London afternoon: Flat Footsie
15th Jan 2010 14:27
The blue-chip index is treading water, though there has been some keen interest in the day's big results announcements. Man Group is sharply lower after the hedge fund manager suffered a 4% drop in funds under management during the third quarter, mainly due to the $1.2bn pulled out of its flagship
Read moreLondon midday: Leading shares ease back
15th Jan 2010 12:28
Leading shares are mixed, with the FTSE 100 dipping into negative territory after JP Morgan issued a mixed set of figures. The US banking titan's bottom line was healthier than expected, with fourth quarter earnings per share of 74 cents versus expectations of 60 cents, but net revenues of $25.2bn w
Read moreLondon open: Blue chips flat
15th Jan 2010 08:44
London is going nowhere this morning despite more gains in the US overnight and better than expected fourth quarter results from chip giant Intel, announced after hours. On home soil, Man Group suffered a 4% drop in funds under management during the third quarter, mainly due to the $1.2bn pulled ou
Read moreLondon pre-open: Footsie set to reclaim 5,500
15th Jan 2010 07:35
A modest gain in the US overnight should be enough to get London back above 5,500, futures prices reveal. The FTSE 100 is expected to add about 11 points after American investors shrugged off a surprise drop in retail sales, rise in unemployment and President Obama's new multi-billion dollar bank t
Read moreMan funds down 4% in Q3
15th Jan 2010 07:04
Man Group suffered a 4% drop in funds under management during the third quarter, mainly due to the $1.2bn pulled out of its flagship AHL fund. Funds under Management (FUM) at 31 December slipped to $42.4bn from $44bn at the end of September, traditionally a quiet period for sales. Man said the nega
Read moreFriday preview: Man Group, Experian, Bovis Homes
14th Jan 2010 15:13
Trading statements are expected on Friday from Experian, Bovis Homes and Man Group. The share price of hedge fund manager Man Group has retreated this week after Morgan Stanley cut its rating on the stock from 'overweight' to 'equal weight'. The US broker likes Man's exposure to a number of growt
Read moreLondon close: Commodity slide hits Footsie
13th Jan 2010 16:32
Footsie ended the day firmly in the red with low commodity prices helping to offset positive broker coverage. With the oil price below $80, oil titans Royal Dutch Shell and BP found themselves on traders' sell lists. BG Group also slipped even after HSBC upped its price target for the stock from 13
Read moreLondon afternoon: Leading shares mixed
13th Jan 2010 14:57
Leading shares are mixed having picked up a little over the lunch time session, helped by a firmer start on Wall Street. With the oil price below $80, oil titans Royal Dutch Shell and BP find themselves on traders' sell lists, but BG Group makes headway after HSBC upped its price target for the st
Read moreLondon midday: Ferrero pulls out of Cadbury chase
13th Jan 2010 11:56
Oils and banks are dragging the Footsie down, with sentiment also soured by disappointing manufacturing output figures. While industrial production showed a 0.4% rise in November, better than the 0.3% rise economists had been predicting, manufacturing output remained unchanged from October's level
Read moreLondon open: Footsie marks time
13th Jan 2010 08:50
Last night's decline on Wall Street, its first of 2010, has tipped Footsie lower a little in early deals though the fall so far is modest. US stocks were hurt by weaker than expected fourth quarter results from aluminium producer Alcoa after hours Monday, while Chinese moves to cool bank lending an
Read moreLondon afternoon: US jobs sour sentiment
8th Jan 2010 13:54
Footsie has turned down after a worse than expected US monthly jobs number. Job losses were 85,000 in December against the more optimistic forecasts of a large positive number. In the UK, Kazakhi companies Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) and Kazakhmys are on the up while Randgold Resources and B
Read moreBroker tips: Ryanair, miners, Halfords, Man
8th Jan 2010 13:10
Commerzbank has reiterated its hold stance of no-frills airline Ryanair with a target price of €3.50 after an update on the group's long-term strategy. The German broker says that following the cancellation of the large Boeing order at the end of last year Ryanair will concentrate on optimising yie
Read moreLondon midday: Waiting for US jobs data
8th Jan 2010 11:58
The market remains in wait-and-see mode ahead of the release of the change in US non-farm payrolls at 1:30pm. The December figure could be significant in that some economists are expecting it to show the trend for job losses evident since December 2007 has finally ended. Back in the UK leading sha
Read moreBroker snap: Man downgraded as forecasts cut
8th Jan 2010 09:03
Morgan Stanley has cut Man Group to 'equalweight' from 'overweight' and dropped its price target to £3.40 from £4. The broker, which also removed Man from its best ideas portfolio, said the downgrade reflects an 18% cut in its FY11e EPS on lower performance fees and reduced sales. It likes Man's
Read moreLondon close: Strong run continues
5th Jan 2010 16:40
Strength in the financial sector helped Footsie continue its strong start to 2009, closing near its highest levels in more than a year. RBS added to yesterday's stellar gains and is joined higher by fellow banks Barclays and Lloyds. The latter pair have been selected by Deutsche Bank as the best t
Read more