London close: Shares stage late rally
29th Mar 2011 16:38
The top share index staged a recovery ahead of the close, helped by Wall Street snapping out of a sluggish start. BP was a laggard. One of the oil giant's major shareholders, Standard Life, has told the oil giant to walk away from its troubled deal with Russian state oil company Rosneft. BP wants
Read moreLondon afternoon: Downward drift continues
29th Mar 2011 14:59
Shares continue to drift lower with BP leading the way down as concerns about its Russian expansion plans rumble on. One of BP's major shareholders, Standard Life, has told the oil giant to walk away from its troubled deal with Russian state oil company Rosneft. BP wants to push ahead with the sh
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Wolseley back in black
29th Mar 2011 14:24
Building and plumbing supplies giant Wolseley has bounced back. It has returned to profit and reinstated its dividend as its core markets in Europe and the US both stabilised. Rio Tinto's bid for Riversdale has been declared unconditional. BP is under pressure after major shareholder Standard Li
Read moreLondon midday: Shares seeking direction
29th Mar 2011 12:23
The top share index is struggling to find any sense of direction for the second day in a row. Building supplies group Wolseley's results found favour, but BP is under pressure. BP is also under pressure after major shareholder Standard Life told it to walk away from its troubled deal with Russian s
Read moreLondon open: Blue chips mark time again
29th Mar 2011 08:52
London is marking time this morning with investors keeping a wary eye on events in Japan and Libya. BP is also under pressure after major shareholder Standard Life told it to walk away from its troubled deal with Russian state oil company Rosneft. BP wants to push ahead with the share-swap that w
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Mansion tax, BP, Portugal...
28th Mar 2011 06:40
Taxes will be increased on expensive houses, allowing the government to fulfil its longer-term promise to scrap the 50p income tax rate, Nick Clegg has said. The deputy prime minister said the top rate would be eliminated once people on lower middle incomes were "breathing more easily" but only if
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Cuts protest, Banks, BP...
27th Mar 2011 12:35
Retailers expressed their fury over lack of action by both the police and the Government after shops and businesses in London's West End were attacked and occupied in violent protests organised by splinter groups involved in yesterday's trade-union-organised anti-cuts march. Mobs attacked stores in
Read moreBP and Rosneft's Arctic adventure blocked again
25th Mar 2011 14:08
BP chief executive Bob Dudley has come in for some sharp criticism after the $16bn share swap with Russian rival Rosneft was blocked again last night. The Arctic exploration deal with the state-owned oil giant has been scuppered after an injunction issued to Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR), the UK firm's
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie clings on
25th Mar 2011 12:08
Footsie just about kept its head above water in the morning session but index heavyweight BP was a major drag after last night's news about the blocking of its $16bn joint venture with Rosneft. Broker commentary is behind the share price movements of the Footsie's best and worst performers. Reckit
Read moreLondon open: BP holds back Footsie
25th Mar 2011 08:54
London has moved higher but BP is acting as a drag and retailers have run into some profit taking. Yesterday's big news about the blocking of BP's $16bn joint venture with Rosneft came too late to be reflected in the share price performance last night, but the shares are slipping back as the UK fi
Read moreLondon pre-open: Footsie to top 5900
25th Mar 2011 07:32
London is set to pick up from where it left off yesterday, with City traders expecting the top share index to smash through the 5900 barrier to open at around 5,921, up 40 points. Company news is thin on the ground, however. Yesterday's big news about the blocking of BP's $16bn joint venture with R
Read moreOligarchs' injunction against BP/Rosneft deal upheld
24th Mar 2011 18:41
BP's Arctic exploration deal with Russian state oil giant Rosneft has gone on hold again after an injunction issued to AAR, the UK firm's Russian partners in its TNK-BP joint venture, was renewed by an independent arbitrator. "We won," an AAR spokesman told reporters. BP said it was "disappointed
Read moreBudget tax hike has North Sea explorers on skids
24th Mar 2011 12:35
Oil companies are still reeling from yesterday's Budget decision to increase the tax paid on North Sea oil and gas production to subsidise a 1p a litre cut in fuel duty. North Sea focused oil producer Enquest slumped on the news and is down again today. Encore Oil suffered a less dramatic post-Budg
Read moreLondon close: Miners push Footsie higher
23rd Mar 2011 17:19
Footsie ended the day close to its high point though that was largely due to the strength of mining stocks rather than a rapturous reception to the UK Budget. What did get a rapturous reception, at least for a while, was the news that the voting by the Monetary Policy Committee in March on interest
Read moreLondon afternoon: Housebuilders get Budget boost
23rd Mar 2011 15:00
It would appear that the UK Budget was far from a blockbuster as the market has reacted phlegmatically to the Chancellor's big day. The headline grabbing move was the commitment to effectively abolish National Insurance and push up income tax to compensate, but this will not take effect for some t
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