London close: Footsie in full retreat
10th Mar 2011 16:57
Blue chips took a beating as investors focused on weak economic data from China and a downgrade for Spanish debt, rather than the Bank of England decision to keep its key lending rate at 0.5%. China posted a trade deficit of $7.3bn in February compared with the usual surplus, due mainly to the shut
Read moreLondon afternoon: Drugs firms provide some cheer
10th Mar 2011 14:47
Investors are finding plenty of reasons to be fearful but at least the Bank of England has stuck to the script and held its key lending rate at 0.5%. Otherwise, weak economic data from China and a downgrade for Spanish debt has put the situation in Libya into the shade today. China posted a trad
Read moreCineworld hails 3D effect
10th Mar 2011 12:35
Cineworld says it is now Britain's biggest cinema operator after seeing strong revenues in 2010. Sales climbed by 4.8% to £342.8m, though pre-tax profits were more or less flat at £30.4m. Cineworld has benefited from the release of 3D films such as Toy Story 3, which helped lift average admission
Read moreSunday tips round-up: Majestic Wine, Cape, Cineworld
9th Jan 2011 10:39
Majestic sells wine that is frequently unavailable elsewhere, it sells at a discount, is extremely efficient and generates plenty of cash, so dividends are generous. Besides which, Britain's interest in wine has been growing steadily for years and will probably continue doing so. At 405.75p, Majest
Read moreLondon close: Snow deluge buries Footsie
6th Jan 2011 16:43
Footsie succumbed to the growing list of businesses hit by the snow over the Christmas holidays and closed lower for the first time this week. December's snowfalls cost British Airways about £50m in the third quarter and a little more at the start of January. BA, due to complete its £5.7bn merger w
Read moreLondon afternoon: Winter woes fail to hold back FTSE 100
6th Jan 2011 14:51
It's three out of three days of gains so far this year for the top share index, with the impact of snow on retailers and other businesses over the Christmas failing to hurt overall sentiment. Miners such as gold group Randgold and industrial metals specilists Vedanta Resources and Xstrata are wante
Read moreBroker tips: Antogasta, Mothercare, Cineworld...
6th Jan 2011 14:23
Nomura has downgraded Antofagasta from a 'buy' to 'reduce' as it struggles to find value in the copper miner which has more than doubled over the last six months. "We think the risk to our forecasts is that copper prices experience an even more aggressive short-term price 'spike', fuelled by the in
Read moreBroker snap: Cineworld a good income play
6th Jan 2011 13:37
Panmure Gordon recommends Cineworld as a reliable income stock, with strong cash generation and a well-maintained dividend yield of 5% making it worth a 'buy' rating. Cineworld's pre-close trading update for the year ended 30 December reported strong trading with total revenues up 4.7%. Even thou
Read moreLondon midday: New highs for FTSE 100
6th Jan 2011 12:12
The top share index is posting gains for the third day in a row and is trading at levels not seen since May 2008. Gold miner Randgold leads the mining sector higher as the price of gold stabilises. Vedanta Resources and Xstrata are the other stand-out stocks in the sector. It is chip designer ARM
Read moreCineworld confident despite snow disruption
6th Jan 2011 07:56
Heavy snow in December kept some film buffs away from Cineworld's cinemas, but the growing popularity of 3D animation films helped the company post a rise in sales over the full year. Total revenues were up by 4.7% over the full year with 3D films such as Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland drawing
Read moreThursday tips round-up: BAT, Carpetright, CSR...
28th Oct 2010 06:06
Tobacco is one of the most defensive sectors in a downturn, for one simple reason. Smokers, particularly in the emerging markets, typically refuse to give up their habits, irrespective of how much companies raise prices. Certainly, the shares of British American Tobacco (BAT), the world's second-lar
Read moreLondon close: Footsie struggles
26th Oct 2010 16:24
Investors pocketed gains after an impressive autumn rally, though the decision was made easier by some disappointing corporate news, weak miners and negative broker comment on the insurance sector. The top 100 index fell back sharply from six-month highs, dropping below 5,680 at one point although
Read moreLondon afternoon: Bleak mid-winter for Cairn
26th Oct 2010 14:27
With Wall Street tipped to open lower London's leading shares fell back further over the lunch time period, resulting in the Footsie subsiding below 5700. Cairn Energy tops the list of fallers after it failed to find a commercial discovery at either the T8-1 or T4-1 wells offshore Greenland. The c
Read moreLondon midday: UK growth cuts little ice
26th Oct 2010 12:08
Better than expected UK third quarter growth has cut little ice with investors this morning, who are firmly focused on weak miners, negative corporate news and broker downgrades. Britain's economy grew twice as fast as expected in the three months to September, according to preliminary estimates by
Read moreLondon open: Light selling hits Footsie
26th Oct 2010 08:43
Footsie has run into light selling as the earnings season hits a brief lull before the heavyweights start to appear at the end of the week. The boom in mobile devices using ARM Holdings' intellectual property was largely responsible for a sharp rise in the chip designer's third quarter profits. Rev
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