Broker snap: Worst may be over for Man
30th Sep 2009 11:44
Hedge fund manager Man Group showed a clean pair of heels to most of its fellow FTSE 100 constituents on Wednesday morning after an upbeat trading statement. Evolution Securities rates the shares a 'buy', taking the view that the worst is behind Man now, with funds under management growing and rede
Read moreLondon open: Early gains for Footsie
30th Sep 2009 08:47
Footsie has shrugged off a sluggish performance in the US overnight and is now pushing ahead again. Hedge fund manger Man is the best performer after a bullish trading update. "Investor sentiment is continuing to improve across the industry, the performance outlook is healthy and the prospects for
Read moreLondon pre-open: Slight fall expected
30th Sep 2009 07:45
Footsie is expected to fall by a couple of points in early dealings, continuing its rather sluggish performance of recent days. Fashion and food retailer Marks & Spencer posted a 0.5% fall in like-for-like sales in the 13 weeks to 26 September as recession-hit shoppers stayed frugal. Chairman Sir S
Read moreMan Group assets increase at last
30th Sep 2009 07:06
Fund manager Man Group toasted its first increase in assets under management for over a year and said investor sentiment is continuing to improve. Profit before tax for the six months to the end of September is estimated at $280m, against $622m a year ago. Before exceptionals, profit will drop to $
Read moreGrid finance chief sells again
24th Sep 2009 17:14
Gas and electricity network operator National Grid has sailed through the turbulence of the past year relatively unscathed. The share price now is still lower than this time in 2008, but has bounced strongly since April and finance director Steve Lucas is taking advantage to sell his second chunk
Read moreDealings round-up: BlueBay duo cash in
18th Sep 2009 17:26
Two directors of BlueBay today took advantage of the recent tripling in its share price to trim their holdings in the fixed income fund manager. A secondary placing of shares saw Nick Williams, Chief Financial Officer, sell 1m shares and Alex Khein, Chief Operating Officer dispose of 2m shares. Th
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
Read moreLondon midday: RSA's bid plans unclear
15th Sep 2009 12:11
After a quiet but tospy-turvy session the blue-chip index ended the morning in positive territory, despite the UK inflation picture not improving as much in August as expected. The UK Consumer Prices Index in August showed an annual increase of 1.6%, the lowest since level since February 2005 and do
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners keep Footsie bubbling
11th Sep 2009 15:44
Silver miner Fresnillo, copper group Antofagasta and platinum specialist Lonmin were among the best performers. Hedge fund giant Man Group also went well helped by the rising markets. The share price of Home Retail has been back-pedalling rapidly since the Argos and Homebase owner released a tradi
Read moreComment: Predators stalking big game
11th Sep 2009 13:37
Merger mania has been sparked this week by the Kraft bid for Cadbury and the proposed joint-venture between the UK operations of mobile phone operators Orange and T-Mobile, with pundits posing the question: who’s next? Stockbroker Killik has identified five big names that might be on the takeover m
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Vauxhall, MG Rover, National Express
11th Sep 2009 06:14
Lord Mandelson warned Vauxhall's 5,500 workers last night to brace themselves for job cuts but insisted that a new deal to take control of the carmaker had saved the group's two British manufacturing plants. The Business Secretary said that car workers at Vauxhall had "every reason to feel confiden
Read moreLondon close: US confidence sours sentiment
14th Aug 2009 16:28
Weaker than expected US consumer sentiment data upset the apple cart Friday, giving investors an excuse to bank profits ahead of the weekend. Stockmarkets on both sides of the Atlantic have risen 15% in the past month, so no wonder investors were keen to trim their portfolios. Wall Street headed s
Read moreLondon afternoon: US sentiment data disappoints
14th Aug 2009 15:30
London's stockmarket overcame a technical glitch Friday afternoon only for equities to turn lower following a surprise plunge in US consumer confidence. Wall Street tumbled three figures shortly after the University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index for August fell to 63.2 rather than t
Read moreLondon midday: Equities still on the REIT track
14th Aug 2009 11:59
Properties, miners and housebuilders were the sectors making the running this morning as London's blue-chip index strives to make it three days of rises in a row. Reports this morning suggested a consortium of some of the world's richest families is plotting a bid for British Land. Liberty Internat
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