FTSE 250 movers: Bodycote tops the list
4th Mar 2011 12:41
Thermal processing services provider Bodycote is the best performer on the FTSE 250 today, gaining 6%. The group announced last week that it swung into the black in 2010 with estimate-beating profits. Charter International is edging higher after its welding, cutting and automation business ESAB has
Read moreLondon midday: Shares move cautiously higher
4th Mar 2011 12:06
The top share index is moderately higher today following big gains yesterday. Traders will be looking ahead to US job figures due at 1.30pm London time. The US non-farm payroll numbers at lunchtime will get the day traders excited, but may also show that the US economy's recovery is at last startin
Read moreLondon open: Footsie higher ahead of US jobs
4th Mar 2011 08:49
Wall Street may have had its best day of the year so far yesterday but London is taking things a bit more sedately today. The US non-farm payroll numbers at lunchtime will get the day traders excited, but may also show that the US economy's recovery is at last starting to generate a decent amount o
Read moreRecovery in passenger numbers continues at easyJet
4th Mar 2011 07:01
Low cost airline easyJet saw a steep rise in the number of passengers carried in February from a year ago, though the gain was not as sharp as January's. The number of passengers carried on the airline's familiar white and orange planes rose 13.1% to 3.83m in February from 3.39m in February 2010.
Read moreLondon close: Shares slump as Libya worries linger
23rd Feb 2011 16:52
More weakness in the US helped send shares in London sharply lower, with the Libyan crisis and the consequent higher oil price weighing on sentiment. Brent crude for April delivery surged to more than $109 per barrel shortly after 2pm, though it has dipped down below $109 again since then. The $3+
Read moreLondon afternoon: Oil lubricates slippery slope
23rd Feb 2011 14:22
An attempted rally in the morning was already fizzling out as the afternoon started, and prices continued to drift lower over the lunchtime trading session, as investors continue to fret about the higher oil price. Brent crude for April delivery surged to more than $109 per barrel shortly after 2pm
Read moreLondon midday: Shares stuck lower amid Libya worries
23rd Feb 2011 12:02
The higher oil price amid continuing turmoil in Libya is helping to keep shares in the red, though company updates have been given a mixed reception. Brent crude hit over $107 per barrel, up 1% today, as the violence and rhetoric in Libya increased. Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi vowed to fight a gr
Read moreLondon close: Rally falls short as Libya casts shadow
22nd Feb 2011 17:00
Strong consumer confidence figures in the US sparked an impressive rally from the top share index this afternoon following earlier gloom over the Libyan turmoil and the higher oil price, but worries re-emerged and the FTSE 100 finished below 6,000. BHP Billiton is one of those that has limped into
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Lamprell and Croda lead the risers
22nd Feb 2011 14:47
Engineering services provider Lamprell is a big mover today after announcing a new contract award from Singapore company Greatship Global Energy Services. Not far behind is speciality chemicals group Croda International which more than doubled its 2010 pre-tax profits. Also higher are oil prices a
Read moreLondon afternoon: Modest rally continues
22nd Feb 2011 14:12
Shares continued to pare the morning's losses over the lunch time trading session, and from a position at the mid-morning stage where only five FTSE 100 constituents were in positive territory, by 2pm that number had grown to around 20. BHP Billiton is one of those that has limped into the black. T
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: BP, Bats/Chi-X, Easyjet...
18th Feb 2011 06:39
Vince Cable's Business Department has been accused of indulging in empty rhetoric and failing to produce a coherent strategy for growth in a withering assessment of the past nine months. MPs on the Commons Business, Enterprise and Skills committee will say in a report published today that the Depa
Read moreWhich? targets no-frill airlines over card surcharges
11th Feb 2011 07:58
Consumer organisation Which? is to make a super-complaint against companies that impose "rip-off" extra charges for people who pay with credit and debit charges citing no-frills airlines as the worst offenders. The consumer group will ask the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to investigate card surchar
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Airlines, Oil, Nord Gold...
11th Feb 2011 06:33
Budget airlines could face an official inquiry into "rip-off" credit and debit card charges after the Which? consumer group lodges a "super-complaint" next month. The charity is using its statutory powers to ask the Office of Fair Trading to investigate the fees, which can reach hundreds of pounds
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Hargreaves Lansdown tops the list
10th Feb 2011 16:05
Wealth management and stockbroking firm Hargreaves Lansdown had a record breaking second half to 2010. Underlying profit before tax in the six months to 31 December rose 41% to £56.3m from £43.1m the year before. Easyjet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou fiercely criticised the payments last year to
Read moreStelios launches new attack on former easyjet boss
10th Feb 2011 12:22
Easyjet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has fiercely criticised the payments last year to former chief executive Andy Harrison, ending a recent truce between himself and the airline's board. In a letter to Easyjet chairman Sir Michael Rake, Sir Stelios complains that "Mr Harrison walked away with
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