London open: Good start for Footsie
6th Sep 2010 08:42
London has started the week in confident fashion, still buoyed by Friday's better than expected US jobs data. British Airways is going well on chief executive Willie Walsh's ambitious plans to buy rivals. Walsh has held talks with executives of merger partner Iberia about BA's role as a consolidato
Read moreBP recovers blow-out preventer
5th Sep 2010 14:32
BP has recovered the blow-out preventer from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico as its internal investigation into the causes of the Macondo well disaster nears a conclusion. The failure of the blow-out preventer led to an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed eleven people and sparke
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Vodafone, George Osborne, BP...
5th Sep 2010 10:01
Two of Britain's best-known company bosses are poised to step down in a dramatic changing of the guard in FTSE 100 boardrooms. Headhunters have been called in to find a replacement for Sir John Bond as chairman of Vodafone, the mobile phone giant. Sir John Parker, meanwhile, is in the early stages
Read moreLondon close: US jobs data buoys Footsie
3rd Sep 2010 16:33
Footsie was buoyant as trading closed for the weekend following some well-received US jobs data. The number of Americans who lost their jobs in August was 54,000 compared with predictions of over 100,000. The payrolls count in both the previous two months was also revised higher, exciting another
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie hits 4-month peak
3rd Sep 2010 14:13
Dealing rooms across the City strapped on their buying boots ahead of the weekend following a much smaller than expected fall in US nonfarm payrolls. The number of Americans who lost their jobs in August was 54,000 compared with predictions of over 100,000. The payrolls count in both the previous t
Read moreLondon midday: Traders play 'spot the bid target'
3rd Sep 2010 12:16
Footsie finished the morning not far off its high for the day, marginally above the 5,400 mark. It was a quiet morning for hard news, however, so traders entertained themselves with some good old fashioned bid speculation. Temporary power solutions provider Aggreko is the top performer on whispers
Read moreLondon open: More gains for Footsie
3rd Sep 2010 09:02
Blue chips made progress early on for a sixth consecutive day, though all eyes will be on the US non-farm payrolls number at 1.30pm. US and Asian stocks made posted modest gains overnight. Autonomy is higher for a second day. Gossip doing the rounds yesterday was acquisition-hungry US software gian
Read moreLondon pre-open: No end to rally
3rd Sep 2010 07:34
Blue chips are seen gaining ground early on after last night's late charge on Wall Street, targeting a sixth consecutive day of gains. Futures prices point to an 18-point rise for London at the start of play following a 50-point jump for the Dow Jones overnight and a modest advance in the Far East
Read moreBP spill cost tops £5bn
3rd Sep 2010 07:02
BP's bill for cleaning up after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has hit $8bn (£5.2bn), up over £1bn in less than a month, and the relief well is not expected to intercept the broken MC252 well for a couple of weeks. It's spent the money on the spill response, containment, relief well drilling,
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Bank of England, Food prices, HSBC...
3rd Sep 2010 06:32
A senior Bank of England official reignited the debate over levies on financial transactions yesterday, saying that policymakers needed to address the "myopia and volatility" in the markets. Andrew Haldane, executive director for financial stability at the Bank, said that disincentives may be neede
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Tesco, Burger King, BHP Billiton
2nd Sep 2010 06:03
Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket, is one of 10 bidders in the £650m auction for the south-east Asian assets of French rival Carrefour. Other bidders in the first round of bids for the stores are thought to include Casino, another French retailer, Aeon, the vast Japanese supermarket group, and Dai
Read moreLondon close: US cheer gives Footsie another lift
1st Sep 2010 16:39
An already buoyant Footsie enjoyed a second wind in late trading as manufacturing data from the US added to hopes that the global economy remains on course for recovery. The Institute for Supply Management's factory index rose to 56.3 from 55.5 in July, against expectations of a decline. That gav
Read moreLondon afternoon: Morning's gains consolidated
1st Sep 2010 14:21
Leading shares moved sideways over the lunch time session, consolidating the morning's gains. In the battle of the "bid speculation" stocks, package tour operator TUI Travel leapfrogged over Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) to claim the prize as best performing blue-chip. TUI Travel is higher on h
Read moreLondon midday: Bid talk boosts Footsie pair
1st Sep 2010 11:58
It is a quiet day on the corporate news front and, as is often the case on such days, bid gossip is occupying the thoughts of traders. Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW), the demerged part of Cable & Wireless that is predominantly comprised of the telecoms giant's UK business, is being touted as a po
Read moreLondon open: Blue chips up again
1st Sep 2010 08:44
Leading shares have continued yesterday's rally after decent economic data out of China this morning. China's official purchasing managers' index rose to 51.7 in August from a 17-month low of 51.2 in July, causing an improvement in commodity prices and overall sentiment. Australian stock markets w
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