Sector movers: Liberty weighs down property sector
23rd Sep 2009 12:08
Liberty International is leading the real estate sector lower the shopping centre investor announced it is placing up to 56.1m new ordinary shares to fund fresh investment plans. "The group's investment plans were placed on hold approximately twelve months ago as a result of the exceptional turmoil
Read moreBritish American finance boss sells shares
22nd Sep 2009 16:16
British American Tobacco finance boss Ben Stevens has pocketed nearly £200,000 after offloading some of his stake in the Lucky Strike maker. He sold 5,000 shares at 1,981p a share and 5,000 at 1,969p. He now has just more than 95,000. Stevens has been with British American since 1990. He joined th
Read moreLondon close: Late rally leaves Footsie little changed
19th Aug 2009 17:14
Share prices of London's leading stocks closed mixed, thanks to a late rally, after the market had spent most of the day in retreat. ENRC was the day's star performer despite reporting a 63% slide in pre-tax profits for the first half of 2009. The dividend has been cut in half but investors were e
Read moreLondon afternoon: Lloyds provides some cheer
19th Aug 2009 14:14
The bears are back in command today with the blue-chip index in the red, though the size of the decline has been exacerbated by a number of index constituents trading in ex-dividend form. Former Bank of Ireland governor Richard Burrows is to be the new chairman of Lucky Strike maker British Americ
Read moreLondon midday: Shares stable at lower levels
19th Aug 2009 11:54
Equities are back on the slide again today with little hope of a boost from the other side of the Atlantic where the Dow Jones 30 is expected to open around 80 points lower. ENRC is a bright spot despite reporting a 63% slide in pre-tax profits for the first half of 2009. The dividend has been cut
Read moreFormer bank bosses rehired
19th Aug 2009 11:41
Banks have lost tens of billions of pounds over the past few years, so it's perhaps a little surprising that men held responsible for the credit crunch have found gainful employment at some of Britain's biggest companies. Back in May, Richard Burrows apologised for Bank of Ireland's £6.2bn full-yea
Read moreLondon open: Ex-divs weigh
19th Aug 2009 08:20
Footsie is in the red following yesterday's good gains and despite decent performance on Wall Street overnight. Former Bank of Ireland governor Richard Burrows is to be the new chairman of Lucky Strike maker British American Tobacco when Jan du Plessis steps down from the position on 1 November. B
Read moreLondon pre-open: Weak open predicted
19th Aug 2009 07:37
Sellers are set to win out early Wednesday despite last night's strong performance on Wall Street. Futures prices indicate London's FTSE 100 will lose about 27 points at the start of trade. Former Bank of Ireland governor Richard Burrows is to be the new chairman of Lucky Strike maker British Ame
Read moreFormer Bank of Ireland governor appointed new BAT chairman
19th Aug 2009 07:05
Former Bank of Ireland governor Richard Burrows is to be the new chairman of British American Tobacco when Jan du Plessis steps down from the position on 1 November. Burrows, who stood down as governor of Bank of Ireland last month following a turbulent period which saw the bank relying on state fu
Read moreWednesday preview: BoE minutes provide focus
18th Aug 2009 17:27
All eyes will be on the Bank of England midweek as economists study minutes from the Monetary Policy Committee's meeting earlier this month. They'll be keen for more information on why the central bank made its surprise decision to extend its quantitative easing programme by £50bn. In an otherwise
Read moreSunday's newspaper round-up: BAT, bonus culture, Pearl
16th Aug 2009 14:04
Richard Burrows, a former governor of the Bank of Ireland, is to take on one of the most powerful roles in British business. He is to become chairman of British American Tobacco, says the Sunday Times. The scale of the resurgent bonus culture at Britain's banks has been laid bare by Office of Natio
Read moreSector movers: RBS drags back banks
7th Aug 2009 10:13
RBS is leading the banking sector lower after rounding of the latest stream of banking results by posting a small profit, but seeing bad debts soar to £7.5bn. Chief executive Stephen Hester called the results "poor" following a jump in losses attributable to shareholders to £1.04bn from £827m in 20
Read moreLondon close: Footsie ends at 10-month high
3rd Aug 2009 16:16
Blue chips closed at their highest since early October as investors piled into heavyweight miners and the big banks, although the index failed to hold above 4,700. Oil services specialist Petrofac was in pole position after UBS upgraded the shares to 'buy' and its target price to £10. Crude prices
Read moreSector movers: Bank results impress market
3rd Aug 2009 13:19
Well-received results from Barclays and HSBC help lift the banking sector higher. Barclays shares shot up after it posted half-year profits of £3bn, despite an 86% rise in impairment charges, as profits at its investment banking division doubled. Pre-tax profit more than halved at HSBC in the firs
Read moreLondon close: Blue chips surge continues
30th Jul 2009 16:42
Corporate newsflow and resurgent miners sent Footsie to within a whisker of its highest close this year. Investors piled into blue chips after a string of household names reported earnings this morning. Triple-digit gains for the Dow added to the upward momentum in the afternoon. Telecoms giant
Read more