London midday: Footsie stays strong after rally
5th Aug 2010 12:32
Footsie seems to have stabilised in positive territory amid a mixed reception for today's deluge of company updates. There were no surprises from the Bank of England today as its Monetary Policy Committee kept rates on hold at 0.5%. Insurer Aviva is currently the best performer after it reported a
Read moreLondon open: Shares drop amid flood of results
5th Aug 2010 08:20
London's blue chips are slightly lower as investors consider a mixed bag of corporate results on what is set to be one of the busiest days of the year. Cobham is leading the fallers, down more than 6%, after the defence and aerospace products group saw pre-tax profits fall in the half year to June
Read moreLondon pre-open: Hesitant step forward expected
5th Aug 2010 07:34
On what is set to be one of the busiest days of the year for big company announcements London is poised to open moderately firmer, with the FTSE 100 index tipped by City traders to open around 14 points higher. Banking giant Barclays reported a 44% rise in first half pre-tax profits as profits at t
Read moreBP cleared to start cementing leaking well
5th Aug 2010 07:14
Fresh from its apparent success plugging the leaking Maconda well in the Gulf of Mexico with mud, oil giant BP has been given clearance to start the cementing part of its 'static kill' process. The company said it had received authorisation from the National Incident Commander (NIC) to conduct ceme
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: BP, Liverpool FC, Debenhams
5th Aug 2010 06:13
President Barack Obama said the "long battle" to combat the Gulf of Mexico disaster had reached a turning point as a new government report showed that the majority of the spilt oil had disappeared. In his most positive statement on the crisis since the accident on April 20 that killed 11 workers, Mr
Read moreLondon close: Rally falls short
4th Aug 2010 16:50
The FTSE 100 briefly made it into positive territory in the afternoon session but that only lured out more sellers and the blue-chip index closed slightly down on the day. Shares in Next remained in the doghouse all day, not so much because of the performance in the first half of its financial yea
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Retail fears knock index
4th Aug 2010 15:34
Worries about retail sales are pushing the Footsie down. This is due to fashion retailer Next saying it has noticed a 'cooling' in consumers' demand in recent months. Next still expects profits to rise by between 6-11% this year, in line with its previous forecasts. "We believe that consumer spendi
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks start to recover
4th Aug 2010 12:08
Leading share prices have come off the bottom but the FTSE 100 remains in arrears, following mixed news on the corporate front. Shares in Next are sharply lower. The fashion retailer has noticed a 'cooling' in consumers' demand in recent months, but still expects profits this year to rise by betwee
Read moreEuropean midday: Banks largely lower
4th Aug 2010 12:02
Europe's main markets remain in the red in midday dealings as investors consider a mixed bag of results in the banking sector. Quarterly profits at Societe Generale beat analyst forecasts, climbing more than threefold, helped by a good performance of its French retail business. The Paris-based ban
Read moreEuropean open: Banking figures in focus
4th Aug 2010 09:06
European shares slipped early on Wednesday after a number of the region's biggest banks updated the market on their recent performance. Quarterly profits at Societe Generale beat analyst forecasts, climbing more than threefold, helped by a good performance of its French retail business. The Paris
Read moreLondon open: Blue chips lower on mixed results
4th Aug 2010 08:40
London has made a quiet start after a decline on Wall Street overnight and mixed trading statements this morning. Lloyds is very much back in the black after posting a profit of £1.6bn for the first half of 2010, twice as much as some analysts had forecast. The bank, which lost almost £4bn this tim
Read moreBP's 'static kill' plugs leaking well
4th Aug 2010 07:42
It's looking like BP may have sealed the leaking Maconda well in the Gulf of Mexico by pumping it full of mud from vessels on the surface - a process known as "static kill". The procedure started at 9pm UK time on Tuesday and continued for the next eight hours. The well now "appears to have reache
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Interest rates, Egg, BP
4th Aug 2010 06:34
Interest rates may have to rise far more sharply than households and markets expect as the Bank of England moves to head off inflation risks, the former deputy governor said yesterday, the Times reports. Sir John Gieve told a City of London audience that solid economic growth could prompt the Bank
Read moreLondon afternoon: Fire sale at BP continues
3rd Aug 2010 14:14
After yesterday's dramatic rise London is taking a pause for breath today and either digesting the steady stream of big company results already out this week or preparing for results from the giants of the insurance and banking sectors later this week. Insurance colossus Aviva , scheduled to releas
Read moreBP sells Colombia assets for $1.9bn
3rd Aug 2010 13:44
BP has agreed to sell its oil and gas assets in Colombia for $1.9bn (£1.2bn), as the oil giant continues its programme of asset sales in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. It is selling the exploration, production and transportation business to a consortium combining Colombia's national oil
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