London 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 moreWednesday's newspaper round-up: IMF, Thomas Cook, Nomura
19th Aug 2009 06:49
It's official: the recovery has begun - although recovery will be unpredictable and protracted, according to the International Monetary Fund's chief economist, writes the Telegraph. "The recovery has started," claims Olivier Blanchard in a paper to be published by the IMF on Wednesday. A large part
Read moreLondon close: Stocks in late surge
18th Aug 2009 16:36
A late rally driven by early gains in the US had London back up at session highs, with gains among financial plays easily offsetting a weaker property sector. Investors overcame disappointing US housing starts data that had the blue chip index struggling at session lows mid-afternoon. The annual ra
Read moreLondon afternoon: Gains pegged after US housing data
18th Aug 2009 14:37
Disappointing US housing starts data took the wind out of London's sales over the lunchtime session, though the blue-chip FTSE 100 index remains in the blue. Housing starts are seen as one of the vital signs of the US economy and July's figures disappointed, with the annualised number of housing sta
Read moreBroker tips: HSBC, British Land, Glaxo
18th Aug 2009 12:55
Global banking giant HSBC is in pole position among banks to benefit from the global economic recovery when it picks up steam, Goldman Sachs believes. Goldman Sachs (GS) said that with the chapter now closed on HSBC's ill-fated acquisition of US sub-prime lender Household, its HSBC Finance division
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners lift blue chips
18th Aug 2009 12:51
Once again mining stocks are in the driving seat but today they are driving the Footsie north, with many stocks recovering some of yesterday's heavy losses. Xstrata, ENRC, Kazakhmys and Antofagasta are the picks of the mining sector, along with cash strapped Rio Tinto, which has received a $2.025b
Read moreBroker snap: Broadgate sale more likely at British Land
18th Aug 2009 12:51
The first quarter update from British Land has left the market unimpressed and prompted broker KBC Peel Hunt to cool on the stock. 'Valuation assumptions for the company's portfolio must be severely stretched to justify the current 495p share price,' the broker said. 'The 30% rise in real estate
Read moreSector movers: ARC bid acceptance lifts tech stocks
18th Aug 2009 12:11
Chip designer ARC International is leading the technology hardware and equipment sector higher after recommending a £25.2m cash bid from US semiconductor intellectual property firm Virage Logic. The 16.25p a share investors will receive is a 38% premium to the price traded a day before the UK firm
Read moreLondon midday: Properties left behind in market rally
18th Aug 2009 12:00
Once again mining stocks are in the driving seat but today they are driving the market north, with many stocks recovering some of yesterday's heavy losses. Xstrata, ENRC, Kazakhmys and Lonmin are the picks of the mining sector, along with cash strapped Rio Tinto, which has received a $2.025bn offe
Read moreLondon open: Footsie fights back
18th Aug 2009 08:11
London's top stocks are winning back some of the heavy losses it posted yesterday, with miners among the main risers. Xstrata is the best blue chip performer in early dealings, closely followed by Rio Tinto, Randgold Resources and Kazakhmys. Cash strapped miner Rio Tinto has received a $2.025bn of
Read moreLondon pre-open: Footsie to recoup losses
18th Aug 2009 07:44
Footsie is expected to win back some of the heavy losses it posted yesterday. British Land saw the value of its property portfolio fall to £8.18bn in the first quarter but said the pace of decline has slowed markedly. The group, which has been the subject of intense bid speculation, said £3.2bn (39
Read moreBritish Land sees value decline slow
18th Aug 2009 07:02
British Land saw the value of its property portfolio fall to £8.18bn in the first quarter but said the pace of decline has slowed markedly. The group, which has been the subject of intense bid speculation, said £3.2bn (39%) of assets either increased (£1.7bn) or are unchanged (£1.5bn) in value sinc
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: British Land, Northern Rock, LSE
18th Aug 2009 06:09
Blackstone, the American private equity group, is set to buy half of the Broadgate Estate in the City of London from British Land. The deal could be announced as early as today when British Land discloses its results for the three months to June 30, which are expected to show a further fall in asset
Read moreTuesday preview: British Land, Mears, UK consumer prices
17th Aug 2009 16:07
The UK property sector has recovered strongly over the last month led by British Land, which has been the subject of intense bid speculation. The company, which owns the Broadgate development in London's financial district, releases its results for the first quarter on Tuesday. The value of the com
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