Diageo finance boss tops up
7th Apr 2011 15:45
Diageo's finance boss Deirdre Mahlan has added to her stake in the Guinness brewer and spirits supplier, buying nearly £150,000 of shares. The American took 3,021 American Depositary Shares (ADS) in the company. An ADS, which is equivalent to four ordinary shares, is a dollar denominated share of
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Barclays, Budget, Punch...
20th Mar 2011 08:59
Barclays has warned the Treasury against breaking up banks in a thinly veiled threat that it may move its headquarters to America. John Varley, the bank's former chief executive and its lead adviser on government affairs, held a tense meeting with officials last week. It was one of a series of priv
Read moreLondon close: Shares fall as Libya crisis intensifies
21st Feb 2011 16:53
The top share index was nursing big losses at trading's close as worries over the turmoil in Libya sent the oil price soaring and continued high usage of the European Central Bank's marginal lending facility stoked nervousness over banks. Banks are granted the right to seek overnight loans from th
Read moreLondon afternoon: ECB emergency loans give banks jitters
21st Feb 2011 14:26
Concerns about rising oil prices should Libya descend into civil war are nagging away at investors, while continued high usage of the European Central Bank's marginal lending facility is making traders nervous about banks. Banks are granted the right to seek overnight loans from the European Centr
Read moreLondon midday: Banks hold back FTSE 100
21st Feb 2011 12:12
Shares are in the red as banking stocks fall back and the turmoil in the Arab world casts a shadow. Banks are the main drag, with RBS, Lloyds and Barclays nursing losses following gains last week. RBS and Lloyds are due to release results later this week. The oil price has topped $104 a barrel as
Read moreLondon open: Bid chatter lifts Footsie
21st Feb 2011 08:44
London has recovered its early losses with a smattering of bid talk and some decent trading updates encouraging a few buyers. The US market will be closed for Presidents' Day Invensys is the top performer after weekend reports it is being stalked by international rivals considering a bid for the co
Read moreDiageo gobbles up Turkish drinks firm
21st Feb 2011 07:41
Spirits brands giant Diageo is to buy Mey Içki, the leading spirits producer and distributor in Turkey. The company is being acquired for an enterprise value of TL3,300m (£1,300m) from investment firm TPG Capital and Actera. The transaction is expected to complete in the second half of 2011, subjec
Read moreBroker tips: Diageo, Fidessa, Telecom Plus
14th Feb 2011 13:37
Charles Stanley stays with its 'accumulate' rating on beverage group Diageo and suggests that investors should use the recent weakness in the share price - following the results - as a buying opportunity. Although the results came in at the bottom range of expectations, the broker notes that Diageo
Read moreBroker snap: Diageo building momentum
14th Feb 2011 12:06
Charles Stanley stays with its 'accumulate' rating on beverage group Diageo and suggests that investors should use the recent weakness in the share price - following the results - as a buying opportunity. Although the results came in at the bottom range of expectations, the broker notes that Diageo
Read moreSunday tips round-up: African Aura, 3i Infra...
13th Feb 2011 11:56
African Aura is very interesting because it has exposure to two commodities with a positive outlook. The company plans to split into two in the next few months, which is likely to lead to a re-rating of the shares. The two commodities are iron ore and gold. African Aura has a joint venture with Rus
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Retailers on the slide
11th Feb 2011 14:13
Retailers are among the main fallers after some weekly sales figures from unquoted retailer John Lewis. Next, Marks & Spencer, Kingfisher and Burberry are all lower after underwhelming sales figures from the John Lewis. There was a 1% rise in sales in the week to February 5 from the same period l
Read moreFriday tips round-up: Rio Tinto, Rolls-Royce, Diageo...
11th Feb 2011 06:59
Rio Tinto, which in the bad days of spring 2009 had debts of $39bn (£24.2bn) after the badly timed purchase of Alcan in 2007, exited last year with just $4.3bn of borrowings, or gearing of 6%. It generated a record $23.5bn of cash last year, up 70% on 2009. This is by any standards a staggering tu
Read moreLondon close: Footsie lower as results disappoint
10th Feb 2011 16:29
Footsie staged a late rally to climb back over 6,000, but still ended the day lower amid a very mixed bag of company results. It was a day for corporates to keep their head down as even those companies posting good numbers got whacked. Miner Rio Tinto fell after record full-year profits, a $5bn sha
Read moreSector movers: Mondi gives forestry and paper a lift
10th Feb 2011 16:21
The forestry and paper sector is higher after paper and packaging firm Mondi said underlying operating profit for the year ended 31 December 2010 is expected to be considerably higher than the same time a year earlier. The group, which is listed in London and Johannesburg, said it expects basic un
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie hovers around 6,000
10th Feb 2011 15:18
Footsie has slumped below 6,000 with insurers and miners featuring prominently among the laggards. Miner Rio Tinto is lower even though it had plenty to please shareholders, with record full-year profits, a $5bn share buyback and 20% increase in the dividend. The Anglo-Australian group made a net
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