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 moreLondon afternoon: Banks lead rally
28th Jan 2010 14:31
Blue chips put on a spurt over the lunch time session despite drugs giant Astra issuing disappointing fourth quarter figures. The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceuticals firm saw fourth quarter earnings rise 10% but warned that its predicted 2010 revenues would be hit by the loss of exclusive rights to sell
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie flat after mixed earnings news
28th Jan 2010 12:13
Blue chips are struggling to make headway in the face of mixed company news today. Pay TV and Internet service provider British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) is one of the best performers after it said it had a strong second quarter with revenues coming in marginally ahead of expectations. Turnover in
Read moreLondon open: Footsie fights back
28th Jan 2010 08:20
London's top stocks have opened higher on Thursday, winning back some recent losses in early dealings. Pay TV and Internet service provider British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) is one of the best performers after it said it had a strong second quarter with revenues coming in marginally ahead of expecta
Read moreAG Barr toasts strong Q4
28th Jan 2010 07:27
AG Barr said soft drinks sales over the final quarter came in better than company expectations and full year profit is now expected to come in ahead of market expectations. The maker of Irn-Bru, Tizer and Lipton Ice Tea said it expects total sales revenue will reach £200m by the end of the financia
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Aquarius leads as platinum shines
2nd Dec 2009 11:03
Aquarius Platinum is the best performer as prices for the precious metal climbed to 15-month highs. Things are going swimmingly for Brewin Dolphin too after the stockbroker and fund manager saw profits slide in the year to September 27, but said current trading is satisfactory, leaving it confident
Read moreLondon close: Footsie rallies above 5,300
1st Dec 2009 16:14
Strength in the US, a record gold price and fight back by the banks had London at session highs by the close of play. Markets decided that fears about Dubai's debt have been overdone. State-owned Dubai World said it had held "constructive" talks with banks and flagged plans to restructure nearly ha
Read moreLondon afternoon: Triple digit gain for Footsie
1st Dec 2009 14:59
Leading shares kicked on again in the afternoon session after US markets opened firmer, with the number of Footsie constituents showing a loss on the day being countable on the fingers of one hand. Mining stocks are going well on hopes of a sustained recovery in Chinese manufacturing. Silver miner
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie consolidates gains
1st Dec 2009 12:00
London is participating in a global rally by stock markets, as doubts over the Dubai debt crisis ease. Buoyant manufacturing data from China is lifting miners. HSBC said the Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) for China climbed to a seasonally adjusted 55.7 in November from 55.4 in October. The index
Read moreLondon open: Footsie bounds ahead
1st Dec 2009 08:44
London's top stocks have opened strongly as concern over the situation in Dubai eases a little. Miners and banks are leading the rally following a strong performance by both groups on on Wall Street overnight. Royal Bank of Scotland is among the best performers this morning. It has been affected b
Read moreLondon pre-open: Shares set to recover
1st Dec 2009 07:37
London's top stocks look set to recover from their recent losses, with traders expecting Footsie to gain over 50 points early on. Travel operator TUI saw profits rise in the year to September 30 despite flat revenues despite reduced demand in the tough economic climate as it managed to raise ticket
Read moreAG Barr on track despite challenging conditions
1st Dec 2009 07:01
Irn Bru maker AG Barr warned that economic conditions continue to be challenging but said it is trading in line with expectations and remains confident of delivering its plans for the full year. Revenue for the quarter ended 31 October increased by 21.4% compared to the same period last year. Like
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Water firms gush higher
26th Nov 2009 12:15
Water group Northumbrian gushes higher after Ofwat said it can raise annual bills by £17 to £331 over the next five years, having previously indicated it would only allow a £3 rise. Peer Pennon is also higher. Sticking with liquids, shares in Irn-Bru maker Barr and Tango firm Britvic are fizzing a
Read moreXstrata boss bags £8m profit on options
23rd Oct 2009 16:26
Xstrata chief executive Mick Davis has sold 1m shares in the mining giant. Davis acquired these shares by exercising options - 877,955 shares at 217.32p a share and 122,045 at 239.11p a share. The total cost of these shares was £2.2m and they were sold for a profit of nearly £8m. Davis retains 1.3
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Barr toasts Britvic update
15th Oct 2009 14:56
Irn-Bru maker Barr is fizzing after a positive update from fellow soft drinks group Britvic, which served up a 5.6% rise in full year revenue and believes it will deliver a strong set of results for the year ahead. A strong bounce in its bonds and currency hedging funds lifted emerging markets fun
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