London afternoon: Property stocks a drag
24th Sep 2009 15:03
After spending the lunchtime session in positive territory the Footsie has fallen back into the red, with property companies leading the way down. Land Securities, British Land, SEGRO and Hammerson are all under the cosh as investors cool on the sector following huge cash calls this week by Liberty
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Microsoft talk lifts Autonomy
24th Sep 2009 10:11
Software group Autonomy, which announced a license agreement with the European Commission, is one the best performers today. Traders said it is less to do with that bit of business, though, and more with rumours of a Microsoft takeover bid, though they added it is a story that has done the rounds b
Read moreLondon close: Footsie dips into the red
23rd Sep 2009 17:05
A late swoon saw London's blue-chip index give up the gains of the morning to close marginally lower on the day, as investors banked profits ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision this evening on US interest rates and its quantitative easing (QE) programme. The morning's gains had been achieved on
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie nears intra-day high
23rd Sep 2009 14:01
The market's climb regained momentum over the lunchtime session. Investors have been put in the mood to buy by the prospect of the Bank of England increasing its quantitative easing programme some time in the future. The minutes to the most recent meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy co
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Liberty taps shareholders again
23rd Sep 2009 12:44
Property group Liberty pulled the rug from under the property sector with its £280m placing at 500p. The retail park specialist has already had one hefty placing this year, raising £590m through a placing and open offer at 310p, and investors seemingly balked at this latest tap. The 500p placing p
Read moreLondon midday: Market rises despite cash calls
23rd Sep 2009 11:55
The market is off the top but still in positive territory, despite a flood of fund raising announcements this morning. Property group Liberty International shares have been hit by a placing today of up to 56.1m new shares, increasing its shares in issue by just under 10%. The fund raising comes l
Read moreSector movers: Property stocks rise on updates
18th Sep 2009 11:26
On a generally quiet day on the company news front, property groups take centre stage with a series of announcements. None of the news is particularly earth-shattering, but the sector is one of today's best performers nonetheless. Property group Songbird is flying high after saying it has increas
Read moreLondon pre-open: Footsie to slip back
18th Sep 2009 07:46
Footsie is expected to fall in early dealings after posting more gains yesterday. Part-nationalised bank Lloyds Banking Group has confirmed it is in talks with the government about changes to the terms of its possible participation in the government asset protection scheme (GAPS). Lloyds is also mu
Read moreBritish Land parks Broadgate in JV with Blackstone
18th Sep 2009 07:13
Real estate investment trust British Land is to put its Broadgate property assets in the City into a joint venture with US asset management group Blackstone Group. The real estate funds Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe III and Blackstone Real Estate Partners VI will take a 50% stake in Broadg
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Lloyds Banking, BSkyB, African Minerals
18th Sep 2009 06:17
Lloyds Banking Group has been forced to abandon its plan to withdraw from the Government's toxic debt insurance scheme after failing to raise enough capital to meet the Financial Services Authority's strict requirements. The decision dashes the hopes of Eric Daniels, chief executive, who wanted a w
Read moreLondon afternoon: Back in the blue
27th Aug 2009 14:27
The London stock market continues its see-saw day, moving back into positive territory over the lunch-time session. Some encouragement was drawn from the CBI's distributive trades survey which found that the balance of retailers expecting a deterioration in their general business situation over the
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie sinks into the red
27th Aug 2009 12:08
Having enjoyed a brief sojourn above the 4900 level Footsie is now in negative territory, weighed down by poor performing financial stocks. Banks, insurers and properties are all being given the cold shoulder though Royal Bank of Scotland is an exception after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted its pri
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 more