London afternoon: Footsie heads south
25th Feb 2010 14:23
The Footsie sank below last night's closing level over the lunch time session, weighed down by weak miners. On a busy day for big company results RBS continues to hog the headlines. Though off the top, the share price is still sharply higher after the part-nationalised bank saw its net attributable
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie flatlines
25th Feb 2010 11:45
London's top stocks have retreated from the gains sparked by Royal Bank of Scotland's numbers. RBS shares are up by more than 6% after the part-nationalised bank saw its net attributable loss narrow markedly in 2009 with fourth quarter impairments 5% lower than the third quarter. Net attributabl
Read moreLondon open: Miners offset RBS rally
25th Feb 2010 08:12
London's top stocks opened lower despite a set of despite figures from RBS suggesting there is light at the end of the tunnel for the bank. The drop comes even though Royal Bank of Scotland's shares jumped by more than 6% after the open. The part-nationalised bank saw its net attributable loss na
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks set to slide
25th Feb 2010 07:43
London is set to open lower despite a set of figures from RBS which suggested there is light at the end of the tunnel for the bank. City traders expect the blue-chip index to open around 26 points lower at 5,316. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) saw its net attributable loss narrow markedly in 2009 to
Read moreBAT profit growth slows
25th Feb 2010 07:00
The world's second largest tobacco company, British American Tobacco (BAT), increased pre-tax profit by 11% in 2009, at the lower end of expectations, although revenue did better. Profit before tax of £4.08bn for the 12 months to 31 December was up from £3.68bn in 2008, but less than consensus esti
Read moreThursday preview: RBS, BATS, Capita
24th Feb 2010 16:23
It seems like the London stock market has been treading water all week waiting for results from the part-nationalised banks Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking. RBS is first out of the traps on Thursday and although investment analysts' opinions vary wildly on the likely scale of the c
Read moreBroker tips: Income stocks, AB Foods, Reed Elsevier
22nd Feb 2010 13:11
Barclays Capital is advising its clients to buy 'high quality dividend stocks' as dividend yields trade close to historical highs relative to bond yields. Barclays Capital (BarCap) has identified 20 European high quality dividend stocks, a list that includes UK stocks Cable & Wireless, RSA, BP, Ast
Read moreBroker snap: Divi stocks back in vogue
22nd Feb 2010 13:06
Barclays Capital is advising its clients to buy 'high quality dividend stocks' as dividend yields trade close to historical highs relative to bond yields. 'After the 60% rally since March 2009 led by financials and cyclicals, we have seen a reversal in style in the market over the last four weeks.
Read moreLondon close: Downward drift continues
25th Jan 2010 16:33
Nervousness returned to the markets after an indecisive start, sending Footsie to another day of losses on top of last week's slump. British American Tobacco, National Grid, GlaxoSmithKline and Scottish & Southern Energy were among the fallers. Miners were also hit, with ENRC, Anglo American and R
Read moreLondon afternoon: Shares drift lower
25th Jan 2010 16:04
Nervousness has returned to the markets following an indecisive start to the day. The UK's leading index has suffered further losses after last week's 200 point slump as investors discussed the potential impact of President Obama's new bank controls. US shares fell heavily last week on the shock
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie holding on
25th Jan 2010 12:22
London continues to trade just above 5,300 thanks to financials and mining plays, although defensive issues are proving a drag. The UK's leading index slumped 200 points last week as investors discussed the potential impact of President Obama's new bank controls. But it appears there's a feeling t
Read moreBroker tips: Retailers, tobaccos, drinks
6th Jan 2010 11:48
The market turned its back on Marks & Spencer on Wednesday after the clothes and food retailer’s trading update, but Hargreaves Lansdown sees reasons to be cheerful. ‘Quarterly sales have improved for the first time in over two years, whilst the online division posted sales which rose impressively
Read moreBroker snap: Recovery to reignite BATS
6th Jan 2010 11:07
The tobacco sector was overlooked in the 2009 recovery, according to Nomura, which has raised its rating on Lucky Strike maker British American Tobacco. The Japanese broker lifts its stance to 'buy' from 'reduce' with price target uppe dto 2,130p from 1,925p previously. It thinks that tobacco stoc
Read moreLondon close: Blue chips at 15-month high
29th Dec 2009 16:48
London's blue chip index closed at a new 15-month high having regained all of the ground lost after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Footsie was last this high on 12 September 2008 when it stood at 5,416. The following day Lehman Brothers went bust. London is now the seventh stock market to regain
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 at 15-month high
29th Dec 2009 12:21
London's blue chip index is now back above the levels before the collapse of Lehman Brothers with demand for miners again sparking the rise. Footsie was last this high on 12 September 2008 when it stood at 5,416. The following day Lehman Brothers went bust. London is now the seventh stock market to
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