London open: Blue chips drift lower
7th Apr 2010 08:51
Blue chips have opened lower following an indecisive performance in the US last night as concerns over the financial health of Greece resurfaced. Hedge fund giant Man is one of the few strong risers alongside property giants Land Securities and Hammerson. Mobile phone giant Vodafone is to launch a
Read moreLondon pre-open: Flat start expected
7th Apr 2010 07:37
Little movement is expected from Footsie in early dealings following an indecisive performance from US shares last night. Mobile phone giant Vodafone is to launch a customised version of Opera, the popular Internet browser, to run on low-cost handsets on 2G networks in a move aimed at developing ma
Read moreBeazley counts cost of Chilean earthquake
7th Apr 2010 07:14
Specialist insurer and reinsurer Beazley has announced its preliminary estimate of its exposure to claims arising from the Chilean earthquake and the European windstorm Xynthia. The company expects the losses from the earthquake to be in the range of $55m to $75m, though uncertainty still surrounds
Read moreNon-exec sells stake in Twilight distributor
26th Mar 2010 16:30
Non-executive Robert Lantos has sold his entire holding of ordinary shares in Entertainment One, which owns distribution rights to the Twilight vampire films. The Entertainment One share price has almost quintupled in the past year. Lantos gained his stake and board position after he sold his Cana
Read moreDeparting Serco chairman sells most of his stake
18th Mar 2010 16:37
Departing chairman Kevin Beeston has sold nearly all his remaining shares in outsourcing group Serco. Alastair Lyons will take up the chairmanship of the company after the Annual General Meeting on 11 May. Lyons has been non-executive chairman of Admiral Group since 2000. Beeston's departure mark
Read moreLondon close: Footsie flatlines
7th Jan 2010 16:46
A late afternoon rally fizzled out to leave London's blue chip index little changed on the day. Banks emerged from a sticky start as the day's best performers led by Barclays and Lloyds Bank, which both received decent write-ups in an otherwise cautious broker note from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. It
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks defy broker gloom
7th Jan 2010 14:27
Leading shares are mixed, with the Footsie barely changed now miners have recovered from a weak showing in the morning session to show gains in the afternoon. Kazakhmys and Fresnillo lead the mining sector but their gains are surpassed by two stocks from the banking sector where Barclays and Lloyds
Read moreLondon midday: Bank sits on hands
7th Jan 2010 11:51
London drifted lower ahead of the announcement of the Bank of England's quantitative easing and interest rate decision, which, as expected, left both the level of interest rates and the scale of the quanititative easing programme unchanged. Mining stocks are proving to be a millstone round Footsie'
Read moreLondon open: Miners offset strong supermarkets
7th Jan 2010 08:14
Miners are leading London's top stocks lower in early dealings on Thursday, offsetting strong demand in supermarket groups. Eurasian Natural Resources, Kazakhmys, Randgold Resources, Antofagasta, Xstrata and BHP Billiton are among the worst performers. On the positive side, Sainsbury, Tesco and Mo
Read moreBeazley acts to limit FX influence
7th Jan 2010 07:44
Specialist insurer and reinsurer Beazley, which took a £49.8m foreign exchange related hit to profits last year, has moved to reduce the impact of currency movements by matching the group’s underwriting capital by currency to the principal underlying currencies of its written premiums. The company
Read moreGalliford Try chief exec builds up stake
11th Dec 2009 16:37
Greg Fitzgerald, chief executive of Galliford Try, has lifted his stake in the construction group. He took 13,490 shares at 296.5p a time, paying a total of about £40,000, and now has 585,008. Shares in the company have jumped by about 40% in the past year. Last week it announced its acquisitio
Read moreDomino's director take away
16th Nov 2009 16:07
Domino's Pizza directors have offloaded shares ahead of a tender offer by the company. The directors have sold at 310p a share whereas the tender offer is at 317p a share. Domino's intends to buy back 6m shares for £19m. The directors have sold nearly as many shares as Domino's is tendering for. A
Read moreBeazley broadens marine offering
10th Nov 2009 09:09
Just a day after its third quarter trading update insurer Beazley has announced plans to expand its marine underwriting capabilities. The company will set up a new team, headed by Zareena Hussain, to offer professional liability and logistics coverage to marine operators. ‘Zareena and her colleagu
Read moreLondon close: Miners power Footsie gains
9th Nov 2009 16:31
Mining stocks were at the vanguard of a strong advance from FTSE 100 as commodity prices were boosted by plans outlined by world leaders over the weekend to continue with stimulus measures. Kazakhmys, Fresnillo, Rio Tinto and Vedanta were some of the best performers in the mining sector. Mining g
Read moreLondon afternoon: Cadbury rejects Kraft bid
9th Nov 2009 14:23
After all the waiting and speculation, the formal bid for Cadbury from US group Kraft Foods proved a disappointment, but it has not dampened sentiment in a buoyant London market. Kraft formally announced a bid for Cadbury on the same terms as the indicative offer announced at the beginning of Septe
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