Costain sweetens Mouchel offer with cash
21st Jan 2011 12:15
Construction and engineering group Costain has improved its offer for outsourced contracting firm Mouchel by offering some cash to shareholders. Costain has talked to Mouchel shareholders as well as its own shareholders and come up with a bid of 0.5531 of a Costain share and 30p in cash for each M
Read moreLondon midday: RBS leads the way
21st Jan 2011 12:08
Royal Bank of Scotland is leading the top share index higher after the FT reported that bank executives and officials at the Treasury are talking about ways for the bank to exit the toxic asset scheme. Fellow bank Lloyds is also going well. Weather conditions in Australia have improved enough to
Read moreCostain to build bridge over Thames
17th Jan 2011 11:04
Construction and engineering group Costain has received the go-ahead from Surrey County Council to build the first major crossing over the river Thames in nearly 20 years. The crossing between Walton and Shepperton, which is being built as part of a £32.3m scheme, is due to be completed by 2013. It
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 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 moreLondon open: Flat start for FTSE 100
6th Jan 2011 08:32
The top share index is little changed in early dealings but a raft of trading updates from retail and other sectors has given traders plenty to ponder. Mother and baby retailer Mothercare today warned that it now expects full year underlying pre-tax profit to be below current market expectations af
Read moreLondon pre-open: Flat start on cards
6th Jan 2011 07:37
London is expected to start little changed after last night's gains on Wall Street and a mixed session in Asia. Futures are currently pointing to a drop of 2 points when trading gets underway, keeping the FTSE 100 in touch with its highest levels in 2½ years. Greetings card specialist Clinton Car
Read moreCostain back with £152m bid for Mouchel
6th Jan 2011 07:02
Construction and engineering group Costain has returned to the table with what it terms 'a significantly enhanced proposal' to take over contractor Mouchel. The new offer is on the basis of 0.5947 Costain shares for each Mouchel share and, based on the closing price of Costain's shares on 5 January
Read moreSmall caps round-up: Costain, Nostra Terra Oil, EG Solutions
5th Jan 2011 11:11
Construction and engineering group Costain has been appointed by Lewisham Council to rebuild four more schools worth £71m after reaching financial close on the fourth phase of its Building Schools for the Future (BSF) project. "Costain is delighted to have reached financial close on the fourth ph
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 storms past 6,000
4th Jan 2011 16:36
The top share index lost some if its strong early gains ahead of the close, but still finished above the psychologically important 6,000 point mark on a storming start to 2011. Oil giant BPwas boosted by reports that rival Shell looked into making a bid for the company in the wake of last year's G
Read moreLondon afternoon: Triple digit rise for Footsie
4th Jan 2011 14:31
Bid speculation is adding froth to a London stock market already playing catch-up with European and US markets that posted strong gains yesterday. Oil giant BPis boosted by reports that rival Shell looked into making a bid for the company in the wake of last year's Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which s
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 roars past 6,000 points
4th Jan 2011 12:01
The top share index's storming start to 2011 continues, with the FTSE 100 now well clear of 6,000 points and sitting at levels not seen since the first half of 2008. Among today's high fliers is BP, with the oil giant boosted by reports that rival Shell looked into making a bid for the company in t
Read moreLondon open: Blue chips open 2001 in buoyant mood
4th Jan 2011 08:46
Big gains in the US overnight and a strong display in Asia this morning have encouraged a rush of buying in London. Banks are strong led by Royal Bank of Scotland on good economic data coming out of Europe and the US yesterday, while Bank or America's settlement with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has
Read moreLondon pre-open: Rally seen close to 100 points
4th Jan 2011 07:36
Big gains in the US overnight and a strong display in Asia this morning are set to give London a big lift first thing Tuesday. Futures prices indicate a 93-point gain for the FTSE 100 as traders return to their desks after their Christmas and New Year break. In company news, no frills airline easy
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