Another Tesco director races to the checkout
23rd Jan 2012 16:35
Senior Independent Director of Tesco's, Patrick Cescau, has become the third director to hit the till with a trolley load of shares this month. Cescau footed a £60,247 bill having purchased 18,340 shares at 328.5p each. It's proved to be something of a trolley-dash in the past few weeks, with
Read moreLondon close: Banks lead rally
25th Nov 2011 17:12
Every day this week and last the Footsie has been stuck in reverse gear but today it jolted forward, thanks to a little help from Wall Street, which opened higher. Banks led the advance on hopes that there is truth in the rumours that European policy makers are set to drop the requirement for priva
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Vedanta leads the way lower on debt worries
25th Nov 2011 13:06
Miners are responsible for much of the loss on the top-share index, as copper prices head lower. Vedanta was the biggest faller, on news that the firm is coming under pressure to deal with its level of debt. Deutsche Bank has sparked the worries after it cut its target price on the stock from £21
Read moreLondon midday: The only way is down
25th Nov 2011 11:38
London experienced a quiet morning, but the trend remained down, with the US market expected to open lower when it resumes trading today after yesterday's Thanksgiving Day holiday. US markets will close early today to enable traders to join the throngs of shoppers enjoying - or enduring - 'Black Fri
Read moreLondon open: Miners drag down Footsie
25th Nov 2011 09:01
With the US closed yesterday for the Thanksgiving Day holiday, London has no lead to follow in terms of market direction so it has resorted to its default setting of 'reverse'. Mining stocks are taking the low road as metal prices soften, and are taking the blue-chip index with them. The biggest b
Read moreCompass acquires South African cleaning company
25th Nov 2011 07:38
Contract caterer Compass is looking to clean up in South Africa after agreeing to acquire Supercare Services Group, a South African cleaning company. Supercare, which has 4,000 contracts in the Business & Industry, Healthcare and Education sectors, generated revenue of about £63.6m for the year to
Read moreLondon pre-open: Strasbourg hangover
25th Nov 2011 07:16
Residual disappointment with the outcome of yesterday's meeting of German, French and Italian leaders in Strasbourg is set to dampen sentiment at the outset, with City sources predicting the FTSE 100 will open down 21 points from yesterday's close of 5,128. The markets had hoped the meeting would
Read moreLondon close: Retreat moves into ninth day
24th Nov 2011 17:12
After once again showing signs in the morning session of bringing the losing streak to an end, Footsie once again relapsed in the afternoon session, as investors took fright at German Chancellor Angela Merkel once again banging on about what a bad idea it would be to have common interest rates for a
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners recover, Vedanta tops the risers
24th Nov 2011 13:41
With metals prices recovering on Thursday after yesterday's falls - on the back of ongoing worries in the Eurozone and some disappointing Chinese manufacturing data - the miners were in demand. Vedanta Resources, Fresnillo, Kazakhmys and Xstrata were all performing well. The sector was making an av
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks seeking direction
24th Nov 2011 12:02
As was the case yesterday morning (before it all went downhill in the afternoon session), equities have endured a dull session in London. Footsie spent much of the morning in positive territory, largely on the strength of good showings by banks and miners. Gains might have been a bit more impress
Read moreDigital Look broker talk
24th Nov 2011 10:02
Dixons Retail: "There was an improved sales and gross margin performance in Q2, with encouraging progress on several key financial metrics including net debt, working capital and inventory. These should go some way to allaying fears on the group's financial position, in our view" [Investec]. Pennon
Read moreThursday broker round-up - UPDATE
24th Nov 2011 09:48
Weir: Peel Hunt upgrades from hold to buy, target cut from 2,100p to 2,000p. Weir: Investec maintains buy rating and 2,250p target. Compass: Panmure Gordon raises target from 643p to 658p, buy rating unchanged. Smith & Nephew: Panmure Gordon cuts target from 750p to 640p, buy rating kept. Dixons
Read moreLondon open: Thomas Cook, Dixons jump higher
24th Nov 2011 08:34
The Footsie was trading broadly flat early on, swinging between small gains and losses in the opening minutes. Weighing on sentiment was a poll by Reuters/Ipsos MORI which showed that the majority of Britons (58%) believe the economy will get worse over the next year. That is the highest figure sin
Read moreLondon close: German bond auction response unnerves investors
23rd Nov 2011 17:05
After an uneventful morning session that came as a relief after the turbulent events of recent days, shares turtned sharply lower in the afternoon session, as US markets took a bath. The results of this morning's German bond auction set nerves a-jangling. Germany issued €3.644bn in 10-year bonds
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Admiral rises on speculation
23rd Nov 2011 16:05
Car insurer Admiral rose amid speculation that the firm is to pay a dividend of 100p to shareholders. Shares have taken a dive in recent months following warnings that the group is facing unexpectedly high volumes of claims. Satellite operator Inmarsat was on the rise despite projections that the
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