London afternoon: Shares stay strong
17th May 2010 15:19
A sluggish start on Wall Street has failed to dent sentiment in London, where stocks are higher following Friday's slide. Life insurer Prudential's announcement of a rights issue has barely moved the stock. Much of the news from the Pru was leaked beforehand, but an 11-for 2 rights issue still repr
Read moreLondon midday: Shares strong after recovery
17th May 2010 12:47
Footsie is posting good gains as sentiment picks up following the slide on Friday. Life insurer Prudential's announcement of a rights issue has barely moved the stock. Much of the news from the Pru was leaked beforehand, but an 11-for 2 rights issue still represents an eye-watering number of new s
Read moreLondon open: Markets recover despite Pru cash call
17th May 2010 08:48
London's blue chips have confounded predictions of a weak start and made an encouraging start despite the huge rights issue unveiled by life insurer Prudential. Much of the news from the Pru was leaked beforehand, but an 11-for 2 rights issue still represents an eye-watering amount of new shares in
Read moreLondon pre-open: Prepare for sell-off
17th May 2010 07:27
Major concerns about Europe's debt crisis look like spilling over into another week, with London set to reflect Friday's big losses on Wall Street and more selling in Asia this morning. City experts predict the FTSE 100 will start the session down 63 at about 5,200. It's not only equities that ar
Read moreBig Yellow swings to black
17th May 2010 07:02
Storage group Big Yellow swung into the black for the full-year and said it has seen an improving level of demand since spring last year. The group made a profit before tax for the year ended 31 March of £10.2m compared to a loss of £71.5m last year, thanks to the increase in the valuation of its o
Read moreFriday tips round-up: Big Yellow, Misys, Filtrona
15th Jan 2010 06:41
Big Yellow's basket have had less to enjoy because its shares have slipped by more than 15% since September. The storage company issued its third-quarter trading statement yesterday, saying that revenues and average rents in the three months to the end of December were marginally higher. The compan
Read moreLondon close: Healthy gain for Footsie
14th Jan 2010 16:26
London blue chips rose near the close to finish the day handily ahead, despite a disappointing response to the latest retail updates. Primark and British Sugar owner Associated British Foods was one of the few risers. The group had a better than anticipated end to 2009 and expects a 'significant in
Read moreLondon afternoon: US data hits London
14th Jan 2010 14:28
Disappointing US retail sales for December had repercussions this side of the pond, prompting the morning's gains to be pared. US retail sales fell by 0.3% month-on-month in December, against expectations of a slight rise. Miners remain wanted with Xstrata, Rio Tinto, Kazakhmys and Antofagasta am
Read moreLondon midday: Miners lift Footsie
14th Jan 2010 12:08
Footsie is in the blue as strength in the mining sector offsets weakness among retailers following a stream of updates from the sector. Xstrata, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Kazakhmys, Eurasian Natural Resources and Antofagasta are all among the best performers. Rio Tintohailed another very strong qu
Read moreLondon open: Miners leading the way
14th Jan 2010 08:25
Miners are leading London's top stocks higher in early dealings on a busy day on the company news front. Xstrata, Vedanta Resources, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Kazakhmys, Eurasian Natural Resources and Antofagasta are all among the best performers. Rio Tinto hailed another very strong quarter for ir
Read moreBig Yellow finishes 2009 in the pink
14th Jan 2010 08:06
The fourth quarter is typically the weakest of the year at storage company Big Yellow but the group was encouraged that performance in December was ahead of expectations. Total revenue for the group’s 51 wholly owned stores in the fourth quarter was £14.3m, up 1% from the £14.2m seen in the final q
Read moreLondon Stock Exchange chairman buys despite technical glitch
26th Nov 2009 16:38
London Stock Exchange chairman Chris Gibson-Smith decided to add to his stake on the day that the London Stock Exchange's trading facilities were unavailable for more than three hours. He spent just under £100,000 on shares at 769.85p a share. That takes his stake in the London Stock Exchange to 63,
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
Read moreBig Yellow reports bigger H1 profits
17th Nov 2009 07:56
Self storage firm Big Yellow reported a 12% rise in half year adjusted pre-tax profit as occupancy levels improved. Adjusted pre-tax profit rose to £7.7m in the six months ended 30 September 2009 from £6.9m the year before. Loss before taxation narrowed to £3.4m from a loss of £54.3m previously. R
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