London afternoon: Blue chips hang onto gains
5th Aug 2009 14:27
Footsie is holding its own in the afternoon session with Lloyds soaring despite a massive interim loss. US shares have made a dull start on worse than expected job losses in July according to the private firm ADP. It said 371,000 people were laid-off compared to estimates of 350,000. The survey is
Read moreLondon midday: Lloyds pulls Footsie higher
5th Aug 2009 11:24
Footsie is in the blue now as financials push ahead again on the back of Lloyds Banking, which is motoring forward. Lloyds Banking shares are up over 13% as investors bet that the worst of the bad debts that caused an underlying loss of £4bn in the half year to June are passed. Impairment charges
Read moreLondon close: Footsie ends at 10-month high
3rd Aug 2009 16:16
Blue chips closed at their highest since early October as investors piled into heavyweight miners and the big banks, although the index failed to hold above 4,700. Oil services specialist Petrofac was in pole position after UBS upgraded the shares to 'buy' and its target price to £10. Crude prices
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks dominate as Footsie rises
3rd Aug 2009 14:50
Footsie is still well in the blue with HSBC and Barclays leading the way and a decent start on Wall Street helping the mood. HSBC posted a profit before tax of $5bn during the period, down from $10.2bn a year ago, but just ahead of forecasts. It said it is 'pleased' with the results. Barclays deli
Read moreLondon midday: Bank results send Footsie soaring
3rd Aug 2009 11:59
Footsie is posting big gains on the back HSBC and Barclays results, with an upward move from the miners on higher metal prices also helping the mood. HSBC posted a profit before tax of $5bn during the period, down from $10.2bn a year ago, but just ahead of forecasts. It said it is 'pleased' with th
Read moreLondon open: Footsie makes good progress
3rd Aug 2009 08:42
Footsie has made good progress in early dealings helped by Barclays' first half results and more gains for the miners. Barclays delivered profits of £3bn for the first half, an increase of 8% against the same period last year, despite £4.6bn of gross losses on credit market exposures and £3.3bn of
Read moreLondon pre-open: Early gains expected
3rd Aug 2009 07:38
Footsie is expected to post moderate gains in early dealings as Barclays kicks off a round of banking results Barclays delivered profits of £3bn for the first half, an increase of 8% against the same period last year, despite £4.6bn of gross losses on credit market exposures and £3.3bn of other imp
Read moreAstraZeneca diabetes drug gets US approval
3rd Aug 2009 07:16
AstraZeneca has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for the use of its ONGLYZA to treat type 2 diabetes in adults. The treatment, which has been developed in collaboration with the biopharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb, is used to improve blood sugar control levels
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Banks, Lord Myners, Virgin Media
3rd Aug 2009 06:17
Wall Street banks are reaping outsized profits by trading with the Federal Reserve, raising questions about whether the central bank is driving hard enough bargains in its dealings with private sector counterparties, officials and industry executives say, reports the FT. The Fed has emerged as one
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: UK banks, National Express, William Hill
2nd Aug 2009 10:43
Treasury minister Lord Myners' radical plans for changes to financial regulation are "dangerous" and could result in a further loss of confidence in the market, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), the Sunday Telegraph reports. Lord Myners' idea for a two-tier shareholder registe
Read moreSector movers: Travel stocks move up
31st Jul 2009 13:27
Rank is leading the travel and leisure sector higher. The casino and bingo hall operator said underlying pre-tax profits rose to £24.7m in the six months ended 30 June compared with £17.6m last time. Analysts expected a profit of around £20m. Revenue came to £266m from £257m previously. Net debt re
Read moreLondon close: Blue chips surge continues
30th Jul 2009 16:42
Corporate newsflow and resurgent miners sent Footsie to within a whisker of its highest close this year. Investors piled into blue chips after a string of household names reported earnings this morning. Triple-digit gains for the Dow added to the upward momentum in the afternoon. Telecoms giant
Read moreLondon afternoon: Miners push Footsie higher
30th Jul 2009 14:48
Corporate news-flow and resurgent miners are driving Footsie higher today, with the benchmark index adding to its gains over the lunch-time session. Telecoms giant BT racked up a double-digit percentage gain in the morning after quarterly figures that were not as bad as feared. EBITDA (earnings b
Read moreAstra ups forecasts as generics withdraw
30th Jul 2009 11:05
The withdrawal of two generic competitors to heart drug Toprol XL helped AstraZeneca boost second quarter sales and raise full-year earnings targets. Anglo-Swedish firm Astra posted a 9% increase in sales at constant exchange rates (CER) to $7.96bn. Pre-tax profit for the three months to 30 June ro
Read moreSector movers: Astra lifts drug stocks after broker boost
8th Jul 2009 13:44
Pharmaceutical stocks are higher after the broker Panmure Gordon said AstraZeneca was set to benefit from US rivals that produce generic alternatives to its cancer drug Casodex being too slow off the mark. AstraZeneca's slight rise is not as impressive as that of stem cell therapy developer ReNeuro
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