London afternoon: Centrica claims victory
24th Aug 2009 14:33
The Footsie regained some of its momentum over the lunch-time session, helped by expectations of a firm start on Wall Street. Centrica is wanted after it declared victory in its battle to take over Venture Production. The British Gas owner bought another 8.4% of Venture shares this morning, taking
Read moreBroker tips: WPP, G4S, Bunzl
24th Aug 2009 13:02
Security solutions provider G4S is still enjoying top-line growth but the 4.8% improvement in organic growth over the first half of the year disappointed the market. Broker Panmure Gordon observes that currency movements had something to do with the lower than expected improvement in organic growth
Read moreBroker snap: Bunzl on the prowl
24th Aug 2009 12:42
Distribution and outsource specialist Bunzl was wanted Monday morning after reporting a rise in interim pre-tax profits. The figures were a tad below Ambrian's forecasts, but at least they contained no nasty surprises. 'The weakness in the UK & Ireland had been clearly flagged as the business mix i
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie backs off from 4900
24th Aug 2009 12:06
London's blue-chips are off the top but still predominantly in the blue. Strong miners and financials helped push the FTSE 100 index above 4900 shortly before 11:00am but this just encouraged profit-takers to make their move. Advertising firm WPP was the morning's best performer ahead of results o
Read moreLondon open: Miners on the rise
24th Aug 2009 08:21
Miners are leading the way in early dealings on Monday, with silver miner Fresnillo the best performer. Fresnillo is up almost 3%, with Eurasian Natural Resources, Randgold Resources and BHP Billiton also going well. Oil services group Petrofac lifted its dividend for the six months to June 30 as
Read moreLondon pre-open: More gains expected
24th Aug 2009 07:48
Footsie is expected to build on its strong gains of last week in early dealings, heading ever closer to the 5,000 point mark. Oil services group Petrofac lifted its dividend for the six months to June 30 as revenues and profits rose in spite on the sharp drop in oil prices from the same period the
Read moreBunzl interim profit up
24th Aug 2009 07:11
Distribution and outsource specialist Bunzl reported a rise in interim pre-tax profits but warned that the challenging economic environment will continue to put pressure on underlying sales and profitability. Profit before tax and intangible amortisation was up 4% to £115.5m although down 11% at co
Read moreWeek Ahead: Bunzl, G4S, Diageo
21st Aug 2009 12:18
A busier week than last week is in store with FTSE 100 stocks Bunzl, G4S, Admiral, Serco, WPP Group, Cairn Energy, Kazakhmys and Diageo all due to make trading announcements. Distribution and outsource specialist Bunzl gets the show on the road on Monday with its interim results. The company has al
Read moreLondon close: Footsie adds to week's gains
17th Jul 2009 16:28
Footsie rounded off its best week since March with more gains. Miners were prominent among the risers. Eurasian Natural Resources, Xstrata, Vedanta Resources and Rio Tinto are doing well. British Airways climbed after saying it is raising £600m, including a £300m convertible issue and another £30
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie on course for strong week
17th Jul 2009 12:15
London is heading for its best week in three months as miners climb, while British Airways is flying high despite a £100m first quarter loss. The FTSE 100 got off to a decent start following a late rally on Wall Street last night and better than expected numbers from IBM and Google and has carried
Read moreLondon open: Decent start for Footsie
17th Jul 2009 08:44
London's blue chips have opened brightly after the late rally on Wall St and better than expected numbers from IBM and Google. British Airways is an early riser despite a £300m convertible issue, shuffling of its pension guarantees to free up another £300m and a first quarter loss of £100m. That lo
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Informa, Serco, Premier Foods
30th Jun 2009 06:42
FTSE 250-listed Informa has a solid business, whose publications tend to be in niche, subscription-based titles that do not suffer as badly as its more commercial counterparts in a downturn. Its Academic and Professional & Commercial divisions are still growing, and management has also kept a tigh
Read moreLondon close: Lacklustre Footsie in late fall
23rd Jun 2009 16:44
Footsie slipped into the red in late trading Tuesday having sat just above the zero mark for most of the day on a lacklustre day's trading. Information conglomerate Thomson-Reuters moved up after it confirmed it is to delist from the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, while retaining its listings on
Read moreLondon afternoon: Miners provide a lift
23rd Jun 2009 14:15
London remains moderately firmer, helped by expectations of a similarly gentle upward shift on Wall Street when the US market opens and the strength of mining stocks. Information conglomerate Thomson-Reuters is on the upturn after it confirmed it is to delist from the London Stock Exchange and NASD
Read moreLondon midday: Equities firmer on balance
23rd Jun 2009 12:01
London's leading shares continue to defy expectations and trade higher on balance, despite a weak showing overnight from Asian markets in the wake of yesterday's fall on Wall Street. Information conglomerate Thomson-Reuters leads the way. It has confirmed it is to delist from the London Stock Excha
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