London open: Chinese GDP sparks rise, Footsie above 5,700
17th Jan 2012 08:26
The Footsie surged above the 5,700 level in early trading on Tuesday after the Chinese economy expanded at a faster-than-expected rate in the fourth quarter. It seems that investors have shrugged off last night's downgrade of the Eurozone's bailout fund, as just four stocks slipped into the red. Pr
Read moreLondon pre-open: Chinese GDP data to boost buying early on
17th Jan 2012 07:25
Investors are expected to shrug off the downgrade of the EFSF on Tuesday after Chinese GDP data came in better than expected. City sources see the FTSE 100 opening up 50 points from yesterday's close of 5,657. Last night, Standard & Poor's cut the 'AAA' long-term credit rating of the European Finan
Read moreBurberry sees slowdown in third quarter revenue growth
17th Jan 2012 07:01
Iconic British luxury brand Burberry was out of favour on Tuesday morning after seeing revenue growth slow down in the third quarter. Revenues totalled £574m in the period, up 21% on an underlying basis from the £480m in the third quarter the year before. Underlying revenue growth in the first half
Read moreLondon close: Muted reaction to S&P as Footsie rises 0.4%
16th Jan 2012 16:29
The market reaction to S&P's mass downgrade of nine Eurozone nations was fairly muted on Monday, with the Footsie finishing at its highest levels of the day, as many argue that the downgrades of France and Austria (both rated AAA previously) were already priced in. Meanwhile, the results of the late
Read moreTuesday preview: Time for a Burberry check
16th Jan 2012 15:26
Fashion chain Burberry has been one of the success stories of the British retail scene in recent years, thanks in no small part to its international cachet. On Tuesday, it releases an interim management statement covering the third quarter of its fiscal year, which will include the Christmas trading
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Carnival falls after cruise ship crash
16th Jan 2012 14:22
Big news on the FTSE 100 today was cruise operator Carnival, which fell 17% after one of its ships grounded off the coast of Italy at the weekend. The company said that the cost of not having the Costa Concordia in service will be between $85m and $95m. The stock was not helped by a downgrade from M
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie flat as markets digest S&P move
16th Jan 2012 11:54
After a stint in the blue, and the red, the Footsie was trading flat by midday on Monday, as the markets digested the S&P move to downgrade nine Eurozone countries on Friday evening. Eyes are on France as the nation looks to issued €8.7bn in government debt today. Standard & Poor's (S&P) "finally"
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Aon, Volcker, BoE, Rockhopper
15th Jan 2012 17:03
Aon is to become the first US S&P 500 company to become domiciled in the UK after the insurance broker unveiled plans to shift its headquarters from Chicago to London. The move by Aon, which employs 59,000 people globally and has a market capitalization of $15bn gives a boost to London´s status as a
Read moreWeek ahead: Retailers, US banks, Bovis Homes
13th Jan 2012 09:45
Next week is the middle part of January and although many of the Christmas trading updates from High Street operators are out of the way, there are still a few more to come, including Burberry, Carphone Warehouse, JD Wetherspoon, Kesa Electricals and Primark owner Associated British Foods. Keeping
Read moreLondon open: Footsie helped higher by miners
10th Jan 2012 08:28
The FTSE 100 had a strong start on Tuesday morning with just two stocks in the red early on. In economic news, UK retail sales values were 2.2% higher on a like-for-like basis in December, helped by an easy comparison when last year was affected by the snow. Total sales rose 4.1%. "On both measures
Read moreFTSE 100: Burberry struts into top place
6th Jan 2012 12:59
Burberry was in the coveted top spot today, having risen close to 3%, bolstered by encouraging signs for its Asian business. China's Commerce Minister Chen Deming said the government is studying measures to boost consumption, including the promotion of online shopping and tourism. Chen spoke at the
Read moreSector movers: Next casts wide shadow
4th Jan 2012 17:17
A trading update from fashion chain Next, in which it acknowledged disappointing sales in December at its High Street and edge of town stores, had a knock-on effect for the likes of Marks & Spencer, Burberry and Supergroup. The Personal Goods sector took a dive as two of the bigger players, Burberr
Read moreLondon midday: Resource stocks pull Footsie to daily lows
14th Dec 2011 12:00
There were just seven risers on London's FTSE 100 at midday, as miners and oil stocks pulled the blue chip index to its daily low of 5,438, a fall of around 1%. In economic news, UK unemployment rose by 128,00 in the three months to October to a reach a total of 2.64m, according to the Office for
Read moreSector movers: Petrofac jumps, oil services stocks up
13th Dec 2011 15:28
Petrofac jumped higher on Tuesday afternoon, providing a lift to the oil equipment, services and distribution sector, with constituents making average gains of 3.89%. The FTSE 100 oilfield services firm rose after saying that it expects to deliver like-for-like (LFL) profit growth in 2011 of at lea
Read moreSector movers: Brewin Dolphin drags on financial services sector
7th Dec 2011 15:10
Financial services stocks were on the decline on Wednesday afternoon, with independent wealth manager Brewin Dolphin providing a drag on the sector. The FTSE 250 stock was down 3.52% at 129p by 15:48 despite its funds under management rising 3.4% in the last year, driven by its discretionary invest
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