Bovis house sales bounce back
15th Jan 2010 07:25
Housebuilder Bovis ended last year with cash in hand and has now started to buy land again after house sales last year rose by 25% and average prices increased by 2.5%. The group legally completed 1,803 homes in 2009 (2008: 1,817), of which 1,527 were private homes, up 25% on the prior year (2008:
Read moreFriday preview: Man Group, Experian, Bovis Homes
14th Jan 2010 15:13
Trading statements are expected on Friday from Experian, Bovis Homes and Man Group. The share price of hedge fund manager Man Group has retreated this week after Morgan Stanley cut its rating on the stock from 'overweight' to 'equal weight'. The US broker likes Man's exposure to a number of growt
Read moreLondon close: Footsie finishes below 5,500
12th Jan 2010 17:17
Equities staged a rally in the afternoon session but it was not enough to push the Footsie back into the black, largely because of weak miners, which took fright at moves by the Chinese central bank to cool down the economy by increasing the reserves ratio for Chinese commercial banks. Fresnillo, L
Read moreLondon afternoon: Chinese banking move sparks selling
12th Jan 2010 14:47
News that China has raised the reserve requirements for its banks in an attempt to choke growth in the economy has spooked global markets, including London. The prospect of China slowing down economic expansion does not sit well with miners such as Fresnillo, Lonmin, Kazakhmys, Vedanta and Xstrata,
Read moreLondon midday: Retreat picks up pace
12th Jan 2010 12:11
The market's retreat is picking up pace, as the losses suffered by miners lengthen in the wake of disappointing results from Alcoa, the US aluminium producer. Alcoa, which kicked off the fourth quarter earnings reporting season in the US, declared a slightly worse than expected loss from continuing
Read moreLondon open: Dull start despite Tesco cheer
12th Jan 2010 08:52
It's retail all the way today with Christmas trading statements from a host of a names including Tesco and Debenhams. So far, investors don't seem over impressed even though supermarket giant Tesco enjoyed its best Christmas in three years as shoppers braved the winter weather to stock up on festiv
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Persimmon update lifts housebuilders
7th Jan 2010 12:58
Housebuilder Persimmon saw a rise in the number of home sales on which it achieved completions in the second half of 2009, but said it remains cautious on mortgage availability and the general economic situation. Peer Taylor Wimpey is leading the way, with Barratt Developments, Berkeley Holdings a
Read moreLondon close: RBS leads the charge
4th Jan 2010 17:12
A strong start to the year on Wall Street gave London a boost, prompting the blue-chip index to finish at its highest point for the day. Part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland's led the advance after Exane BNP Paribas suggested that 'fundamental (rather than purely speculative) investor in
Read moreLondon afternoon: Buoyant Wall St. lifts London
4th Jan 2010 14:38
Shares added to the morning's gains over the lunchtime session, as investors correctly predicted a firm opening on Wall Street. The sale of Royal Bank of Scotland's Pakistan unit has fallen through after the deal failed to get the necessary regulatory approvals and complete before the 31 December d
Read moreLondon midday: Broker tip lifts RBS
4th Jan 2010 12:10
Leading shares moved into consolidation mode late in the morning session, with resource stocks the best performers. Cairn Energy remains the top gainer on news that the oil explorer has secured a second drilling rig to assist its exploration programme in the Disko West area offshore Greenland in th
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Restaurant Group in demand
4th Jan 2010 11:34
A positive note from UBS has whetted investor appetite for shares in Restaurant Group. Following a tough Christmas in the depths of the downturn in 2008, UBS thinks that the owner of the Frankie & Bennie's and Chiquito chains, will have seen better trading over the latest festive period and has upp
Read moreBroker tips: InterContinental Hotels, Bovis, TUI
11th Dec 2009 12:45
InterContinental Hotels has shrugged off a downgrade to 'hold' from 'buy' at Panmure Gordon, which thinks the shares are fully valued. The shares are trading very close to the broker's 910p price target following a strong performance in 2009, while Panmure adds that further consensus forecast upgra
Read moreBroker snap: Killik starts Bovis as a 'buy'
11th Dec 2009 11:43
Bovis Homes bounced off a five-month low Friday as investors piled back into housebuilders and Killik Capital initiated coverage with a 'buy' rating. The long-term fundamentals of the UK housing market remain positive, and any concern over the outlook for house prices in 2010 is more than compensat
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 closes 32 points lower
24th Nov 2009 16:48
London ended the day in the red as the FTSE 100 lost its earlier gains after Wall Street opened sharply lower. London did not sustain a short-lived rally in the late afternoon. The market seemed to initially ignore Bank of England governor Mervyn King's cautious comments to the House of Commons Tr
Read moreLondon afternoon: Shares still drifting
24th Nov 2009 14:31
London continues to lack direction, with Bank of England governor Mervyn King's comments to the House of Commons Treasury select committee on the state of the economy having more of an effect on sterling than on share prices. With sterling dipping after King's comments, package holiday firms Thomas
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