London close: Footsie back below 6,000
29th Dec 2010 17:01
Footsie did not stay above 6,000 for long and it ended the day down 13 at 5,996. A strong performance from mining companies, particularly those involved in gold, was not enough to offset a decline in banks, which are weak on worries over the debt issues facing the eurozone. Royal Bank of Scotland
Read moreLaxey takes on Alliance Trust
29th Dec 2010 16:36
Activist investor Laxey Partners and associated entities are putting forward two resolutions to the Alliance Trust AGM in 2011. In November, Laxey notified Alliance Trust of its intention to bring forward these resolutions. The first resolution is "to require the Board to introduce a discount
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie falls below 6,000
29th Dec 2010 12:18
Footsie has failed to stay above 6,000 today and it has been heading downwards since just after 9am. Blizzards in the US are driving oil prices to a 26-month high above $91 a barrel. Heating oil prices in particular are rising. Royal Dutch Shell was one of the best performers this morning but it
Read moreAlliance Trust shifts away from UK
27th Sep 2010 07:32
Alliance Trust has reduced its holdings in UK-listed companies to less than a third of its portfolio and switched into Asia and other emerging markets. Net assets per share rose by 3.8% to 392.2p in the half year to July. The total dividend for the year will be at least 8.25p, it added. UK exposur
Read moreTim Ingram joins Alliance Trust board
24th Sep 2010 11:26
Tim Ingram, the chairman of stockbroker Collins Stewart, has been hired by Alliance Trust to sit on the board as a non-executive director. He ran Caledonia Investments for eight years until his retirement in July by which time he had already taken the job at Collins Stewart from Terry Smith. In hi
Read moreAlliance Trust Declares 2.065P First Interim Dividend >ATST.LN
24th Jun 2010 07:56
LONDON (Dow Jones)--Alliance Trust PLC (ATST.LN) said Thursday it has declared a first interim dividend of 2.0625 pence per share payable Aug. 2 and expects to recommend further quarterly interim dividends of the same amount which will payable on Nov. 1, Jan. 31, 2011, and May 3, 2011. MAIN FACT
Read moreAlliance Trust cautious on consumer stocks
20th May 2010 07:54
Investment company Alliance Trust remains wary of consumer sectors and will continue to focus on companies with strong balance sheets in these times of economic turbulence. The company's net asset value (NAV) total return in the three months to 30 April was up 11.4%, which though it lagged the 13.1
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Pace, Alliance Trust, Acal
20th Apr 2010 06:34
The concerns over set top box maker Pace are that its market will become steadily commoditised, subscribers will increasingly abandon pay-TV for free internet-based alternatives or that its industry's economics will be turned on its head by the likes of Apple, which, having tackled music, mobile tel
Read moreLondon midday: Shares still under a cloud
19th Apr 2010 12:28
UK shares remain under a cloud, with travel stocks coming under selling pressure as the disruption from the Icelandic volcano cloud continues to disrupt air travel. IATA, the international air transport association, has estimated that the airlines industry has lost $250m per day from the grounding o
Read moreLondon pre-open: Decline to continue
19th Apr 2010 07:48
After Friday's shake-out the downward trend looks set to continue at the start of this week with City traders forecasting the Footsie will open around 30 points lower. More than 100,000 customers of TUI Travel due to return home yesterday were left stranded by the ongoing flight ban imposed after t
Read moreAlliance Trust reducing UK exposure
19th Apr 2010 07:16
The performance of Alliance Trust last year was in the lowest quartile of its peer group after the investment trust made a slow start to 2009. Net asset value in the year to 31 January 2010 improved by 16.8% to 377.7p, while the total return advanced 22.2%. The total return put the company's rank
Read moreWednesday paper round-up: BAE Systems, Alliance Trust, Microsoft
23rd Dec 2009 06:26
The French Government has bought its first piece of military equipment from Britain in decades and, in the process, overlooked the claims of a French company. In an unprecedented display of European co-operation, the French have ordered 129 armoured vehicles from BAE Systems in a £220m deal. It is
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 closes 32 points lower
24th Nov 2009 16:48
London ended the day in the red as the FTSE 100 lost its earlier gains after Wall Street opened sharply lower. London did not sustain a short-lived rally in the late afternoon. The market seemed to initially ignore Bank of England governor Mervyn King's cautious comments to the House of Commons Tr
Read moreLondon afternoon: Shares still drifting
24th Nov 2009 14:31
London continues to lack direction, with Bank of England governor Mervyn King's comments to the House of Commons Treasury select committee on the state of the economy having more of an effect on sterling than on share prices. With sterling dipping after King's comments, package holiday firms Thomas
Read moreLondon midday: Leading shares mixed
24th Nov 2009 12:10
Footsie has fought its way into positive territory after a dull opening, helped by a recovery by some mining stocks. Anglo American, ENRC and Lonmin are the brightest features of a mining sector that initially opened lower on softer copper prices. Lloyds Banking Group is firmer after it priced i
Read more