Sector movers: Utilities gush higher
21st Jan 2010 14:49
United Utilities has taken off today after the water company cut its dividend by less than expected to meet the requirements of the industry regulator's price review. It will rebase the dividend to 30p a share for fiscal 2010/11 from 34.3p this year. Experts had thought it might fall by 20-25%. Se
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks face 'tsunami' of pressure
21st Jan 2010 14:44
Leading shares traded sideways over the lunchtime session, albeit with a small dip at 1:30pm when the US market opened a tad lower. Banks and miners are impeding Footsie's progress, with the latter still friendless on concerns about demand from China. Pundits are predicting that the Chinese authori
Read moreFTSE movers: Miners head lower
20th Jan 2010 17:27
It is unusual for one sector to make up all of the top ten fallers in the FTSE 100 but this has happened to day as mining companies are hit by concerns about the Chinese government's attempt to cool down its economy. The worry is that this will lead to lower demand for metals. Eurasian Natural Res
Read moreLondon close: Footsie turns positive
19th Jan 2010 17:22
London's top stocks finished the day above the 5,500 mark after turning positive in afternoon trading. Luxury fashion label Burberry was the best performer of the day after saying it expects profits for the full year to be at the top end of expectations after seeing strong sales in the last three m
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Cadbury, International Power, US banks
17th Jan 2010 11:25
Cadbury's future hangs in the balance this weekend as Kraft, the American food giant, puts the finishing touches to raising its £10.5 billion bid for the chocolate maker. The new offer, which is expected to improve Kraft's bid from 771p per share to at least 820p, will test the resolve of Cadbury's
Read moreUK banks may face $10bn US tax bill, reports
15th Jan 2010 13:16
Three of the UK's biggest banks could face a $10bn (£6bn) tax bill from the US government as part of the Obama Administration's effort to recoup the losses on the $700bn cash advanced under the TARP rescue scheme, according to press reports. Part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland may have to hand
Read moreFriday paper round-up: RBS, Barclays, BT
15th Jan 2010 06:34
Three British banks may have to pay more than $10bn (£6bn) to the US Government as part of its crackdown on financial institutions bailed out by taxpayers. Royal Bank of Scotland, which is 84% owned by the Government, may be on the hook for almost $1bn to the US over the next decade under a stringe
Read moreBarclays beefs up NYSE market making ops
14th Jan 2010 07:39
UK banking giant Barclays is to acquire the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) designated market maker assignments of New York based LaBranche. Barclays is paying $25m cash in a deal that it said will enhance Barclays Capital’s position ‘as the leading DMM [designated market maker] at the New York Stoc
Read moreLondon close: Commodity slide hits Footsie
13th Jan 2010 16:32
Footsie ended the day firmly in the red with low commodity prices helping to offset positive broker coverage. With the oil price below $80, oil titans Royal Dutch Shell and BP found themselves on traders' sell lists. BG Group also slipped even after HSBC upped its price target for the stock from 13
Read moreLondon afternoon: Leading shares mixed
13th Jan 2010 14:57
Leading shares are mixed having picked up a little over the lunch time session, helped by a firmer start on Wall Street. With the oil price below $80, oil titans Royal Dutch Shell and BP find themselves on traders' sell lists, but BG Group makes headway after HSBC upped its price target for the st
Read moreLondon midday: Ferrero pulls out of Cadbury chase
13th Jan 2010 11:56
Oils and banks are dragging the Footsie down, with sentiment also soured by disappointing manufacturing output figures. While industrial production showed a 0.4% rise in November, better than the 0.3% rise economists had been predicting, manufacturing output remained unchanged from October's level
Read moreLondon close: Footsie gives up gains
11th Jan 2010 16:41
The leading share index gave up early gains to finish only slightly higher as euphoria over strong trade figures from China in December gave way to renewed fears over recovery prospects. China's December imports jumped by 55.9% from the same month the previous year, while exports were 17.7% higher
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks back on the climb
11th Jan 2010 14:16
Leading shares, which had been surrendering early gains at the end of the morning, picked up again over the lunch time session, helped by expectations of a firm start by Wall Street. In the absence of much in the way of corporate events to attract attention, traders have been focused on broker note
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie loses some sparkle
11th Jan 2010 11:38
Footsie has lost some sheen as miners and property groups have given back some of their early gains. Brokers have been busy with a Citigroup review of the oil sector boosting Cairn Energy. The broker says that fast-tracking the multiwell exploration drilling programme in Greenland has made the grou
Read moreLondon afternoon: US jobs sour sentiment
8th Jan 2010 13:54
Footsie has turned down after a worse than expected US monthly jobs number. Job losses were 85,000 in December against the more optimistic forecasts of a large positive number. In the UK, Kazakhi companies Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) and Kazakhmys are on the up while Randgold Resources and B
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