London open: Nervous start ahead of rate decisions
7th Apr 2011 08:27
Shares are in nervous mode this morning ahead of rate decisions from the Bank of England (BoE) and the European Central Bank(ECB) later today. The BoE is expected to keep rates unchanged at a record low of 0.5%, but the ECB is expected to press ahead with its first rate rise since they were slashed
Read moreLondon pre-open: More woe for retailers
7th Apr 2011 07:36
The market looks set to crawl higher at the outset with City traders predicting the top share index will open six or seven points higher despite further evidence from results this morning of hard times on the high street. In the first quarter of 2011 international recruitment firm Hays saw like-for
Read moreFDA approves Astra's thyroid cancer drug
7th Apr 2011 07:19
Anglo-Swedish drugs leviathan AstraZeneca has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its thyroid cancer treatment Vandetanib. The drug is used to treat medullary thyroid cancer that cannot be removed by surgery or that has spread to other parts of the body. It is a so-
Read moreBroker tips: Dunelm, National Express, AstraZeneca
29th Mar 2011 12:39
UBS upgrades Dunelm to a 'buy', from 'neutral', saying that the homeware retailer's store growth is undervalued. The group has the fastest store growth forecast in the sector, with high single digit space growth per annum forecast for the medium term, according to the broker. "Dunelm is already
Read moreBroker snap: Brilinta concerns at AstraZeneca
29th Mar 2011 11:36
RBS cuts the target price for pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca after increasing concerns ahead of the US Food and Drug Association's decision on its new blood-thinning drug Brilinta. "A recent exchange of views in the journal Thrombosis and Haemostasis shows that the lack of benefit of Brilinta in
Read moreLondon close: Flat day for FTSE 100
28th Mar 2011 17:03
A second attempt to spring into life evaporated ahead of the close on Monday and the top share index finished just a few points higher. Worries that Japanese carmakers may have to suspend production at their plants in China following the earthquake disruption have sent copper prices lower. As a res
Read moreLondon afternoon: Shares mark time
28th Mar 2011 14:57
Footsie finished the morning clinging on to positive territory and not much changed over the lunch time trading session, with a mildly firmer start on Wall Street providing little additional impetus. Worries that Japanese carmakers may have to suspend production at their plants in China following t
Read moreLondon open: Blue chips track sideways
28th Mar 2011 08:51
It's been a very quiet start with little company news and more concern over the state of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan. Latest reports suggest extremely high radiation levels have been detected in some buildings near the plant's number two reactor. In Europe, concern over Portugal'
Read moreLondon pre-open: Flat start expected
28th Mar 2011 07:35
A revival of nuclear fall-out fears in Tokyo has put a cap on optimism at the start of the trading week in London and shares are expected to open mixed, with the FTSE 100 tipped to open aroun 5 points up from its previous close of 5,901. Tullow Oil has found oil at the Teak-2 exploration well in th
Read moreAstra settlement removes overhang
28th Mar 2011 07:06
A 13-year tax wrangle between the US and the UK involving drugs giant AstraZeneca has been resolved, resulting in a substantially lower tax rate for Astra in the current financial year. The two governments have agreed to the terms of an Advance Pricing Agreement regarding transfer pricing arrangeme
Read moreSkyepharma ends production of PULMICORT
7th Mar 2011 16:13
The share price recovery of Skyepharma was brought to an abrupt halt Monday as the company said it is to stop production of its PULMICORT pressurised metered dose inhaler due to complex manufacturing issues related to technical aspects of the device. The device will remain on sale until existing
Read moreTechMARK movers: AstraZeneca drops SkyePharma product
7th Mar 2011 12:04
Shares in drug discovery company SkyePharma have slumped following news that AstraZeneca has decided to stop production of one of its drugs using SkyePharma's drug delivery technology. There were manufacturing problems because of technical aspects of the PULMICORT (budesonide) 100 and 200 µg/dose
Read moreBroker tips: Astra, ITV, Next
2nd Mar 2011 13:14
UBS has downgraded pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca as broker believes the scope for outperformance over a 12-month time frame has been reduced. UBS has shifted from a "buy" rating to "neutral", now that the market has taken account of higher expected returns from Crestor, Astra's cholesterol treat
Read moreBroker snap: Glaxo preferred to Astra
2nd Mar 2011 12:30
UBS has downgraded pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca as the broker believes the scope for outperformance over a 12-month time frame has been reduced. UBS has shifted from a "buy" rating to "neutral", now that the market has taken account of higher expected returns from Crestor, Astra's cholesterol t
Read moreLondon close: Good gains for FTSE 100
7th Feb 2011 16:40
Shares held onto their gains after a decent start on Wall Street to close well in advance of 6,000 points. Gold miner Randgold Resources is wanted after it shrugged off operational and political setbacks in 2010 to post a sharp increase in profit, helped by the increase in the price of gold. Profi
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