Sector movers: Strong Burberry sales boost personal goods
19th Jan 2010 15:07
Personal goods is the best performing sector after luxury fashion label Burberry demonstrated how people are starting to spoil themselves again saying profits for the full year to be at the top end of expectations after seeing strong sales in the last three months of 2009. Fellow luxury fashion b
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Burberry beats expectations
19th Jan 2010 14:25
Strong third quarter trading figures from luxury women's clothing supplier Burberry helped it buck the downward trend of the FTSE 100. Sales were £380m in the three months to December 2009, which is well ahead of Nomura's estimate of £336m. Retail sales were higher than expected and wholesale sale
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie falls despite Cadbury cheer
19th Jan 2010 12:00
Footsie is in the red, despite strength from Cadbury which has been sweetened by its board's recommendation of a revised offer from US food giant Kraft, as investors mull the latest round of third quarter trading statements. The revised terms for Cadbury are worth around 850p a share and have clea
Read moreLondon open: Weak start from FTSE 100
19th Jan 2010 08:41
London's leading share index has fallen into the red in early dealings after a mixed reception for company updates. Brewer SABMiller and property group Land Securities are among the fallers. Peroni and Grolsh brewer SABMiller saw lager volumes dip slightly in the first nine months of its current
Read moreLondon pre-open: Quiet start on the cards
19th Jan 2010 07:38
There's no lead from Wall Street this morning as US markets were closed for a public holiday yesterday, meaning a flat start for stocks over here. Investors are hoping for news from Dairy Milk maker Cadbury today, which is reported to have fallen to an £11.7bn takeover by US food conglomerate Kraft
Read moreBurberry confident after strong third quarter
19th Jan 2010 07:25
Luxury fashion label Burberry expects profits for the full year to be at the top end of expectations after seeing strong sales in the last three months of 2009. Total sales during the quarter were up by 12% to £380m. The retail arm saw sales climb by 16%, or 10% on a like-for-like basis, helped by
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Cadbury, International Power, US banks
17th Jan 2010 11:25
Cadbury's future hangs in the balance this weekend as Kraft, the American food giant, puts the finishing touches to raising its £10.5 billion bid for the chocolate maker. The new offer, which is expected to improve Kraft's bid from 771p per share to at least 820p, will test the resolve of Cadbury's
Read moreLondon close: More gains for FTSE 100
6th Jan 2010 16:34
It was another day of gains for the FTSE 100 after the leading share index hauled itself into the blue in afternoon trading. Marks & Spencer was among the stocks dragging Footsie lower and finished firmly in the red. It was not the numbers from the fashion and food retailer that upset the market s
Read moreLondon afternoon: Leading shares mixed
6th Jan 2010 13:50
The list of Footsie constituents is now almost evenly split between risers and fallers but the blue-chip index remains in negative territory, weighed down by Marks & Spencer, which remains out of favour after a disappointing trading update. It was not the numbers from Marks & Spencer that upset th
Read moreLondon midday: No sparks from Marks
6th Jan 2010 11:52
Leading shares were attempting their second rally of the morning as the lunchtime session started, but almost two-thirds of FTSE 100 constituents remain in the red. Chief among them is M&S. The cold weather may have seen woolly jumpers and slippers fly off the shelves at Marks & Spencer in the days
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: New chief lifts M&S
18th Nov 2009 14:56
Marks & Spencer is top dog this afternoon after it poached Mark Bolland to be its new chief executive from Wm Morrison. Morrisons, by contrast, has slumped on the news. Bolland joined Morrisons in September 2006, helping the Bradford-based supermarket recover from its problematic acquisition of Saf
Read moreBroker tips: BT, BG Group, Burberry
18th Nov 2009 13:04
Broker Charles Stanley sees nothing much on the horizon to drive BT's share price over the medium term and has consequently switched its recommendation on the telecoms giant's shares from 'buy' to 'hold'. The broker has medium terms concerns over the assumptions underlying BT's pension fund deficit
Read moreBroker snap: Nomura neutral on Burberry
18th Nov 2009 12:44
Burberry is going out of fashion at Nomura Securities, which has downgraded the stock to 'neutral' following the luxury fashion group's results earlier this week. Although impressed with Burberry's strong interim results and the group's long term growth prospects, the broker thinks the shares are
Read moreLondon close: Four-day rally is over
17th Nov 2009 16:31
The leading index finished near its worst levels of the session as weaker banks and mining heavyweights brought a 4-day winning streak to an end. The dollar's bounce off Monday's 15-month low hurt metal prices. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said last night that the Fed will conduct policy i
Read moreLondon afternoon: Inflation concern rears its head
17th Nov 2009 14:10
A rise in UK inflation has raised the prospect of an end to the Bank of England's quantitative easing programme and added to an already downbeat mood in the equity market. UK inflation increased for the first time in eight months in October following a rise in oil prices and a stronger pound. The C
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