London midday: Markets boosted by economic data from Europe and China
24th Jan 2013 11:20
London's benchmark index was registering decent gains by Thursday lunchtime as earlier concerns about disappointing earnings from Apple were outweighed by better-than-expected economy data from Europe and China. Investors began today's session in a cautious fashion with the FTSE 100 struggling to
Read moreLondon open: Markets flat as Apple disappoints
24th Jan 2013 08:26
UK stocks opened broadly flat on Thursday morning as a disappointing earnings report from the world's largest technology company weighed on sentiment early on. US tech titan Apple saw shares tumble after the closing bell in New York last night after its fiscal first-quarter results missed forecasts
Read moreLondon pre-open: FTSE to again track US stocks higher
24th Jan 2013 07:24
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up four points from yesterday's close of 6,198, after US stocks closed higher for the sixth consecutive session. The main US equity benchmarks ended on a high note Wednesday after the House of Representatives voted to temporarily suspend the government's
Read moreGreggs pinches new CEO from Punch Taverns - UPDATE
24th Jan 2013 07:14
High Street pastry and baked goods retailer Greggs said Thursday that Roger Whiteside, the current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Punch Taverns, will become its next CEO, having announced in December that Ken McMeikan is leaving the post in March. Whiteside, who will take up the role from Februa
Read moreLondon open: Sainsbury warns celebrations will not carry into 2013
9th Jan 2013 08:10
The UK's main equity benchmark, the FTSE 100, has started the Wednesday session slightly higher, up by 18 points to 6,071, to just below technical resistance at the 6,100 point mark, despite the release of mixed results overnight from US aluminium giant Alcoa and what appears to be a rather mixed ne
Read moreChristmas sales rise at Greggs
9th Jan 2013 07:20
Bakery chain Greggs said it enjoyed a resilient Christmas performance with total sales up 4.3 per cent in the five weeks ending January 5th 2013. The high street bakery and sandwich chain said like-for-like sales fell 2.9% against the previous year's 5.1%. Greggs cautioned that it expects the tou
Read moreLondon close: 'Fiscal cliff' hopes lift markets
11th Dec 2012 16:56
- Fiscal cliff optimism increases ahead of FOMC - German ZEW smashes expectations - Tullow drops 8.4 per cent After a weak start, the FTSE 100 finished Tuesday's session with slight gains on the back of increasing optimism about the 'fiscal cliff', as well as a better-than-expected reading of Germa
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Domino Printing and Victrex provide a drag
11th Dec 2012 14:36
Industrial coding, printing and marking technology group Domino Printing was the worst performer on the FTSE 250 after reporting a small decline in annual profit as it battles against tough market conditions. Pre-tax profit fell to £53.94m for the year ended October 31st 2012 from £57.44m the year
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Man Group, BAE, Greggs
11th Dec 2012 07:00
Change at the top of Man Group comes not a moment too soon for investors. Fund managers always suffer more when the market falls, as it did solidly for two years after Mr Peter Clarke became chief executive in March 2007, but the whole point of Man's computerised flagship, AHL, was that it was suppo
Read moreLondon close: Stocks rally on 'fiscal cliff' optimism
10th Dec 2012 16:39
- Obama-Boehner meeting sparks optimistic mood - Italian PM steps down - Economic data from Asia comes in mixed Optimism that US law-makers can agree over the impending 'fiscal cliff' managed to offset concerns regarding political uncertainty in Italy, with the FTSE 100 rallying to finish with smal
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: AZ Electronic Materials hit by downgrade
10th Dec 2012 15:52
Speciality chemicals producer AZ Electronic Materials was leading the fallers on the FTSE 250 after UBS cut its rating from 'buy' to 'neutral' on valuation grounds, removing the stock from its 'Pan-euro Midcap Key Call List'. Including Monday's over 5% decline (to 360.8p), the stock has still gain
Read moreLondon midday: Markets hit by resignation of Italian PM
10th Dec 2012 11:24
- Italian PM Monti to resign - Japan in recession - Greece extends buy-back offer Stock markets reacted to Mario Monti's resignation with moderate losses on Monday, as the departure of Italy's Prime Minister throws up another curve ball in the ongoing Eurozone debt crisis. Benchmarks across Europe
Read moreLondon open: Italian political uncertainty dampens stocks
10th Dec 2012 08:27
Political uncertainty in Italy and an economic contraction in Japan weighed on stock markets on Monday morning, as investors shrugged off some better-than-expected industrial production figures from China. A close eye will be kept on Italian bond yields today after the weekend's news that Prime Min
Read moreLondon pre-open: Italian uncertainty to weigh on stocks at the start
10th Dec 2012 07:43
After having gained nearly six per cent over the past four weeks, the Footsie is expected to open slightly lower on Monday's session on the news that Japan's economy sank into a technical recession in the third quarter. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 10 points from Friday's close
Read moreGreggs CEO McMeikan to step down
10th Dec 2012 07:26
Ken McMeikan, the Chief Executive Officer of bakery and hot snacks retailer Greggs is to leave the company for catering firm Brakes Group. McMeikan has been at the head of the company since the summer of 2008, having previously worked at supermarket giant Sainsbury as its Retail Director and Tesco
Read more