London close: Footsie bounds ahead
1st Apr 2010 16:57
London's blue chips moved forward again with miners and resource stocks driving the index upwards ahead of the Easter break. Footsie is now up by over 6% since the start of the year and by 45% over the past 12 months. Miners and oil companies were lifted as manufacturing activity accelerated in C
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie rise continues
1st Apr 2010 15:26
London's blue chips are being dragged forward by the US, which has opened very strongly ahead of the Easter break. Miners and oil companies continue to do well after manufacturing activity accelerated in China, while confidence in the Japanese manufacturing sector also improved. Xstrata, Randgold
Read moreLondon midday: Miners drive Footsie higher
1st Apr 2010 11:59
Resource stocks drove Footsie higher this morning ahead of the Easter break as commodity prices advance. Manufacturing activity has accelerated in China, while confidence in the Japanese manufacturing sector also improved. Xstrata, Randgold Resources, Rio Tinto and Vedanta Resources are the best p
Read moreLondon open: Miners and retailers in focus
1st Apr 2010 08:13
Miners are leading London's top stocks higher in early dealings, while investors also ponder a mixed bag of retail-related updates. Xstrata, Randgold Resources, Rio Tinto and Vedanta Resources are the best performers in the mining sector. The cold snap in the early part of the year and tougher com
Read moreGrainger makes Devon acquisition
1st Apr 2010 07:52
Residential property investor Grainger has acquired PHA Limited, which owns 162 homes in Devon, for £15.3m. The properties, comprising 146 houses and 16 flats, were built in the 1950s and 1960s. Grainger says the properties generate total rental income of more than £876,000 a year and estimates t
Read moreGrainger confirms Sovereign approach
29th Mar 2010 16:54
Residential property investor Grainger has confirmed that it has made a preliminary approach to AIM-quoted Sovereign Reversions which could be worth 185p a share. That is a 51% premium to Sovereign's closing price on 26 March. It would value Sovereign at £31.7m, while its net debt was £25.3m at th
Read moreUK close: FTSE 100 closes higher
16th Dec 2009 16:43
Footsie ended with gains as better than expected UK unemployment figures lifted sentiment. The number of people claiming unemployment benefit fell for the first time since February 2008 in November amid further signs the UK economy is beginning to recover from the economic downturn. The claimant
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks lack direction
16th Dec 2009 14:30
Leading shares are mixed, with the Footsie dipping a toe into negative territory despite better than expected UK unemployment figures announced this morning. The number of people claiming unemployment benefit fell for the first time since February 2008 in November amid further signs the UK economy
Read moreGrainger issue gets 92.7% acceptances
16th Dec 2009 07:56
Residential property specialist Grainger's recent 2 for 1 rights issue received an acceptance rate of 92.66%. The rights issue was underwritten, and the 20.3m shares not purchased will be sold in the market by the underwriters. Trading in the new shares commenced on Wednesday, 16 December, 2009 T
Read moreLondon midday: Share prices steady down
30th Nov 2009 12:09
UK share prices are stabilising at lower levels after hopes of a continued rebound from the Dubai-inspired shake-out on Thursday were quashed by disappointing UK consumer confidence figures. Figures from market research firm Gfk NOP showed consumer sentiment fell to -17 from -13 in October. Middle
Read moreLondon close: US sparks late rally
5th Nov 2009 16:21
A smaller than expected increase to the Bank of England's quantitative easing programme and and early surge on Wall Street helped Footsie overcome early losses and close in the blue. The central bank voted to pump an additional £25bn into the economy, taking QE to £200bn. It also kept interest rate
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Investors tune into ITV
5th Nov 2009 15:47
Investors bet that ITV is turning the corner as the broadcaster said it's set to end an 18-month slump in advertising revenue by reporting a 4% rise in December. The firm said trading in the UK television advertising market continued to improve in the fourth quarter. It hasn't reported a year-on-ye
Read moreCompany round-up: Quintain, Grainger, Wincanton, RM
5th Nov 2009 12:30
Property developer Quintain Estates is to raise £191m through a deep discount right issue on a 3 for one basis at 49p. The discount is 72% to yesterday's closing price and is a 60.2% discount to the pro forma basic NAV per share of 123p. "The rights issue announced today is transformational, provi
Read moreLondon pre-open: Gains likely as Tesco posts figures
6th Oct 2009 07:33
Tesco is likely to be in focus early on after reporting a modest rise in half-year profits. Traders expect Footsie to open up around 22 points. UK supermarket giant Tesco has made £1.42bn in the six month to August and said it is well-placed for the global recovery. Pre-tax profits were up by 1.5%
Read moreUpdate: Trading profits down at Grainger
6th Oct 2009 07:03
The boss of residential property group Grainger is to step down for reasons of ill health. Rupert Dickinson, chief executive officer of Grainger, will relinquish the role on 20 October and step down from the board. He will be replaced by current deputy chief executive officer and finance director,
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