first results since forming from the merger of British Airways and S
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks stuck lower as volatility continues
6th May 2011 12:03
On another jittery day for the top share index, the FTSE 100 is slightly lower having won back some earlier losses. Well received results have failed to lift it into positive territory though. Part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotlandis in demand. It made an underlying first quarter operating
Read moreLondon open: Flat start despite upbeat stocks news
6th May 2011 08:26
An unusually large number of company updates for a Friday has been given the thumbs up overall, but traders remain cautious following the slide over the past two days and the top share index is flat. Part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotlandis in demand. It made an underlying first quarter op
Read moreLondon pre-open: RBS's operating profit tops £1bn
6th May 2011 07:40
London's leading shares are bearing up well considering the triple digit fall last night on Wall Street for the Dow Jones index. City traders expect the Footsie to open around 8 points lower this morning. Part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland made an underlying first quarter operating pro
Read moreAdmiral salutes strong first quarter
6th May 2011 07:06
Car insurer Admiral has seen strong growth so far this year, although things are tougher at the website business Confused.com. Turnover was up by 56% in the first quarter compared with the same period last year at £539m, Admiral said in a trading statement covering 1 January to 5 May. "Admiral's U
Read moreThursday tips round-up: Carillion, Admiral, Serco
3rd Mar 2011 06:30
Construction and engineering group Carillion's annual results came in above expectations, with underlying pre-tax profits up by 7% to £122m, operating margins boosted to 4.2% and plans to hike the full-year dividend by 6% to 39.4p. Davina Mendelsohn, at Deutsche Bank, rates Carillion one of the chea
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 falls short as turmoil continues
2nd Mar 2011 17:01
Shares fought valiantly to finish in the blue but fell short as worries over the turmoil in the Middle East continued to cast a shadow. Gold moved above $1,436 to a record high as traders sought safe investments amid turbulent times. The oil price stayed strong having risen above $100 in New York.
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie narrows deficit
2nd Mar 2011 15:45
An improvement on Wall Street has lifted the mood in London, although prices are still under pressure following a mixed reaction to today's batch of results. Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered posted profits bang in line with forecasts at $6.12bn for 2010, while this year got off to a flying sta
Read moreAdmiral 'going like a freight train'
2nd Mar 2011 07:36
Admiral made more money than ever before in 2010, driven by the core UK motor insurance business. Profit before tax accelerated to £266m in 2010 from £216m the year before on turnover up 47% to £1.58bn as premiums rose. UK car insurance profits were up 33% at £275.8m as the firm enjoyed trading
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Motor insurers on the up
13th Jan 2011 13:31
A number of insurers are higher after they agreed with the OFT to limit the motor-related information they swap. RBS and Aviva were directly involved in the agreement. Admiral has also risen. Bank of America Merrill Lynch has upgraded IMI from neutral to buy. The same broker downgraded British
Read moreThursday tips round-up: Standard Life, Admiral, Logica
4th Nov 2010 06:29
Insurer Standard Life is gaining ground in its priority market of Britain where, at £94.4 billion (up 10 per cent since January), almost 60 per cent of its £157.7 billion of fee-producing assets are managed. Standard Life is finally beginning to motor. Worth a punt, says the Times. Elsewhere in ins
Read moreLondon close: Company news stream fails to budge Footsie
3rd Nov 2010 16:37
There was plenty of company news for traders to digest but also uncertainty ahead of the US Federal Reserve's decision on whether to embark on more quantitative easing, resulting in a flat performance from Footsie. The leading share index slipped in line with the US ahead of the close and finished
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie treads water
3rd Nov 2010 14:13
London is not short of corporate newsflow to generate share price movements among the blue-chips but the net effect has been to leave the Footsie little changed. Car insurer Admiral said not much has changed since August's interim results, but that simple affirmation of recent trends was enough to
Read moreBroker tips: Astra, Admiral, FirstGroup
3rd Nov 2010 12:32
The recent share price weakness of drugs giant AstraZeneca has prompted Panmure Gordon to review the group's long-term prospects, and the broker has found plenty of "reasons to buy today". The broker notes the shares are 7.3% below the year-to-date peak in September and reckons the current share pr
Read more