London close: Stocks plummet after ECB
8th Dec 2011 16:43
The Footsie took a tumble in the afternoon as initial optimism following the European Central Bank (ECB) decision to cut rates quickly faded after a press conference with its president Mario Draghi. In the last two-or-so hours of trade, London's blue chip index dropped more than 100 points from its
Read moreLondon open: Footsie opens up, Tesco's price drops
8th Dec 2011 08:11
The Footsie opened firmly in the blue as investors looked ahead to this evening's EU summit with confidence. Meanwhile, the Bank of England (BoE) and the European Central Bank (ECB) are expected to announce their interest rate decisions after midday. ALL EYES ON THE EURO With the BoE expected to f
Read moreAstraZeneca lays off 1,150 in US, takes one-off charge
8th Dec 2011 07:38
Pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca is to cut 1,150 jobs from its sales force in the US, as part of its "ongoing strategy to operate its business more efficiently to best serve patients". The mass lay-off amounts to 24% of its sales organisation stateside and is expected to cost the firm between $50m
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: IAG, Astra Zeneca, Marks&Spencer
8th Dec 2011 07:02
Estimates from accountants Deloitte found that European banks hold more than £1.5 trillion of non-core and non-performing assets on their balance sheets. Deloitte estimates that while banks will have to drastically reduce the size of their asset books, they will probably encounter major challenges i
Read moreLondon open: Stocks up on euro hopes, Michael Page tanks
5th Dec 2011 08:17
London's blue chip index has opened higher, building on last week's gains of 7.5%, as a pivotal week in the Eurozone crisis kicks off. KEY WEEK FOR EURO French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are due to meet in Paris today to discuss the centralised control of Eurozon
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Russia, manufacturing Astra Zenaca
5th Dec 2011 07:07
Vladimir Putin's ruling United Russia party appears to have lost the trust of millions of Russians after early results showed it had won less than 50% of the vote in a parliamentary election on Sunday. Russia's central election commission last night said United Russia was leading the elections with
Read moreAstraZeneca wins approval for new diabetes drug
29th Nov 2011 07:47
The FTSE 100 pharmaceuticals firm, AstraZeneca, has won Europe-wide approval for its diabetes drug Komboglyze. The treatment, which was developed in conjunction with US peer Bristol-Myers Squibb, helps glycaemic control in adult patients with type 2 diabetes. The approval comes following a study i
Read moreSector movers: Pharmaceuticals fall, GKN drives autos higher
24th Nov 2011 15:44
Pharmaceutical companies, typically defensive stocks, were the worst performers of the day on Thursday. With an increase in risk appetite benefiting the banking and mining sectors today - after some well-received growth data from Britain and Germany - stocks such as Shire, AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmit
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners recover, Vedanta tops the risers
24th Nov 2011 13:41
With metals prices recovering on Thursday after yesterday's falls - on the back of ongoing worries in the Eurozone and some disappointing Chinese manufacturing data - the miners were in demand. Vedanta Resources, Fresnillo, Kazakhmys and Xstrata were all performing well. The sector was making an av
Read moreLondon close: Stocks stop at resistance again, despite Italy news
8th Nov 2011 18:08
UK stocks finished higher on Tuesday, but off their best levels off the day, as investors attempt to digest the potentially extremely serious implications of the 'soap-opera' that Euroland has become of late. In today's episode Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has lost his absolute major
Read moreSector movers: SuperGroup priced for disastrous results
8th Nov 2011 15:44
Trendy fashion chain SuperGroup is set to announce results tomorrow. According to Peel Hunt, "the critical part of Wednesday's IMS [interim management statement] is not the trading update itself, rather whether management can demonstrate that its warehouse problems have been circumvented or solved,
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Lloyds rises despite £3.9bn loss
8th Nov 2011 12:46
Shares in Lloyds Banking Group surged this morning despite the firm reporting a £3.9bn loss for the first nine months of 2011. Much of the loss - £3.2bn - was down to the bank setting money aside for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance, but its total income for the period also fell 15%
Read moreLondon midday: Lloyds leads the way
8th Nov 2011 12:32
There has been no shortage of company announcements to keep investor occupied while they await the outcome of the keenly awaited vote in the Italian parliament this afternoon, which could determine whether Silvio Berlusconi continues his charmed life as Italian Prime Minister. PUNTERS BACK THE BLAC
Read moreTuesday broker update: IAG, HSBC, Essar -UPDATE
8th Nov 2011 09:38
Tate&Lyle: J.P.Morgan downgrades to underweight from neutral. IAG: Credit Suisse cuts target too 152p from 164p. HSBC: Credit Suisse cuts target too 610p from 640p. Essar: Credit Suisse cuts target too 435p from 566p. Weir: Credit Suisse raises target to 2050p from 1850p. Astra Zeneca: Panmure
Read moreLondon open: Thumbs-up for Lloyds
8th Nov 2011 08:44
It has been a hectic morning for big company announcements, busy enough to distract traders from events in the Eurozone. Eight of the FTSE 100 companies have made trading updates already, while insurance giant Prudential is set to weigh in with his third quarter update at 9:00am. Part-nationalised
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