Admiral signs US deal with Munich Re, Hannover Re
18th Jan 2010 07:45
Admiral has signed new reinsurance deal with Munich Re and Hannover Re for its new car insurance operation in the US, Elephant Insurance. The car insurer has also extended its long-term coinsurance and reinsurance arrangements with Munich Re for its UK, Spanish and Italian businesses, while the ex
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Commodities weigh on Footsie
13th Jan 2010 14:56
Lower precious metals prices have hit shares in gold miner Randgold, silver group Fresnillo and platinum specialist Lonmin, while the weak oil price has Shell in the bottom 10. Telecoms group BT climbs after being upgraded by RBS to buy from hold with its target price upped to 200p from 107p. Else
Read moreLondon midday: Ferrero pulls out of Cadbury chase
13th Jan 2010 11:56
Oils and banks are dragging the Footsie down, with sentiment also soured by disappointing manufacturing output figures. While industrial production showed a 0.4% rise in November, better than the 0.3% rise economists had been predicting, manufacturing output remained unchanged from October's level
Read moreSector movers: Merrill salutes Admiral
13th Jan 2010 10:49
Car insurer Admiral is leading the non-life insurance sector higher after Merrill Lynch lifted its target price on the firm to 1,150p to 1,200p. 'We think the premium is justified by Admiral's superior growth prospects,' the broker says. KBC Advanced Technologies leads the oil equipment services a
Read moreBroker tips: Admiral, Britvic, SSE
8th Dec 2009 17:31
Morgan Stanley sees Admiral hitting a sweet spot and raised its price target for the car insurer by 6% to 1,344p. The broker reiterates its 'overweight' stance on Admiral, citing the group's improving underwriting margins, its growth as policyholders shop around more and improved profit commission
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 moreBroker snap: Admiral hitting sweet spot
8th Dec 2009 10:48
Morgan Stanley sees Admiral hitting a sweet spot and raised its price target for the car insurer by 6% to 1,344p. The broker reiterates its 'overweight' stance on Admiral, citing the group's improving underwriting margins, its growth as policyholders shop around more and improved profit commission
Read moreLondon close: Blue chips slip lower
16th Oct 2009 16:50
London's blue chips closed lower as investors used a 100 point plus fall for the Dow as an excuse to take profits. Many of the major commodity plays, including Xstrata, Rio Tinto and Anglo American had enjoyed gains in early deals, but investors lost interest late morning. Oil plays BP, Royal Dutc
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks remain lower
16th Oct 2009 14:54
London's blue chips are still in the red in midday dealings after the Dow dropped more than 100 points in the US. Many of the major commodity plays, including Xstrata, Rio Tinto and Anglo American had enjoyed gains in early deals, but investors lost interest late morning. Oil plays BP, Royal Dutch
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie gains evaporate
16th Oct 2009 12:07
London is back where it finished yesterday's session as a sell-off in the mining sector on weaker metal prices gathered pace near lunchtime. Many of the major commodity plays, including Xstrata, Rio Tinto and Anglo American had enjoyed gains in early deals, but investors lost interest late morning.
Read moreLondon open: Oil spike lifts Footsie
16th Oct 2009 08:45
Footsie has opened stronger helped by an improvement on Wall Street last night and strong demand for oil stocks after a spike in crude prices. National Express, though, is the main talking point. The price has crashed by more than a quarter as investors face the prospect of a hefty rights issue af
Read moreLondon pre-open: Footsie to regain losses
16th Oct 2009 07:44
Footsie is expected to win back losses from yesterday, helped by an improvement on Wall Street later last night. The consortium stalking National Express has dropped its interest in making a bid for the bus and train group, which is now considering a sizeable rights issue to help repair its balance
Read moreAdmiral on course to match forecasts
16th Oct 2009 07:07
Admiral remains on track to meet 2009 profit forecasts with a "fine" third quarter at its car insurance business helping turnover grow 22% to £294m. "I'm pleased to report that not much has changed in three months," said boss Henry Engelhardt in a short trading update. "Our successful business cont
Read moreLondon close: Sainsbury leads retreat
7th Oct 2009 17:03
After yesterday's 2.26% gain on the Footsie the blue-chip index took a small step backwards today, with half an eye on the US market where the third quarter results season is about to get underway. Supermarket chain Sainsbury was the worst performing blue-chip as sales growth figures disappointed.
Read moreLondon afternoon: Weak Wall St. undermines Footsie
7th Oct 2009 14:48
A soft opening by Wall Street prompted London's blue chips to take a step back, though plenty of firm features are still to be found. Supermarket Sainsbury's is off a few points after a 4.6% rise in like-for-like sales excluding fuel in the quarter to 3 October came in lower than expected. Exclud
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