National Express denies inviting Stagecoach proposal
19th Oct 2009 07:20
National Express has denied inviting rival bus and train group Stagecoach to make a proposal to merge the two groups, though it did confirm it is considering an all share deal. Stagecoach, which confirmed it had made a merger proposal, had suggested in a stock exchange announcement it was at the in
Read moreThursday tips round-up: Smiths Group, Man, FirstGroup
1st Oct 2009 05:53
Smiths says that it has felt a pick-up in some markets since the end of its financial year. Second, cost-saving measures, including tighter management of working capital, have done much to mitigate recession. It was relief that full-year profits were no worse that sent the shares up 6 per cent. But
Read moreLondon close: Best ever quarterly gain for Footsie
30th Sep 2009 17:00
Wall Street fell out of bed at the start of its trading day after the release of disappointing business activity data and London quickly followed the US market downwards. However, a rally in the last half hour ensured that the FTSE 100 enjoyed its best ever quarterly percentage gain since the index
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie still lacking direction
30th Sep 2009 14:20
Footsie has continued its recent sluggish run, with company updates pulling the leading share index in both directions, but remains set for a record quarterly gain. Hedge fund manger Man is the best performer after a bullish trading update. "Investor sentiment is continuing to improve across the in
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 on course for record quarter
30th Sep 2009 12:13
Footsie still looks on course for a record quarterly gain, but early strong rises have been whittled away ahead of the US open. 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 h
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Rail and bus stocks slow down
30th Sep 2009 10:56
Transport stocks have hit the buffers slightly after FirstGroup said overall trading remains in line with management expectations but warned the transport industry faces a challenging year ahead. The rail and bus group is joined lower by peer Stagecoach. Support services specialist Babcock is hurt
Read moreFirstGroup on right track
30th Sep 2009 07:41
Greyhound bus operator FirstGroup said overall trading remains in line with management expectations but warned the transport industry faces a challenging year ahead. "We are encouraged by the group's continued resilience in the first half of the year in delivering a good performance with overall tr
Read moreLondon close: Blue chips at 10½-month high
20th Aug 2009 16:28
A brace of better than expected US data reinvigorated markets early afternoon Thursday, helping London close at it highest since early October. The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index rose to +4.2 in August from -7.5 in July, while the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators rose 0
Read moreLondon afternoon: Prices bubble over
20th Aug 2009 14:14
Equity prices came off the top over the lunch-time session but remain firmly in the blue, albeit in thin trade, largely due to the strength of miners. Mining giant Rio Tinto is higher despite seeing profits falling by more than half in the six months to June 30 as it felt the impact of sharply lowe
Read moreLondon midday: Retail sales give a boost
20th Aug 2009 12:10
July's retail sales figures have given a lift to an already buoyant equity market. Figures revealed sales grew 0.4% from June, putting the annual increase to 3.3%, the highest since May 2008. Economists had predicted a rise of just 0.2% for July following June's 1.2% gain and a 2.7% year-on-year imp
Read moreOFT proposes referring bus firms to CC
20th Aug 2009 08:57
The Office for Fair Trading (OFT) is proposing to refer the local bus industry to the Competition Commission (CC) after finding evidence that limited competition could be leading to higher prices for bus users. In a five month investigation into the £3.6bn industry, the OFT found a number of featur
Read moreThursday's tips round-up: Hochschild, FirstGroup, ENRC
20th Aug 2009 06:31
The mining sector has become something of a dangerous place to put your money in recent months, with the industry having to contend with volatile prices, merger speculation and grumpy Chinese buyers. With Hochschild, at least punters avoid some of these hazards. Further cost savings are expected, an
Read moreCVC and Cosmen family in National Express bid
24th Jul 2009 07:53
National Express's main shareholder, Spain's Cosmen family, today launched a bid for the troubled rail and bus group in conjunction with CVC, the private equity group. In a stock exchange statement, CVC said it and the Cosmen family had made an indicative cash bid. The Cosmen's own 18.5% of Nation
Read moreLondon close: US surge extends Footsie's winning streak
23rd Jul 2009 16:32
Footsie's winning streak extended to nine days as US markets surged ahead on better than expected June home sales and forecast-busting results from a number of US household names. Trading had been quiet up until mid-afternoon, but as soon as the US markets started to pick up buyers returned in earn
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie regains 4,500
23rd Jul 2009 13:46
The Footsie's eight day winning streak looks set to become nine days as the blue chip index hit 4,500 again amid more gains for US stocks. On the positive side, miners Fresnillo, Kazakhmys, Vedanta Resources, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, ENRC, Xstrata and Lonmin are all among the top ten risers on hope
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