London midday: Equities resume upward trend
20th Apr 2010 12:15
Worse than expected inflation figures gave the market pause for thought but leading equities have since recovered their poise and ended the morning session on an upward trend. A sharp rise in fuel costs was responsible for much of the acceleration in the inflation rate, which climbed to 3.4% from 3
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks keep Footsie up
15th Apr 2010 11:45
London's leading shares are just above flat as good gains from banks are being offset by weak defensives. Investors are keen on the likes of Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC Holdings but defensives are proving a drag. Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever are lower while G4S, Centrica and Thomas Coo
Read moreCentrica buys insulation business
13th Apr 2010 14:49
British Gas owner Centrica has strengthened its presence in the insulation sector with the acquisition of Hillserve, which operates in Northwest England and Wales. It will pay £5m plus an adjustment for net cash within the business of around £1.3m. British Gas established an insulation division in
Read moreMonday paper round-up: Election, Royal Bank of Scotland, ITV
29th Mar 2010 06:34
The Conservatives will try to seize the electoral initiative today with a pledge to reverse part of Labour's national insurance rise due to come into effect next year. After several weeks in which the Tory poll lead has narrowed, George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, will announce that the party
Read moreThursday paper round-up: Budget verdict, FSA raids, Rio Tinto
25th Mar 2010 06:29
Alistair Darling combined a raid on the rich with the theft of Conservative ideas in a highly political Budget yesterday that postponed the pain of spending cuts until well after polling day. Faced with a record deficit and an election expected in six weeks' time, the Chancellor delivered a no-fri
Read moreFuming British Gas staff vote to strike
23rd Mar 2010 15:00
More than 8 out of 10 workers at British Gas have voted in favour of strike action in protest at the company's "macho management" style. The GMB trade union, which has 8,000 members, says staff are also angry about changes to staff terms and conditions. It found 82% of members backed a walkout and
Read moreSector movers: Lloyds buoys banking sector
19th Mar 2010 10:52
Lloyds leads the banking sector after giving an impromptu and upbeat trading update ahead of a presentation at the Morgan Stanley european financials conference today. Lloyds will be profitable on a combined businesses basis in 2010, chief executive Eric Daniels claimed Friday. Daniels said trading
Read moreSector movers: Industrial Transportation shrugs off James Fisher weakness
16th Mar 2010 13:02
The industrial transportation sector is going well despite shares in James Fisher sinking a little following the marine service company's full-year results. The company saw a rise in revenues and profits in 2009 as its specialist technical division helped it shrug off the effects of the global econ
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners knock market
15th Mar 2010 15:01
Footsie is being led down by mining companies. Six out of the worst ten performers are mining companies. The largest faller is Xstrata, which is thought to be considering a share issue to raise additional cash for its operations. Indian miner Vedanta Resources is also lower but out of the top te
Read moreSector movers: Centrica powers utilities gains
15th Mar 2010 14:42
Centrica is fuelling gains in the utilities sector. Expectations of strong growth in the UK and the US have prompted Nomura to raise its rating on the British Gas owner to 370p from 340p. The broker, which has a 'buy' rating on the stock, notes that Centrica is already the largest energy provider
Read moreBroker tips: Centrica, Standard Life, Aveva
15th Mar 2010 13:04
Expectations of strong growth in the UK and the US have prompted Nomura to raise its rating on British Gas owner Centrica to 370p from 340p. The broker notes that Centrica is already the largest energy provider in the UK with 16m accounts and is adding customers due to its competitive prices and an
Read moreBroker snap: UK and US to fuel Centrica growth
15th Mar 2010 10:24
Expectations of strong growth in the UK and the US have prompted Nomura to raise its rating on British Gas owner Centrica to 370p from 340p. The broker notes that Centrica is already the largest energy provider in the UK with 16m accounts and is adding customers due to its competitive prices and an
Read moreChairman's wife buys Redrow shares
2nd Mar 2010 16:33
Redrow chairman Steve Morgan's wife has bought 100,000 shares in the housebuilder taking their combined stake to 29.95%. Fiona Morgan paid 131.5p a share for the 100,000 shares. The total cost was £131,500. Morgan founded Redrow in 1974 and floated the company 20 years later. He also owns Wolver
Read moreLondon close: Overseas concerns sink Footsie
25th Feb 2010 16:28
Blue chips closed sharply lower as fears about Greece resurfaced and US dole claimant figures were worse than expected. On a busy day for big company results RBS hogged the headlines. The part-nationalised bank saw its net attributable loss narrow markedly in 2009 with fourth quarter impairments 5%
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie heads south
25th Feb 2010 14:23
The Footsie sank below last night's closing level over the lunch time session, weighed down by weak miners. On a busy day for big company results RBS continues to hog the headlines. Though off the top, the share price is still sharply higher after the part-nationalised bank saw its net attributable
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