London open: British Land bid talk lifts market
14th Aug 2009 08:44
London's blue chips have opened slightly higher on a relatively quiet day with bid rumours among the big property groups the main talking point. Reports this morning suggested a consortium of some of the world's richest families is plotting a bid for British Land. Hammerson and Land Securities are
Read moreLondon pre-open: Positive start ahead
14th Aug 2009 07:39
London's blue chips are expected to open slightly higher on a relatively quiet day. Investors are likely to focus on US inflation and industrial production data due in the afternoon. Payment services group Paypoint said its trading performance since the end of March has been satisfactory. The compa
Read moreMan sells remaining MF Global stake
14th Aug 2009 07:03
Fund manager Man Group expects gross initial disposal proceeds of $112m, which it expects to receive early next week, from the disposal of its remaining stake in MF Global. Man said it has entered into a Variable Forward Sale (VFS) Agreement with Nomura over the entire remaining holding in MF Globa
Read moreLondon close: Meek end to bumper week
31st Jul 2009 16:23
Blue chips ended a near-record breaking week on a low note. Footsie closed down sharply after disappointing second quarter consumer spending figures in the US. Insurers lead the market lower ahead of the sector's results season. Standard Life, Old Mutual, RSA Insurance, Friends Provident and Leg
Read moreLondon afternoon: US consumer spending casts pall
31st Jul 2009 14:10
The Footise dropped sharply after disappointing second quarter consumer spending figures in the US. Insurers lead the market lower ahead of the sector's results season. Standard Life, Old Mutual, RSA Insurance, Friends Provident and Legal & General are the worst performers among life assurance s
Read moreLondon midday: Equities move sideways
31st Jul 2009 12:06
Leading shares remain mixed but with a slight bias to the upside, helped by improved sentiment towards travel stocks. British Airways is a bright spot after making some positive noises to accompany its first quarter results. "While traffic volumes are down considerably compared to last year, they h
Read moreBroker tips: Reed Elsevier, Liberty, Man Group
31st Jul 2009 11:59
Shares in publishing group Reed Elsevier recovered a little on Friday morning after the battering they took on Thursday following the company's disappointing results. Broker Nomura identified two aspects of the results which unsettled investors: the £824m dilutive share placing, and the 7% decline
Read moreBroker snap: Increased regulation may cramp Man's style
31st Jul 2009 11:04
The prospect of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) tightening up rules on position limits and hedging exemptions is bad news for hedge fund manager Man Group, UBS reckons. Man's flagship AHL fund is heavily invested in commodities, and any attempt to reduce volatility in the commodi
Read moreLondon close: Ten out of ten for Footsie
24th Jul 2009 17:13
The FTSE 100 index made it ten days of rises in a row, despite tailing off towards the close as investors looked to bank profits ahead of the week-end. It capped the best rally by the blue-chip index in five years. The rise was achieved despite dismal gross domestic product data. UK output contract
Read moreLondon afternoon: Financials find favour
24th Jul 2009 14:11
Footsie eased back a little over the lunchtime session but thanks to firm financials the blue-chip index continues to shrug off this morning's gloomy data on gross domestic product (GDP). UK output contracted 0.8% between April and June after a 2.4% decline in the first quarter, according to the Of
Read moreLondon close: Bright finish for FTSE 100
13th Jul 2009 16:26
Footsie put a sluggish start behind it to finish with good gains, helped by a strong showing on Wall Street. Friends Provident was the best performer after Clive Cowdery's new vehicle, Resolution , said it has received "constructive feedback" from the board of Friends over its merger approach and i
Read moreLondon afternoon: Friends leads London higher
13th Jul 2009 14:32
Mergers and acquisition activity is keeping share prices bubbling as London makes a solid start to the week. Friends Provident is the best performer after Clive Cowdery's new vehicle, Resolution , said it has received "constructive feedback" from the board of Friends over its merger approach and i
Read moreLondon midday: M&A activity perks up shares
13th Jul 2009 11:56
The blue-chip index edged higher in the morning sessions despite the weakness of miners and banks, with increased merger and acquisition activity encouraging buyers back to the market. Friends Provident is the best performer after Clive Cowdery's new vehicle, Resolution , said it has received "con
Read moreMan non-exec builds holdings
10th Jul 2009 17:17
Dugald Eadie, non-executive director at fund manager Man Group, has acquired nearly £100,000 worth of shares in the firm Eadie bought 40,000 shares at a price of 241.75p per share, taking his stake to 360,000. Yesterday, the fund manager reported a slight dip in assets under management in the firs
Read moreFriday tips round-up: AB Foods, Premier Oil, Croda
10th Jul 2009 06:42
John Bason, finance director at AB Foods, says that Primark has changed the face of retailing on the high street. And who can disagree, after Primark posted a 21% jump in sales in the quarter to 20 June, especially with many competitors slipping into administration. There was similarly good news i
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