London afternoon: Banks in demand
11th Jun 2009 14:47
London is having a languid day, with Footsie lacking direction. Banks are strong but their gains are counterbalanced by losses on mining stocks. Banks are in focus as speculation grows about the timing of the government's withdrawal from ownership of large stakes in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), L
Read moreTechMARK movers: AEA gains on FY figures
11th Jun 2009 14:27
Environmental consultant AEA Technology rose after reporting a 13% rise in adjusted pre-tax profits to £10.6m in the year ended March. "With a new pension deal and much stronger cash generation, the AEA Group is now well positioned for growth," said chief executive Andrew McCree. Drug giant AstraZ
Read moreLondon midday: Leading shares remain mixed
11th Jun 2009 11:54
Leading shares continue to tread water, with little sign of strong influence from Wall Street, which is expected to open moderately firmer. Home Retail Group is slightly off the pace after this morning's trading statement. The retailer said both Argos and Homebase enjoyed better than expected sales
Read moreSector movers: AMEC lifts oil equipment stocks
11th Jun 2009 11:21
AMEC is among the oil equipment services stocks helping lift the sector higher after the engineer and project management giant today confirmed it has made a conditional offer to buy Australian engineering services company GRD. Oil and gas producers are lower though, in spite of continued rises in
Read moreLondon open: Shares drop slightly
11th Jun 2009 08:20
London's blue chips are slightly lower in early dealings with commodity stocks among the main fallers following yesterday's stellar gains. Mining giants Lonmin, Rio Tinto, Eurasian Natural Resources and Xstrata are all down. Home Retail Group said both Argos and Homebase enjoyed better than expect
Read moreAstraZeneca's bipolar treatment safe for kids, experts say
11th Jun 2009 07:58
Drug giant AstraZeneca reported broadly positive results from a US Food and Drug Administration review of the use of the bipolar disorder treatment Seroquel in children and teenagers. Asked whether Seroquel had been shown to be effective for the treatment of schizophrenia in paediatric patients age
Read moreLondon open: Bright start for Footsie
29th May 2009 08:39
London has started the session in style following last night's three-figure gains on Wall Street. Retailers are pushing ahead led by Debenhams, Marks & Spencer and Kesa. The latest house price index from Nationwide showed a jump of 1.2% in May providing further hope that the housing market slump is
Read moreLondon pre-open: Heading higher
29th May 2009 07:40
London looks like starting the session in style following last night's three-figure gains on Wall Street, with the blue chip index predicted to rise over 40 points early on. Water company Severn Trent saw profits fall for the year due to increased energy and commodity costs. Profit before tax for
Read moreAstra's Seroquel refused as MDD treatment
29th May 2009 07:18
Drug major AstraZeneca's application for Seroquel XR extended release tablets to treat recurrent depressive episodes in adult patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) has been refused. As a result, it has referred its application to the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP - a
Read moreThursday's newspaper round-up: Vauxhall/GM, banks, Astra
28th May 2009 06:38
Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, has secured pledges from each of the three main potential bidders for Vauxhall to safeguard the vast majority of the carmaker's 5,000 British workers, it emerged last night, reports the Times. The Telegraph says talks over the fate of General Motors' European
Read moreLondon close: Downgrade threat sinks Footsie
21st May 2009 16:35
Footsie closed with triple-digit fall as investors got spooked by fears that the UK may lose its triple-A credit rating. Credit-rating agency Standard & Poor's said: 'We have revised the outlook on the UK to negative due to our view that, even assuming additional fiscal tightening, the net general
Read moreLondon afternoon: Decline picks up pace
21st May 2009 14:36
The Footsie is nursing a triple-digit fall as investors bail out of equities, spooked by fears that the UK may lose its triple-A credit rating. Credit-rating agency Standard & Poor's said: 'We have revised the outlook on the UK to negative due to our view that, even assuming additional fiscal tigh
Read moreLondon midday: UK credit rating fear sparks sell-off
21st May 2009 12:00
Fears that the UK may lose its triple-A credit rating has given equities the jitters. Credit-rating agency Standard & Poor's said: 'We have revised the outlook on the UK to negative due to our view that, even assuming additional fiscal tightening, the net general government debt burden could approac
Read moreLondon open: Shares start lower
21st May 2009 08:17
London's top stocks opened lower on Thursday, with Cable & Wireless and British Land leading the fallers after reporting full-year figures. Full-year profit from Cable & Wireless was roughly in line with expectations, but the telecom group forecasts EBITDA of more than £1bn for the current year.
Read moreAstraZeneca gets injunction against generic drug
21st May 2009 07:48
A US court has granted AstraZeneca a preliminary injunction preventing Apotex from launching a generic version of Astra's asthma treatment for children, Pulmicort Respules, in the US. Apotex had received approval for a generic version of the drug from the US Food and Drug Administration on 30 Marc
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