London afternoon: Blue chips track US advance
29th Oct 2009 14:55
America's return to growth in the third quarter, stronger UK banks and a better mining sector have propelled London far into the blue Thursday. Traders loved news that the US economy grew 3.5% annually in the last quarter, more than expected and the fastest rate of increase in two years. Part-nati
Read moreLondon midday: Banks shine but Footsie falls
29th Oct 2009 12:05
Shareholders in Royal Dutch Shell are grateful to Lloyds Banking Group for wresting investor attention away from the Anglo-Dutch company's poorly received results, as the part-nationalised bank confirmed it is contemplating digging an escape tunnel from the government's asset protection scheme. Llo
Read moreLondon close: Triple-digit losses for FTSE 100
28th Oct 2009 16:26
A poor performance from mining and financial stocks ensured that Footsie ended with triple-digit losses. Insurer Prudential, which saw a surge in US business but posted a fall in UK sales, was a heavy faller. The Pru lifted group-wide retail sales by 10% to £699m in the third quarter thanks largel
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks steady at lower levels
28th Oct 2009 14:10
Miners and financials remain a dead weight around Footsie's neck, but elsewhere, leading shares are slowly beginning to claw back losses. Prudential, which saw a surge in US business but posted a fall in UK sales, is still among the heaviest fallers. The Pru lifted group-wide retail sales by 10% to
Read moreLondon midday: Miners join financials on the slide
28th Oct 2009 12:05
Miners have joined financial stocks in the dog house as the Footsie dives below 5200 and threatens to carry on going to sub-5100 levels. With metal prices in retreat miners such as Xstrata, Lonmin and Kazakhmys have muscled aside insurer Prudential in the race to be worst performing Footsie stock.
Read moreLondon close: Footsie clings on
27th Oct 2009 16:47
Footsie managed to close with gains despite spending some of the day in the red, with oil giant BP leading the risers. BP climbed after it kicked off the oil majors results season with third quarter figures that showed a smaller than feared drop in profits. Profit attributable to shareholders came
Read moreLondon afternoon: London jolted by US consumer confidence data
27th Oct 2009 14:35
An unexpected fall in US consumer confidence in October has had a knock-on effect back in Blighty, with the FTSE 100 relinquishing most of the gains amassed during the morning. Household goods group Reckitt Benckiser shrugged off the recession during the third quarter, reporting a big jump in profi
Read moreLondon midday: Oil fuelled advance
27th Oct 2009 12:14
Better than expected results from BP have given the market a lift but banking shares have declined to join the party. Index heavyweight BP kicked off the oil majors results season with third quarter figures that showed a smaller than feared drop in profits. Profit attributable to shareholders came
Read moreLondon open: BP heads advance
27th Oct 2009 08:35
BP has helped investors get over last night's three-figure dive on Wall Street, leading London higher in early deals. Index heavyweight BP kicked off the oil majors results season with third quarter figures that showed a smaller than feared drop in profits. Profit attributable to shareholders came
Read moreLondon close: Footsie suffers reversal of fortunes
26th Oct 2009 16:21
Stocks had looked like making a decent start to the week, but a dramatic and sudden sell-off on Wall Street quickly sent London into the red. The Dow Jones turned an early three-digit gain into a 100-point loss as US analyst Dick Bove downgraded Fifth Third Bancorp, SunTrust Banks and US Bancorp.
Read moreBarclays buying Standard Life Bank
26th Oct 2009 13:06
Barclays has agreed to pay £226m in cash for Standard Life Bank and will look at joint opportunities with Standard Life in the UK retail long-term savings and investments sector. The UK bank will get a savings book of about £5.5bn from insurer Standard Life and a mortgage book with outstanding bala
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: BHP Billiton, BAA, National Express
21st Oct 2009 06:20
BHP Billiton on Wednesday added its voice to tentative signs of a more broad-based global recovery when the Anglo-Australian mining group reported record iron ore production in the three months ended September. In its latest production report, the world's biggest miner said developed economies wer
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Barclays sale boosts Sainsbury's
20th Oct 2009 14:17
Barclays and J Sainsbury are dominating the FTSE 100 movers today on the back of the same story. Qatar's sovereign wealth fund Qatar Holding is selling 379.22m shares that it is converting from warrants at an exercise price of 197.775p each, but said it will remain a long-term shareholder in the b
Read moreLondon midday: Banks drag Footsie down
20th Oct 2009 12:04
Footsie made a valiant effort to finish the morning in the blue but came up just short, thanks largely to the weakness of financial stocks. Barclays is sharply lower, after Qatar's sovereign wealth fund said it was selling half of the warrants it holds in the bank. Qatar Holding is selling 379.22
Read moreBarclays drops on Qatari share sale
20th Oct 2009 09:25
Barclays dropped almost 5% after Qatar's sovereign wealth fund said it was selling half of the warrants it holds in the bank. Qatar Holding is selling 379.22m shares that it is converting from warrants at an exercise price of 197.775p each, but said it will remain a long-term shareholder in the ban
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