London close: Footsie down but above 5,000
3rd Nov 2009 16:24
London's blue chips ended off session lows and back above the 5,000 level, helped by positive reaction to announcements from Lloyds Banking and Legal & General. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) remained resolutely out of favour, however, as the market reacted negatively to the revised terms of its part
Read moreLondon afternoon: Market licking its wounds
3rd Nov 2009 14:11
The FTSE 100 index clawed its way back above the 5,000 level over the lunch-time session, helped by positive reaction to announcements from Lloyds Banking and Legal & General. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) remains resolutely out of favour, however, as the market reacted negatively to the revised ter
Read moreLondon midday: Retreat turns into a rout
3rd Nov 2009 12:08
The list of FTSE 100 constituents is bereft of risers, as stocks move swiftly into reverse while the market digests developments relating to the part-nationalised UK banks. The government is injecting another £25.5bn into Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), with a further £8bn available if things get wo
Read moreLondon open: Mixed reception for latest bank rescues
3rd Nov 2009 08:52
Footsie is lower as investors assess confirmation of bonus curbs, dividend cuts and asset sales from Royal Bank of Scotland and a £21bn cash call from Lloyds Banking Group. RBS will not be allowed to pay dividends for the next two years and have to divest its insurance arm and a raft of other busin
Read moreDunelm 'comfortably' to exceed interim forecasts
3rd Nov 2009 07:33
Dunelm has forecast a much better than expected first half after strong early growth continued with like-for-like sales up by 15.1% in the 17 weeks to end October. "The group is well positioned to achieve a sales and profit outturn for the first half of the financial year comfortably ahead of our p
Read moreSector movers: S&N downgrade hurts healthcare equipment stocks
7th Oct 2009 15:20
Smith & Nephew is leading the health care equipment sector lower after the broker UBS downgraded the hip and knee specialist to 'neutral' from 'buy.' UBS is worried about tightening health budgets in the US. Carphone Warehouse, whose second quarter trading statement is due tomorrow, is helping lift
Read moreDunelm founder offloads shares
7th Oct 2009 14:39
Bill Adderley, founder and life president of homewares retailer Dunelm has completed a placing of 15.6m shares, or 7.8% of the firm, at a price of 310p per ordinary share. He retains approximately 34% of Dunelm's issued share capital and will not sell any more shares for at least 12 months. Adder
Read moreBroker tips: InterContinental Hotels, Michael Page, Dunelm
7th Oct 2009 13:07
Ahead of results due on 10 November, brokers have been turning their attention to Holiday Inn owner InterContinental Hotels and are seeing signs of a recovery in the business travel market. Broker Panmure Gordon said the relaunch of the Holiday Inn has been driving a turnaround in the fortunes of I
Read moreBroker snap: Singer not fazed by Dunelm founder's stake sale
7th Oct 2009 13:05
Bill Adderley, the founder and life president of Dunelm has reduced his holding in the company by 7.8% but Singer Capital Markets argues that the secondary placing of Adderley's shares will improve liquidity in the home furnishing company's shares. 'Prior to this announcement, the free float of Dun
Read moreSmall caps round-up: Printing.com, Medgenics, Dunelm...
7th Oct 2009 08:18
Printing.com, which prints greetings cards, leaflets, flyers and other items, saw an upturn in trading in September though this was below the level of that of the same month the previous year. AIM listed Medgenics has raised £0.265m through a placing of common shares at 6p each. The company, which
Read moreBroker tips: Supermarkets, Inchcape, Dunelm
2nd Oct 2009 13:14
Food price deflation is about to put a dent in the earnings of the major UK supermarkets if the experience of their US counterparts is anything to go by, reckons Citigroup. The US bank has slapped sell recommendations on Tesco, Sainsbury and Morrisons. Citi said high hopes at the beginning of the y
Read moreBroker snap: Dunelm has room to grow
2nd Oct 2009 13:12
Dunelm, the home furnishings retailer, is not widely known inside the M25 area of London which gives it plenty of scope for expansion, reckons Singer Capital Markets. The out-of-town retailer has just 85 stores across the UK with many regions unrepresented. The chance to move into new areas without
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Dunelm gives back gains
16th Sep 2009 12:32
Shares in Dunelm Group give back some of the strong gains they posted yesterday when the homewares retailer said it had seen a big rise in sales in the early part of the new financial year. Carpet group Carpetright is also lower, adding to recent losses. Weir Group is lower after the engineer anno
Read moreLondon close: Stocks gain on economic cheer
15th Sep 2009 16:40
Footsie put further distance between itself and the 5,000 point mark as the global economic outlook brightened. The US recession is 'very likely' to have ended, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said. Here, the UK Consumer Prices Index in August showed an annual increase of 1.6%, the lowest si
Read moreLondon afternoon: Weak retailers out of step
15th Sep 2009 14:18
Leading shares are consolidating the morning's gains, though retailers decline to join the party. Confusion and speculation surrounds the acquisition and fund raising intentions of general insurer RSA. Reports in today's FT suggest RSA indicated at a recent investors conference that it was looking
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