FTSE 250 movers: Housebuilders on top
20th Jul 2009 14:10
Housebuilders dominate the mid-cap index Monday following bright news on the housing market. Mortgage lending leapt by 17% in June to £12.3bn, its highest since December, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). The Bank of England said the six major banks approved 51,000 mortgages for
Read moreLondon midday: Banks lead Footsie higher
20th Jul 2009 12:21
Blue chips have continued their recent surge with banks among the top risers as sentiment in the sector is boosted by last week's earnings reports from US rivals. Lloyds Banking is the best performer on a weekend report it could post an interim profit despite enormous bad-debt provisions. Some of i
Read moreLondon open: Good start for Footsie
20th Jul 2009 08:41
Footsie has started the week well after the bumper gains seen on Wall Street at the end of last week. Lloyds Banking is the best performer on a weekend report it could post an interim profit despite enormous bad-debt provisions. Some of its most toxic sub-prime investments have clawed back billions
Read moreLondon close: Footsie falls for fourth week
10th Jul 2009 17:04
London's blue-chip index fell for the fourth week in succession, with insurance and resource stocks the major fallers today. Aviva was the biggest casualty as fears resurfaced about the future of the company's dividend but its fellow life assurance stocks Prudential, Standard Life, Legal & General
Read moreLondon afternoon: Equities drift down in quiet trading
10th Jul 2009 14:06
London equities are sleepwalking to a dull end to a dull week. Life assurance stocks feature among the weakest performers as global markets continue to drift lower. Aviva, Prudential and Standard Life suffer the biggest falls in the sector. In the mining sector Rio Tinto is still under a cloud aft
Read moreBroker tips: Marston's, Bodycote, Bovis
10th Jul 2009 13:15
The right issue announced last month by brewer and pubs owner Marston's has left a sour taste in the mouths of many shareholders but Charles Stanley advises taking up the rights to avoid dilution. The Independent on Sunday reported at the end of June that a number of institutional investors had cri
Read moreBroker snap: Bovis virtually dormant
10th Jul 2009 12:50
Bovis Homes has dumped its dividend payment but on the bright side "it now looks certain to end the year with net cash", broker KBC Peel Hunt observes. The company is "benefiting from the near-100% cash conversion selling from stock," the broker said, and expects this to continue through the second
Read moreLondon midday: Downward drift continues
10th Jul 2009 12:23
Equities continue to drift lower with blue-chips faring worse than second-liners. Better than expected Producer Prices data has limited the falls in London but expectations of a weak opening on Wall Street has not helped matters. UK producer output prices in June fell 0.2%, after rising 0.4% in May
Read moreLondon open: Crude dip drags Footsie down
10th Jul 2009 08:44
London's blue chips have given back some of yesterday's gains though trading is light after a dull day on Wall St yesterday. Oil-related stocks are the main movers, with light crude futures dipping below $60 per barrel for the first time in weeks. Royal Dutch Shell and BP are weak in sympathy. Oil
Read moreLondon pre-open: Footsie points lower
10th Jul 2009 07:41
London's top stocks look set to give back some of yesterday's gains. Traders expects Footsie to open around 15 points lower. Bovis has scrapped its interim dividend but said the housing market has shown signs of stabilisation during the first half. The housebuilder said it has decided not to pay
Read moreBovis scraps divi, sees stability
10th Jul 2009 07:01
Bovis has scrapped its interim dividend but said the housing market has shown signs of stabilisation during the first half. The housebuilder said it has decided not to pay a dividend at this stage given the "importance of financial capacity" in taking full advantage of opportunities to invest in th
Read moreFriday preview: Bovis Homes, UK Producer Prices
9th Jul 2009 15:36
Friday sees Bovis Homes updating the market, hot on the heels of Barratt Developments and Redrow on Thursday and Persimmon earlier in the week. The once heavily indebted company expects to be ungeared by the end of the year which would leave it well placed to snap up land at rock bottom prices. Be
Read moreLondon close: Footsie gives up gains
7th Jul 2009 16:29
Footsie managed to shrug off a poor performance on Wall Street until late in the day but gave up the fight just before the close to finish slightly in the red. Miners led the risers. Xstrata was wanted as rumours resurfaced that Brazilian mining titan Vale is contemplating reviving bid talks with
Read moreLondon afternoon: Prices hold steady at higher levels
7th Jul 2009 14:09
Equity prices stagnated over the lunch time trading session. Footsie remains modestly higher but volumes are low. Miners lead the advance, with the top 6 performers among Footsie constituents all mining stocks, Miner Xstrata is wanted, as rumours resurface that Brazilian mining titan Vale is con
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Persimmon leads risers
7th Jul 2009 13:30
Housebuilder Persimmon leads the risers after saying it has seen both volume and revenues improve recently and expects that trend to continue against the weak conditions experienced throughout the second half of 2008. Fellow housebuilders Barratt and Bovis, due to report on Thursday and Friday resp
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