London open: Results give Footsie a lift
9th Nov 2010 08:48
London has opened stronger than expected after the dip on Wall Street overnight, largely due to some well received trading updates from index heavyweights on a very busy company announcement day. Barclays eked out a small increase in nine-month profit as a doubling of profit at the investment banki
Read moreLondon pre-open: Small slip in store
9th Nov 2010 07:39
Last night's dip on Wall Street looks set to trip London in early deals, although there's plenty of corporate news to digest. Futures prices point to a 9-point decline at the start of play. The Dow Jones was down 37 points last night. Barclays eked out a small increase in nine-month profit as a d
Read moreBarclays shrugs off BarCap slowdown
9th Nov 2010 06:40
Barclays eked out a small increase in nine-month profit following an 8.5% rise during the third quarter, though the investment banking arm made 14% less than it did the quarter before. Profit for the three months to 30 September rose to £1.27bn from £1.17bn, but dropped to £327m from £2.1bn includi
Read moreTuesday preview: Barclays, M&S, Vodafone
8th Nov 2010 15:29
Barclays is the last of the big four banks this month to give a trading update on Tuesday when it issues an interim management statement. Deutsche Bank is predicting the stalwart of the UK high street will announce third quarter revenues of £2.7bn. All eyes will be on write-downs and other excepti
Read moreLondon close: Bad day ends badly
27th Oct 2010 16:12
London ended the day heavily in the red as a triple-digit fall on Wall Street knocked an attempted rally by Footsie firmly on the head. Reports suggesting that any new stimulus in the US will be smaller than expected hit the miners with Kazakhmys, Xstrata and Rio Tinto the worst performers. Britis
Read moreLondon close: Footsie struggles
26th Oct 2010 16:24
Investors pocketed gains after an impressive autumn rally, though the decision was made easier by some disappointing corporate news, weak miners and negative broker comment on the insurance sector. The top 100 index fell back sharply from six-month highs, dropping below 5,680 at one point although
Read moreLondon afternoon: Bleak mid-winter for Cairn
26th Oct 2010 14:27
With Wall Street tipped to open lower London's leading shares fell back further over the lunch time period, resulting in the Footsie subsiding below 5700. Cairn Energy tops the list of fallers after it failed to find a commercial discovery at either the T8-1 or T4-1 wells offshore Greenland. The c
Read moreLondon midday: UK growth cuts little ice
26th Oct 2010 12:08
Better than expected UK third quarter growth has cut little ice with investors this morning, who are firmly focused on weak miners, negative corporate news and broker downgrades. Britain's economy grew twice as fast as expected in the three months to September, according to preliminary estimates by
Read moreFriday newspaper close: BAE, Gilts, BHP Billiton...
22nd Oct 2010 06:44
Taxpayers will have to pick up the £2.6bn bill for the controversial aircraft carrier that will never carry jets because Gordon Brown agreed an "unbreakable" contract designed to protect shipbuilding jobs in Scotland. Under a 15-year agreement signed with BAE Systems, the Labour Government guarant
Read moreLondon open: Flat start ahead of review
19th Oct 2010 08:50
London has recovered from an early blip as investors get ready for tomorrow's comprehensive spending review. Banks are largely responsible for the revival with Barclays, Standard Chartered and RBS all ahead. Autonomy is flat even though chief Mike Lynch said growth prospects for the data search so
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Old Mutual slides on abortive disposal
15th Oct 2010 14:30
Old Mutual has been hit by the news that HSBC is not going ahead with the purchase of a controlling stake in South African bank Nedbank from the insurer. Old Mutual, RSA Insurance and Standard Life have all been hit by downgrades from Citigroup. In contrast, banks are recovering after yesterday's
Read moreLondon open: Slow start for blue chips
15th Oct 2010 08:50
Footsie has made an unconvincing start to the day but has just about reversed the weaker trend seen at the death yesterday. Banks are going well and have recouped most of yesterday's losses. Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds are all in demand this morning. HSBC is ready to step away fro
Read moreLondon close: Weak end to dull day
14th Oct 2010 16:35
Leading shares closed lower on a poor day for the banks and a tumble for African Barrick. Fears that Standard Chartered's rights issue yesterday could be the start of a flood of cash calls unsettled Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays. Metal prices are back on the rise as the dollar heads
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie bottoms out
14th Oct 2010 14:17
Leading shares trod water over the lunchtime session, leaving Footsie still stranded in the red. Banks remain in the doldrums. Fears that Standard Chartered's rights issue yesterday could be the start of a flood of cash calls has unsettled Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays. Metal prices
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Cash call fears hit banks
14th Oct 2010 14:00
Banks are leading the Footsie lower as investors worry that they will follow the lead of Standard Chartered and ask for more cash. RBS is the worst performer but Barclays and Lloyds are close behind. Miners are on the rise, except for African Barrick Gold, as metals prices are firming. Rio Tin
Read more