London open: Ex-div stocks sink markets early on
17th Apr 2013 08:47
The FTSE 100 was in the red for the fourth straight day on Wednesday as a number of ex-dividend stocks provided a drag on London's benchmark index. Global growth concerns have weighed on markets over the last few days after a surprise slowdown was reported in China in the first quarter. These fears
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 snaps four-day winning streak
12th Apr 2013 11:55
The FTSE 100 was pulling back on Friday morning after four consecutive days of gains as investors turned cautious ahead of a meeting of Eurozone finance ministers in Dublin. Results due out from US banking giants JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo later today were also making markets nervous, with stoc
Read moreLondon open: Stocks fall ahead of Eurozone meeting
12th Apr 2013 08:40
Renewed concerns about the Eurozone were weighing on markets on Friday morning with the FTSE 100 pulling back after four consecutive days of gains ahead of a meeting of European finance ministers later today. It was revealed yesterday in a draft of the updated rescue plan for Cyprus that the countr
Read moreWife of Regus CFO buys 100,000 shares
26th Mar 2013 16:33
The wife of Regus' Chief Financial Officer snapped up 100,000 shares in the FTSE 250-listed office space firm, the company announced on Tuesday. Dominique Yates, who has been serving as the firm's CFO since August 2011, notified the company on Monday that his spouse had spent 157p-a-piece on the sh
Read moreSunday share tips: BP, Howden Joinery, BAE Systems
24th Mar 2013 19:41
British Petroleum's announcement of an 8bn dollars share repurchase plan ellicited a 2% rise in its stock price; however, it is questionable whether that is what the company ought to be doing, the FT's Lex column says. Although under a worst-case scenario for the on-going trial in the US over the Gu
Read moreSunday newspapers: Cyprus, Vodafone, Fitch
24th Mar 2013 18:51
The President of Cyprus has flown to Brussels to broker an arrangement with the Troika. An earlier proposal, which seemed to have been reached on Saturday, was described as in 'flux.' "The negotiations are at a very delicate stage," Christos Stylianides, a government spokesman, told The Financial Ti
Read moreLondon close: Cypriot vote on deposit tax sinks stocks late on
19th Mar 2013 17:06
After a brief spell in positive territory at lunchtime, UK stocks sunk back into the red by the close of trade on Tuesday as leaders in Cyprus gathered to vote on the deposit tax, a controversial measure deemed necessary to save the country from default. Traders were also nervous ahead of tomorrow'
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners continue to decline on Eurozone fears
19th Mar 2013 14:50
Mining stocks were dominating the fallers list today as risk appetite waned, with Evraz leading the way and Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton both hit by a downgrade by Goldman Sachs. Precious metals group Fresnillo dropped after Deutsche Bank cut its rating from 'hold' to 'sell', saying that the current
Read moreSector movers: Aero/defence stocks gain as MoD prepares for Budget
19th Mar 2013 14:46
Aerospace and defence stocks were making gains on Tuesday afternoon with less than 24 hours to go before the heavily-anticipated Budget Statement from Chancellor George Osborne tomorrow. In a pre-Budget cabinet meeting today, Osborne and Deputy Danny Alexander said that they intend to cut governmen
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Bankers´ bonuses, Lloyds, Sterling
3rd Mar 2013 18:09
Banks are furious. Last week they were caught off guard after Germany, under pressure from negotiators at the EU parliament, changed sides in the debate over bankers´ bonuses. A compromise agreement had been struck in Brussels. Now however the European Union wants the caps to extend to employees of
Read moreLondon close: Stocks tank after Fed wavers on QE
21st Feb 2013 16:40
Hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve weighed heavily on markets on Thursday with cyclical stocks bearing the brunt of the sell-off as traders looked to book some profits after a strong run in recent months. The FTSE 100 was boosted on Wednesday to highs not seen since January 2008 after minute
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: BAE Systems rises on share buyback
21st Feb 2013 15:37
UK defence giant BAE Systems may have posted a fall in sales and earnings in 2012, but shares gained strongly after the company initiated a share buy-back worth 1.0bn pounds over the next three years. British supermarket Sainsbury has said no horsemeat was found in its beef products following 250
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks plummet after Fed minutes, Eurozone PMI
21st Feb 2013 11:49
The FTSE 100 was registering triple-digit losses by Thursday lunchtime as uncertainty at the US Federal Reserve dampened risk appetite and spooked markets into a sell-off. London's benchmark index rose to highs not seen since January 2008 yesterday after minutes from this month's Bank of England Mo
Read moreBroker tips: BHP Billiton, BAE Systems, Ladbrokes
21st Feb 2013 11:09
Citi Research has cut its recommendation for mining giant BHP Billiton from 'buy' to 'neutral', saying that positives are now priced in after a 'good run'. In a research report on Thursday morning, the US broker said that while the stock remains a core holding in the resources sector, "arguably the
Read moreBroker snap: BAE a 'hold' on US budget uncertainty, says Investec
21st Feb 2013 10:33
Investec has highlighted a number of positives to take away from BAE Systems' 2012 results, but has retained its 'hold' rating and 325p target price for the defence group, voicing underlying concerns about the US 'sequester'. Full-year results were "a little ahead" of Investec's expectations on an
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