Alterian's Johnston sells shares
14th Sep 2009 16:10
Iain Johnston, a director at the marketing software provider Alterian, has cut his holding in the firm, selling 100,000 shares at 150p each. He still has 1.19m shares in the firm, which is more than 2%. Shares in Alterian, whose products include Dynamic Messenger, an email marketing tool, have ra
Read moreAIM still breeding ground for talent
28th Aug 2009 15:12
A growing number of smaller companies listed on London's AIM are choosing to join the main market, new research has shown. Eleven firms left the junior market for the big league last year, up from eight in 2007 and just three the year before, says business advisory firm Deloitte. Though the number
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Ladbrokes recoups some losses
7th Aug 2009 10:12
Ladbrokes recovers some of the losses it posted yesterday when it dropped its half-year dividend by 31% following a slip in profits and spoke of an "uncertain" outlook. Conversely, shares in Carpetright fall back after some good gains on the back of a return to sales growth in the UK. Big Yellow i
Read moreBig Yellow founder sells more
6th Aug 2009 16:22
Philip Burks, one of the founders of Big Yellow, is taking advantage of a recent healthy spike in the share price to trim his stake further. Burks, who was property director at Big Yellow until 2007, sold 250,000 shares at 359p per share, raising £898,000. It is Burks' fourth sale this year and he
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Michael Page, Big Yellow, Cape
8th Jul 2009 06:44
Recruiter Michael Page issued its first-half trading update yesterday, saying that second-quarter profit fell by 45% to £83.8m. Perhaps more worryingly for investors is that it does not see things improving before the start of next year. The Independent dislikes the whole sector and believes the ris
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 moreLondon midday: Shares comes off the top
7th Jul 2009 12:11
Prices are off the top despite expectations of a moderately firmer opening on Wall Street. Earlier shares had been given a lift by the release of the latest British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) survey showed a rebound of confidence levels in the second quarter. Britain may have seen the worst of the
Read moreLondon open: Flat start for blue chips
7th Jul 2009 08:49
London's blue chips have opened flat despite Wall St's strong rally just before it closed. Miners have recovered some of the losses run up yesterday, helped by the late pick-up on Wall Street. Kazakhmys, Vedanta and Lonmin have rallied the most so far this morning. Housebuilder Persimmon has seen
Read moreLondon pre-open: Positive start likely
7th Jul 2009 07:34
London's blue chips look set to open slightly higher after spending most of the day firmly in negative territory yesterday. Traders are expecting Footsie to open up 18 points. Housebuilder Persimmon said it has seen both volume and revenues improve recently and expects that trend to continue agains
Read moreBig Yellow revenue drops, sees improvement
7th Jul 2009 07:05
Self-storage group Big Yellow reported a 6% drop in quarterly store revenues but said trading conditions have continued to show an improvement. Total store revenue for the first quarter ended 30 June was £13.5m compared with £14.3m for the same quarter last year, but revenue rose 1% from the quarte
Read moreLondon close: Banks boost Footsie late
11th Jun 2009 16:33
London rallied strongly late on, helped by gains for banks, which outweighed profit taking among the big mining stocks and weakness among oil users as the price of crude rose again. Speculation is growing about the timing of the government's withdrawal from ownership of large stakes in Royal Bank
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks in demand
11th Jun 2009 14:47
London is having a languid day, with Footsie lacking direction. Banks are strong but their gains are counterbalanced by losses on mining stocks. Banks are in focus as speculation grows about the timing of the government's withdrawal from ownership of large stakes in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), L
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Mitie, Cranswick, Big Yellow
19th May 2009 06:41
Mitie, the group which has, among others, the contract to clean the Tower of London reported stellar preliminary results yesterday, with revenues, profits and, most importantly, the dividend all up. Mitie is quite a bit smaller than Serco or Capita and the Independent urges urge investors to back a
Read moreLondon close: Footsie climbs higher
18th May 2009 16:50
Footsie closed with strong gains after steady advances throughout the afternoon, supported by a good showing on Wall Street. It was India that stole the show among world markets though in the wake of the Congress party's election victory. Vedanta, which mines for copper in the country, shrugged off
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