London afternoon: Housebuilders get Budget boost
23rd Mar 2011 15:00
It would appear that the UK Budget was far from a blockbuster as the market has reacted phlegmatically to the Chancellor's big day. The headline grabbing move was the commitment to effectively abolish National Insurance and push up income tax to compensate, but this will not take effect for some t
Read moreLondon midday: Back to square one
23rd Mar 2011 12:24
Footsie ended the morning more or less where it started it, as investors sit tight ahead of the Budget speech at 12:30pm. Resource stocks are in demand, with ENRC sitting atop a buoyant mining sector and Cairn leading oils higher. Underlying profits more than doubled last year at Kazakhstan-based
Read moreFerrexpo profits from price hikes
23rd Mar 2011 08:42
Ukrainian iron ore pellet producer Ferrexpo doubled revenue in 2010 and profit swelled fivefold to almost $500m as production hit a record, taking full advantage of strong demand and high prices. Profit before tax jumped to $498m from $81m in 2009 on sales up $1.3bn from $649m the previous year.
Read moreSunday tips round-up: Ferrexpo, Wm Morrison, Kalahari...
13th Mar 2011 11:35
Ukraine's location and Ferrexpo's-strong transport links make the company the lowest-cost supplier of iron ore pellets to central and eastern Europe and the Middle East. In 2009, Ferrexpo's profits were $81.4m (£51m) but 2010 profits, to be announced in two weeks, are likely to be about $475m risi
Read moreSector movers: Prudential boosts life insurers
9th Mar 2011 15:36
Prudential is providing a lift in the life insurance sector. The blue chip insurer announced today that it made 20% more in 2010 than it did the year before as Asia raced ahead of the US as the company's biggest earner. Group operating profit before tax on a European Embedded Value (EEV) basis jump
Read moreSector movers: Alternative energy shares continue to fall
1st Mar 2011 14:39
The alternative energy sector is the worst performer, continuing its recent decline. The sector has fallen 12% in the past week, and 23% in the last month. The heaviest faller in the sector is Hansen Transmissions International, the wind turbine gearbox designer. The industrial metals and mining
Read moreFriday tips round-up: RPC, Rio Tinto, DS Smith...
17th Dec 2010 06:57
RPC Group has spent ten years wooing Denmark's Superfos Industries but has finally won the day after its rival agreed to a £205m takeover. Making soup containers for Waitrose and coffee capsules for Nespresso machines may have all the hallmarks of a defensive stock. But the Superfos deal has turned
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: SuperGroup's margin trouble outweighs sales surge
15th Dec 2010 16:13
Trendy fashion retailer SuperGroup leads the market lower Wednesday afternoon after seeing its share price fall by +220p. Early signs for Christmas trade are "very encouraging" with sales rising by 65% in the first half, though a warning on margins has sparked some heavy profit taking. Profit befor
Read moreFerrexpo's logistics purchase
15th Dec 2010 10:57
Iron ore producer Ferrexpo is buying inland waterway transport company Helogistics for €28.5m, which is equivalent to net asset value. Earlier this year, Ferrexpo provided a €6m working capital loan to a subsidiary of Helogistics so it knows the business reasonably well. Helogistics is one of the
Read moreFerrexpo seals deal with Japan's JFE
9th Dec 2010 12:18
Ukrainian iron ore producer Ferrexpo has entered into a long term agreement with the fifth largest steel producer in the world to deliver about 300 thousand tonnes of 65% iron content pellets a year. The deal with JFE Steel, which begins this year, is Ferrexpo's first long term contract in Japan an
Read morePetmin non-exec buys
15th Nov 2010 17:02
Petmin non-executive director Enrique Greyling has invested nearly £41,000 in the anthracite and silica miner. This deal was originally mistakenly reported as a disposal. Greyling has bought 156,000 shares at R2.95 (26p) a share. Greyling owns just over 3.67m shares. His fellow directors have al
Read moreLondon close: Footsie little changed
11th Nov 2010 16:44
Footsie closed little changed, which wasn't a bad result given a triple-digit loss for the Dow when it opened. Ireland was the story breaking as the trading day closed. Yields on benchmark Irish bonds rose to over 9% on reports that the EU might have step in and bail the country out. José Manuel
Read moreLondon afternoon: Financials drag index lower
11th Nov 2010 14:24
An early three-digit loss on Wall Street has the Footsie near its worst levels of the day, with financials the biggest fallers. Insurers Aviva, L&G and Standard Life are deep in the red, as are and RBS and Barclays on fears about Irish debt. Metal heavyweights are limiting the deficit though. Most
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Higher pellet output fires Ferrexpo
11th Nov 2010 14:21
Ferrexpo has roared ahead after a strong performance from the Ukrainian iron ore producer in the third quarter. Total pellet production in the year to date increased 15.7% compared with 2009. Yule Catto is among the stocks helping to dampen sentiment. A mixed trading update sparked a negative react
Read moreLondon midday: Mining advance fails to lift Footsie
11th Nov 2010 12:14
Big gains from mining companies have failed to haul Footsie into positive territory. The metals groups have marched higher from the off. Antofagasta, Kazakhmys, Xstrata, Fresnillo and Rio Tinto are in demand, as is oil major BP. Iron specialist Ferrexpo is the best performer. Cash is pouring in, o
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