Sector movers: General industrials advance
14th May 2009 12:40
Heavy plastics maker British Polythene leads the general industrials sector higher after saying it anticipates that results for the first six months will be ahead of the same period last year. In the same sector, Cookson is higher even though the ceramics group saw revenues plunge by a third in the
Read moreLondon midday: Shares tread water
14th May 2009 11:54
It is back to square one for London's blue-chips, with gains on banks and miners cancelled out by losses on oils and telecoms giant BT. Banks suffered some profit taking earlier in the week but are bouncing back, helped by a research note on the sector from Morgan Stanley. The US investment bank ha
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Brokers warm to Invensys
14th May 2009 10:59
Thomas Cook is under pressure today after larger than expected losses in the six months ended March. Pre-tax losses widened to £280.4m compared with £233.2m last time, while revenue rose 12.6% to £3,484.3m. Even so, the underlying momentum is encouraging, reckons broker KBC Peel Hunt. "Stripping
Read moreLondon open: BT in focus
14th May 2009 08:19
London's blue chips have opened lower with telecoms giant BT among the main fallers early on. BT suffered a 40% slump in pre-tax profit during the four quarter, forcing the firm to slash its dividend and announce plans to axe another 15,000 jobs. Fourth quarter pre-tax profit plunged to £429m from
Read moreLondon pre-open: Tiny loss to start
14th May 2009 07:37
Last night's three-figure plunge on Wall Street had been expected to weigh on trade in London Thursday, but indications are that the FTSE 100 will open just a few points lower. Telecoms giant BT is likely to steal the headlines. It suffered a 40% slump in pre-tax profit during the four quarter, for
Read moreBT slashes divi, 15,000 jobs to go
14th May 2009 07:02
Telecoms giant BT has slashed its dividend and cut another 15,000 jobs after a £1.3bn charge sent it to a full year loss of £134m. The charge, which follows completion of contract and financial reviews at its troubled Global Services unit, resulted in a reported loss of £1.28bn for the fourth quart
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: BT, Barclays, HSBC
14th May 2009 06:07
BT could face a pension-fund deficit of more than £11bn, according to independent pensions expert John Ralfe. Mr Ralfe estimates that under "true market valuations" the hole in BT's pension could have ballooned to over £11bn - more than the market capitalisation of the former state-owned telecoms co
Read moreThursday preview: BT, Thomas Cook, KESA
13th May 2009 15:54
Expectations of massive write-downs, pension shortfalls, job cuts and a slashed dividend should make sure that embattled telecommunications colossus BT will feature prominently on the TV news tomorrow as well as the financial pages of the press when it declares full-year results. A maintained divid
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: BP, Eurofighter, Dividends
13th May 2009 06:17
BP's troubled Russian subsidiary, TNK-BP, is slipping farther from its grasp amid fresh delays to the appointment of a new chief executive at the joint venture. Tony Hayward, the British oil giant's chief executive, travelled to Moscow last month for secret talks with Mikhail Fridman, the Russian o
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