London 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 moreLondon afternoon: Cadbury melts as Nestle withdraws
5th Jan 2010 14:26
The Footsie moved sideways over the lunch time session, with strength in financials and miners continuing to offset weakness among retailers. RBS adds 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 b
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: RBS still climbing
5th Jan 2010 13:11
RBS adds to the strong gains it posted yesterday, and is the best performer in the FTSE 100. Barclays is another riser, boosted by comments from Deutsche Bank, which says the bank offers both growth and recovery potential. Also among today's big gainers is the hedge fund manager Man Group, which
Read moreLondon midday: Banks buoy Footsie
5th Jan 2010 12:18
Strength in financial stocks is helping Footsie offset declines in the retail sector. RBS adds to yesterday's stellar gains and is joined higher by fellow banks Barclays and Lloyds. Also among today's big gainers is the hedge fund manager Man Group, which has benefited from some upbeat coverage fr
Read moreLondon open: Retailers lead Footsie lower
5th Jan 2010 08:15
London's top stocks have opened lower as retailers fall back at the beginning of the Christmas sales reporting season. High street retailer Next is lower even though it increased full-year profit forecasts again in response to better than expected sales in the run up to Christmas. Sales for the 2
Read moreLondon close: Afternoon rally fizzles out
9th Dec 2009 17:13
The Chancellor's pre-Budget Report speech had little effect on UK equities, with much of its content widely expected while others subscribed to the view espoused by the Shadow Chancellor that it was more of a 'pre-election report' than a pre-Budget report. As expected, banks that pay excessive bonu
Read moreLondon afternoon: Cautious response to Pre-Budget
9th Dec 2009 14:27
London's blue chips have reacted cautiously to the chancellor's pre-Budget speech even though the big numbers were better than feared. The government's borrowing forecast for this year came in ahead of market predictions with a slight upward revison to £178bn, while Alistair Darling stuck to his fo
Read moreLondon midday: Shares hold steady
9th Dec 2009 12:06
With less than half an hour to go before the Chancellor's pre-Budget Report speech, leading equities are back to square one, as investors wait to see what the Chancellor has in store. Speculation is he'll announce the biggest squeeze in public spending for a generation, with only schools, hospital
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 closes 32 points lower
24th Nov 2009 16:48
London ended the day in the red as the FTSE 100 lost its earlier gains after Wall Street opened sharply lower. London did not sustain a short-lived rally in the late afternoon. The market seemed to initially ignore Bank of England governor Mervyn King's cautious comments to the House of Commons Tr
Read moreLondon afternoon: Shares still drifting
24th Nov 2009 14:31
London continues to lack direction, with Bank of England governor Mervyn King's comments to the House of Commons Treasury select committee on the state of the economy having more of an effect on sterling than on share prices. With sterling dipping after King's comments, package holiday firms Thomas
Read moreLondon close: US sparks late rally
5th Nov 2009 16:21
A smaller than expected increase to the Bank of England's quantitative easing programme and and early surge on Wall Street helped Footsie overcome early losses and close in the blue. The central bank voted to pump an additional £25bn into the economy, taking QE to £200bn. It also kept interest rate
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie climbs into blue
5th Nov 2009 14:13
A smaller than expected increase to the Bank of England's quantitative easing (QE) programme and stronger US futures have hauled London into the blue. The central bank voted to pump an additional £25bn into the economy, taking QE to £200bn. It also kept interest rates at 0.5%. "The fact that the M
Read moreBroker tips: Unilever, Man, Invensys
5th Nov 2009 12:49
Hints during a conference call about price cuts in the pipeline may have contributed to a negative reaction to third quarter figures from Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever on Thursday morning. Warren Ackerman of Evolution Securities said Unilever management indicated it would initiate price
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