London close: US slide drags down Footsie
28th Jan 2010 16:45
London slumped near the close mirroring heavy falls in the US where technology stocks ran into heavy selling seemingly on disappointment with Apple's new iPad. AstraZeneca led the fallers after the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceuticals firm saw fourth quarter earnings rise 10% but warned that its predicted
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: AstraZeneca warns on sales
28th Jan 2010 13:59
The FTSE 100 index continues to head downwards although some financials are recovering. Drug developer AstraZeneca reported a smaller than expected increase in profits and warned that sales will fall in the coming years as major drugs are exposed to generic competition. On a constant currency basi
Read moreSector movers: Drug sector off colour
28th Jan 2010 13:48
The pharmaceuticals sector fell back after AstraZeneca posted a 10% rise in fourth quarter earnings, but predicted 2010 revenues would be hit by the loss of exclusive rights to sell certain drugs. The company is also planning to cut 8,000 jobs from its global workforce of 63,000. While Astra falls
Read moreCautious AstraZeneca to cut 8,000 jobs
28th Jan 2010 12:12
AstraZeneca posted a 10% rise in fourth quarter earnings, but the drug giant's shares fell back as it predicted 2010 revenues would be hit by the loss of exclusive rights to sell certain drugs. The company is also planning to cut 8,000 jobs from its global workforce of 63,000. The company saw pre-
Read moreThursday preview: Astra, BSkyB, Unilever
27th Jan 2010 17:33
AstraZeneca, one of the top ten UK companies by market value, releases fourth quarter and full year results on Thursday, when it will have to deliver on the increased profit expectations it announced at the end of October. Astra guided to mid to high single-digit sales growth at constant exchange
Read moreWeek Ahead: Astra, BSkyB, Ericsson, Nokia
22nd Jan 2010 07:01
AstraZeneca, one of the top ten UK companies by market value, releases fourth quarter and full year results on Thursday, when it will have to deliver on the increased profit expectations it announced at the end of October. Astra guided to mid to high single-digit sales growth at constant exchange
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie undermined by Chinese rumours
20th Jan 2010 14:24
The eight biggest fallers among FTSE 100 constituents are all miners, as the sector comes under the cosh on reports that China has told its banks to stop lending in an attempt to cool its runaway economy. Antofagasta, Xstrata, Lonmin, Eurasian Natural Resources and Vedanta were all nursing losses o
Read moreLondon midday: Miners hit by new China fears
20th Jan 2010 12:06
Miners are dragging Footsie lower on reports that China has told its banks to stop lending in an attempt to cool its runaway economy. If true, that could have ramifications for metal demand hence the meaty falls today for Lonmin, Xtrata, ENRC and Antofagasta. BHP Billiton set half-year production
Read moreLondon open: Blue chips edge lower
20th Jan 2010 08:37
London's blue chips have made a poor start despite triple-digit gains on Wall Street overnight. Pharmaceutical companies are the best performers after Republican Scott Brown won a shock victory in the race for the US Senate seat in Massachusetts. It puts a question mark over President Obama's plann
Read moreLondon close: Footsie flatlines
7th Jan 2010 16:46
A late afternoon rally fizzled out to leave London's blue chip index little changed on the day. Banks emerged from a sticky start as the day's best performers led by Barclays and Lloyds Bank, which both received decent write-ups in an otherwise cautious broker note from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. It
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks defy broker gloom
7th Jan 2010 14:27
Leading shares are mixed, with the Footsie barely changed now miners have recovered from a weak showing in the morning session to show gains in the afternoon. Kazakhmys and Fresnillo lead the mining sector but their gains are surpassed by two stocks from the banking sector where Barclays and Lloyds
Read moreLondon midday: Bank sits on hands
7th Jan 2010 11:51
London drifted lower ahead of the announcement of the Bank of England's quantitative easing and interest rate decision, which, as expected, left both the level of interest rates and the scale of the quanititative easing programme unchanged. Mining stocks are proving to be a millstone round Footsie'
Read moreLondon open: Miners offset strong supermarkets
7th Jan 2010 08:14
Miners are leading London's top stocks lower in early dealings on Thursday, offsetting strong demand in supermarket groups. Eurasian Natural Resources, Kazakhmys, Randgold Resources, Antofagasta, Xstrata and BHP Billiton are among the worst performers. On the positive side, Sainsbury, Tesco and Mo
Read moreLondon pre-open: Lower start expected
7th Jan 2010 07:38
Footsie is expected to give up some of its recent gains in early dealings as the company news flow picks up following the Christmas break. Sainsbury's said a record Christmas performance completed a strong third quarter in which like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, rose by 3.7%. Like-for-like sales
Read moreAstra and Teva kiss and make up
7th Jan 2010 07:01
Drugs firm AstraZeneca has come to an agreement with Israel-based rival Teva Pharmaceuticals generic version of Astra’s Nexium ulcer capsules. Astra will withdraw its patent litigation against Teva and has granted Teva a licence to enter the US market with its generic esomeprazole on 27 May 2014, s
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