London midday: Miners hit by new China fears
20th Jan 2010 12:06
Miners are dragging Footsie lower on reports that China has told its banks to stop lending in an attempt to cool its runaway economy. If true, that could have ramifications for metal demand hence the meaty falls today for Lonmin, Xtrata, ENRC and Antofagasta. BHP Billiton set half-year production
Read moreLondon open: Blue chips edge lower
20th Jan 2010 08:37
London's blue chips have made a poor start despite triple-digit gains on Wall Street overnight. Pharmaceutical companies are the best performers after Republican Scott Brown won a shock victory in the race for the US Senate seat in Massachusetts. It puts a question mark over President Obama's plann
Read moreGlaxo shipped £835m of swine flu vaccine in Q4
15th Jan 2010 16:06
Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline has shipped £835m worth of its swine flu vaccine to governments in the fourth quarter, but said it was too early to say what the final total would be. Shipments of the vaccine continue to be delivered in the first half of 2010 and GSK said is in ongoing discussions with m
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Cadbury, Royal Bank of Scotland, Tesco
11th Jan 2010 06:37
Cadbury will fight for its independence on Monday with a defence document that includes only headline trading figures and no audited management forecast for 2010. The confectionery company, behind Dairy Milk and Trident gum, will fight Kraft's £10.5bn hostile cash and share offer by unveiling a mea
Read moreLondon close: Strong run continues
5th Jan 2010 16:40
Strength in the financial sector helped Footsie continue its strong start to 2009, closing near its highest levels in more than a year. RBS added to yesterday's stellar gains and is joined higher by fellow banks Barclays and Lloyds. The latter pair have been selected by Deutsche Bank as the best t
Read moreLondon afternoon: Cadbury melts as Nestle withdraws
5th Jan 2010 14:26
The Footsie moved sideways over the lunch time session, with strength in financials and miners continuing to offset weakness among retailers. RBS adds to yesterday's stellar gains and is joined higher by fellow banks Barclays and Lloyds. The latter pair have been selected by Deutsche Bank as the b
Read moreLondon close: Oils and pharmas shine
22nd Dec 2009 17:09
London equities added to the previous day's gains although a late pull-back ensured that rises were not as extensive as yesterday. Oil stocks and pharmaceuticals led the way higher. Cairn Energy enjoyed another strong day after it announced yesterday that it would start its drilling programme in G
Read moreLondon afternoon: Shares off the top
22nd Dec 2009 14:28
Leading shares came off the top over the lunch time period but most are still sporting reasonable gains, leaving the Footsie still within striking distance of its high for the year. Oil stocks are driving the index higher, particularly Cairn Energy and Royal Dutch Shell. Cairn Energy is enjoying
Read moreLondon midday: Shell leads advance
22nd Dec 2009 11:50
With two of its five most heavily weighted constituents notching up rises in excess of 2%, the FTSE 100 had a good morning session. Royal Dutch Shell and GlaxoSmithKline are the two heavy hitters boosting the blue-chip index's performance. Oil giant Shell gets a boost from firmer oil prices while d
Read moreGlaxo welcomes 'patent box' legislation
10th Dec 2009 16:42
Drugs giant GlaxoSmithkline has answered the Chancellor's call and said it is considering spending around £500m on new facilities in Britain after the government's decision to cut corporation tax for patent-derived income. The new rate of 10% will not come into effect until April 2013, but Glaxo's
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Royal Bank of Scotland, Cadbury, Pre-Budget
6th Dec 2009 10:27
More than 1,000 investment bankers have quit Royal Bank of Scotland to join rival firms for guaranteed cash bonuses and big salary increases, according to banking sources. The staff exodus, which has cut a swathe through the senior ranks of RBS, has been gathering pace since the government first o
Read moreSector movers: US jobs data boosts miners
4th Dec 2009 13:37
Mining stocks have stormed ahead after some surprisingly upbeat jobs data from the US. Just 11,000 Americans lost their jobs last month, the smallest decline since the start of the recession Traders were amazed at the figure, having thought non-farm payrolls would fall by 100,000 or more in Novemb
Read moreGSK ups stake in Aspen to 19%
1st Dec 2009 07:32
Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKlinehas completed the extension of its strategic relationship with South African company Aspen Pharma. Aspen has issued 69.5m shares to Glaxo as part of a deal that will see some of Glaxo’s assets transfer to Aspen. Glaxo’s stake in Aspen rises as a result to 81.7m shares, gi
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Dubai, Cadbury, Ryanair
30th Nov 2009 06:40
The central bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has attempted to inject confidence ahead of the markets re-opening on Monday by saying it would "stand behind" local and foreign banks. Amid fears of a market rout, the federal institution intervened yesterday to announce an "additional liquidity
Read moreLondon close: Profit taking trims gains
11th Nov 2009 17:12
Better than expected unemployment figures and some relatively upbeat comments from Bank of England governor Mervyn King propelled Footsie to a new intra-day high for 2009 in the morning session, but stocks came off the top in the afternoon session. The UK unemployment rate, as measured by the Inter
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