London afternoon: Winning streak in danger
27th Jul 2009 14:34
Footsie has dipped back into the red, with sentiment taking a knock from Wall Street's soft opening. Were the Footsie to finish higher today it would equal a record streak of 11 successive days of gains. Pearson remains the best performer on a much better than expected trading update. The publishin
Read moreLondon midday: Pearson beats expectations
27th Jul 2009 12:07
Strong mining stocks are supporting the Footsie's quest to achieve a record breaking 12th successive day of gains today. Lonmin leads the mining sector higher after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to "neutral" from "sell". Kazakhmys and Antofagasta are the next best performers. Pearson remains th
Read moreDiageo unit angers SABMiller in Tanzania
27th Jul 2009 09:58
A unit of drinks giant Diageo, East African Breweries Limited (EABL), is set to buy a "substantial" interest in Tanzania's second largest brewer. The subsidiary, in which Diageo has a 50.03% stake, will pay an undisclosed sum for the holding in Serengeti Breweries Limited (SBL) after entering a con
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: General Motors, FSA, Diageo
21st Jul 2009 06:13
General Motors, the American carmaker, was believed to be weighing up three bids for its European business last night as it emerged that the German Government had demanded that Sberbank, the state-owned Russian lender, has a reduced role in any offer. Yesterday afternoon Magna, the Canadian car par
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie climbs despite weak retailers
14th Jul 2009 14:10
London's leading shares continue to edge higher, with sentiment given a boost in the afternoon by expectations of a moderately firm start on Wall Street and a strong set of second quarter results from US bank Goldman Sachs, which announced record revenues. Mobile phone giant Vodafone, the third lar
Read moreLondon midday: Early gains are consolidated
14th Jul 2009 12:11
The Footsie is trading sideways, holding on to gains after a bright start. Inflation data was much as expected, with the inflation rate falling below the Bank of England's 2% target for the first time since September 2007 last month. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed a drop in consu
Read moreSector movers: Engineering stocks climb after updates
14th Jul 2009 10:37
Positive trading updates from industrial engineering stocks help lift the sector higher. Engineering conglomerate Melrose is trading in line with expectations for the full year and said cash generation during the first six months of 2009 has been 'excellent'. Metals group Delta said it enjoyed a
Read moreLondon open: Early gains for Footsie
14th Jul 2009 08:41
London's blue chips have made early gains after the hundred-point plus surge on Wall St overnight. Miners are leading the way with Fresnillo, Lonmin, Xstrata and Rio Tinto all going well. Defensive stalwarts are the weak spots with Diageo, Imperial Tobacco and Reckitt Benckiser all lower. Enginee
Read moreLondon close: Heavy losses for Footsie
2nd Jul 2009 16:37
Footsie closed the day nursing triple-digit losses as investors took fright following poor US monthly jobs figures. WPP was the day's worst performer as Citigroup downgraded the UK advertising firm to sell from hold, saying a continuation of the trends in the second quarter would suggest a 7.5% org
Read moreLondon afternoon: Slide accelerates after US open
2nd Jul 2009 15:00
Investors are bailing out of equities in the US ahead of the long holiday week-end in the States, prompting the decline in UK equities to pick up pace. Rio Tinto is the day's worst performer despite a strong response to its $15.2bn rights issue. Shareholders have taken up 96.97% of the shares offer
Read moreLondon midday: Struggle for blue chips
2nd Jul 2009 12:11
London's top stocks are struggling to make headway with the index heading back down as buyers sit on the sidelines. London Stock Exchange is the biggest faller after it announced a new pricing scheme yesterday. The stock market operator says the new tariff would have resulted in £3m worth of tradin
Read moreDiageo to close Scottish distillery, axe 900 jobs
1st Jul 2009 12:46
Beer and spirits group Diageo is cutting 900 jobs in Scotland as part of a major restructuring that will result in the closure of a 200-year-old distillery. The Guinness brewer is also consolidating its packaging operations from three sites to two in a bid to cut cost as consumers cut back on alcoh
Read moreFriday tips round-up: Costain, Diageo, Menzies
26th Jun 2009 06:44
Costain shares are pricey and each time the contractor puts out one of its impressive updates, the share price increases by a little less than last time. The truth is that everyone expects Costain to keep churning out the good results and the stock has become stymied. The Independent, though, argue
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