London open: Footsie heading lower
28th Apr 2010 08:51
Footsie has opened lower though losses so far are not anywhere near the scale seen on Wall Street and Asia overnight. Concern over the state of the eurozone economy may mean more weakness later but for now investors seem happy to wade through an avalanche of results and trading updates. Oil groups
Read moreLondon pre-open: Prepare for weak start
28th Apr 2010 07:36
Further losses are predicted for Wednesday as investors continue to fret about the state of the eurozone economy, although an avalanche of results may prove a distraction. London fell 2.6% on Tuesday after Standard & Poor's decided to cut its credit rating on Greece to junk status and lowering its
Read moreCroda Q1 results beat forecasts
28th Apr 2010 07:11
Speciality chemicals supplier Croda reported better than expected first quarter results as robust trading continued and is confident of significant progress for the remainder of the year. The group, which supplies ingredients for sun-block to companies such as Procter & Gamble, said group sales inc
Read moreWednesday preview: Glaxo, Shell, Home Retail, RBS, Croda
27th Apr 2010 16:55
In what is sure to be a very busy day for corporate announcements pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline and Anglo-Dutch oil titan Royal Dutch Shell are likely to be two of the biggest, though press coverage of the AGM for part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland may consume an equal amount of
Read moreBroker tips: Home Retail, Croda
12th Apr 2010 13:13
Shares in Argos and Homebase owner Home Retail were a hot ticket on Monday morning after the Mail on Sunday reported that Asda, which is owned by the world's biggest retailer, Walmart, is considering a bid for the company. The share price is closing in on 300p, but there could be more juice to be
Read moreBroker snap: Sector consolidation good for Croda
12th Apr 2010 13:04
There is talk of consolidation in the European consumer care sector, and if this merger activity comes to pass Charles Stanley thinks it could lead to an improved pricing environment, to the benefit of speciality chemicals supplier Croda . The broker reports on rumours that German chemicals giant B
Read moreNon-exec buys initial stake in Aberdeen
17th Mar 2010 16:02
Aberdeen Asset Management non-executive director Gerhard Fusenig has bought his first shares in the fund manager since he was appointed to the board on 8 October 2009. Fusenig invested nearly £129,000 in 100,000 shares, which cost 128.84p each. Fusenig is Co-Chief Operating Officer of Asset Mana
Read moreSector movers: Banks move higher
24th Feb 2010 10:14
Investors are bracing for results from banks RBS and Lloyds tomorrow and the following day respectively. Both stocks are higher, but the gains are modest. HSBC leads the sector higher amid reports the bank is expected to announce that its chief executive Michael Geoghegan not receive his 40% pay r
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Croda, Mondi, Spice
24th Feb 2010 06:38
Chemicals group Croda is emerging from recession with earnings nearly twice the level they were when it went in. Strong profit growth has also pulled net debt down by £110m to £289m. The only negative in yesterday's numbers was the effect of lower discount rates on Croda's pension deficit, which h
Read moreSector movers: Croda profit sparks positive chemical reaction
23rd Feb 2010 12:02
Strong results from Croda International are the catalyst for a strong performance for the chemicals sector. The maker of chemicals used for personal care, industrial, pharmaceuticals and nutritional markets said profits in the last three months jumped by 44% to £30.9m, helping to boost the total fo
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Investors cheer Mondi results
23rd Feb 2010 12:00
Mondi is higher after the paper and packaging group reported lower profits for 2009 but took heart from a revival in trading conditions in Europe in the final quarter. A rise in profits from Croda has sparked a positive reaction from shareholders. The speciality chemicals supplier lifted underlying
Read moreCroda boosted by strong end to 2009
23rd Feb 2010 07:26
Speciality chemicals supplier Croda lifted underlying profits by more than 10% last year after a strong fourth quarter that has continued into the current year. Profits in the last three months jumped by 44% to £30.9m, helping to boost the total for the year to £106.4m against £96.3. Pre-tax profit
Read moreTuesday preview: Drax, Croda, Morgan Sindall
22nd Feb 2010 17:20
Drax, operator of the UK's largest coal-fired power station, is set to report a sharp drop in full year pre-tax profits on Tuesday, with the investment analyst community expecting a figure of around £266.1m, compared to £442.5m in 2008. Revenue is expected to ease to £1,356.0m from £1,752.8m. Full
Read moreRightmove chairman's £1.24m gain
1st Dec 2009 15:06
Scott Forbes, chairman of residential property website operator Rightmove, has exercised options over 600,000 shares and immediately sold them all. The exercise price was 335p a share so there was a gain of 206.32p a share. That is an overall profit of £1.24m. Forbes retains 619,000 shares, or 0
Read moreCroda chief doubles his money
3rd Nov 2009 16:18
Croda International chief executive Michael Humphrey has taken up 109,300 shares via the senior executive option scheme and then sold most of them at nearly three times the price. The options were exercised at 256p a share, so the total cost was £280,000. The sale of 80,473 shares at 747.71p each
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