London midday: Bid rumours lift Standard Chartered
12th Oct 2010 12:13
The second half of the morning session was better than the first for Footsie, with leading stocks trimming early losses, but the blue-chip index remains in the red, largely thanks to the weakness of resource stocks. Xstrata, Lonmin, and Antofagasta are the worst hit of the miners, though the whole
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: Private healthcare, Corn prices, Bank bonuses...
12th Oct 2010 06:32
Britain's private healthcare sector is under scrutiny from the Office of Fair Trading amid complaints from new players that the market is not sufficiently competitive. The regulator has conducted an initial inquiry and has not decided whether to pursue a full investigation. Circle, a relatively new
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: SABMiller, British Airways, Cairn Energy
7th Oct 2010 06:26
SABMiller is in talks to swallow one of Africa's biggest brewers in a deal worth more than £6 billion.The Times understands that the owner of Grolsch and Peroni Nastro Azzurro is running the rule over the African beer operations of Groupe Castel. British Airways' four million frequent fliers will e
Read moreLondon close: Footsie fightback loses momentum
4th Oct 2010 16:48
Footsie enjoyed a brief incursion into positive territory in mid-afternoon trading, but was driven back into the red in line with weakness on Wall Street. Here, oil stocks were a major drag on the index with BP, Cairn Energy and Royal Dutch Shell all headed south. Plumbers' merchant Wolseley mov
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie treading water
4th Oct 2010 14:31
Footsie threatened to move back into positive territory over the lunch time session but just fell short. Oil stocks remains a major drag on the index with BP, Cairn Energy and Royal Dutch Shell all heading south. The morning's biggest faller, satellite operator Inmarsat , is now showing a small
Read moreSector movers: Warm welcome for new National Grid finance boss
4th Oct 2010 14:24
National Grid is helping lift the gas, water and multi-utilities sector higher after the energy pipeline operator announced a new finance director. Andrew Bonfield, the former chief financial officer of sweetmaker Cadbury, is becoming the new finance boss. He replaces Steve Lucas, who retires from
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Aviva boosted by break-up talk
4th Oct 2010 13:22
There were reports in this morning's papers that RSA, Resolution, Switzerland's Zurich Financial Services and Germany's Allianz considered a multibillion-pound break-up bid for insurer Aviva. Credit Suisse has commenced coverage of building supplies group Wolseley with an outperform recommendation
Read moreLondon midday: Inmarsat hit by stake sale talk
4th Oct 2010 12:02
Resource stocks remain a drag on the Footsie which ended the morning in arrears after a moderately firm start. BP, Cairn Energy and Melrose Resources are among the big hitters in the oil sector nursing losses, while in the mining sector Xstrata, Lonmin and Antofagasta are under the cosh. Anglo-Swi
Read moreLondon close: Late rally trims losses
23rd Sep 2010 16:40
London staged a last hour rally but didn't rise by enough to eliminate losses sparked by a weak start on Wall Street. News that Brazilian oil company Petrobas will launch a world record $78bn rights issue helped other oil companies. BP, Shell and Cairn all picked up near the close. Expectation t
Read moreLondon close: Footsie turns lower as US nerves kick in
21st Sep 2010 16:33
Footsie fell into the red in late trading as nervousness kicked in on Wall Street ahead of the Federal Reserve's statement on the outlook for the US economy this evening. The Fed will also make its rate decision. In company news here, Cairn Energy was a strong performer after an update of drillin
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Cairn boosted by Greenland hopes
21st Sep 2010 14:47
Oil and gas explorer Cairn Energy is the best performer even though it has abandoned a well that it drilled in Greenland because it said that the discovery was not commercial. Cairn did say that the presence of both oil and gas confirms an active, working petroleum system in the basin and it believe
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie cruises higher
21st Sep 2010 14:27
The blue-chip index edged a little higher over the lunch time session but traders are reluctant to go too far out on a limb prior to the Federal Reserve's rate decision, due to be announced this evening. Dual-listed cruise operator Carnival said third quarter revenues rose to $4.4bn from $4.1bn th
Read moreLondon midday: Slick gains from oil companies
21st Sep 2010 12:04
Footsie has recovered its poise after taking a bit of a knock following disturbing public sector borrowing figures. The measure of public sector net borrowing came in at £15.302bn, up from £14.1bn in August last year, and well ahead of forecasts of £12.51bn. Cairn Energy is the best performer after
Read moreLondon open: Footsie makes small gains
21st Sep 2010 08:54
Footsie has opened higher encouraged by yesterday's 145-point surge on Wall Street and some bullish company news. Online betting exchange Betfair must think the recent rally is sustainable. It is to take a punt on the market's appetite for new issues and float in London. No pricing details accompan
Read moreLondon pre-open: Indecisive start in store
21st Sep 2010 07:37
In keeping with the other major European indices the Footsie is expected to open barely changed from last night's close, with traders keeping their powder dry ahead of this evening's announcement from the US Federal Reserve about its interest rate policy and, more importantly, its stance on further
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