Sector movers: RBS drags back banks
7th Aug 2009 10:13
RBS is leading the banking sector lower after rounding of the latest stream of banking results by posting a small profit, but seeing bad debts soar to £7.5bn. Chief executive Stephen Hester called the results "poor" following a jump in losses attributable to shareholders to £1.04bn from £827m in 20
Read moreLondon close: Financials spark good gains
6th Aug 2009 16:22
Footsie fell back in the afternoon session after the Bank of England increased its quantitative easing programme, but still finished healthily in the blue. Banks continued to rise with Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking and Barclays all up. RBS reports its interim figures tomorrow. It is being
Read moreSector movers: Banks dominate
6th Aug 2009 13:29
This week's well-received results from Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC continue to keep buyers active. All three are sharply higher Thursday, sending Banks to the top of the tree. Royal Bank of Scotland is also better ahead of tomorrow's interim results. Unilever has given Food Producers & Processors a
Read moreMid-cap round-up:Glaxo/Vernalis, Fiberweb, Carillion...
6th Aug 2009 10:42
Drug developer Vernalis has signed an exclusive collaboration, option and license agreement with GlaxoSmithKline relating to a Vernalis research programme against an undisclosed oncology target. Under the terms of the deal, Vernalis will receive $6m upon signing (including a $3m equity subscriptio
Read moreGSK gets further swine flu gov contracts
4th Aug 2009 17:38
Drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline said nine government contracts have been signed for a further 96m of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine since it announced in July that the US government had ordered 195m doses. It now brings the total number of doses ordered for GSK's adjuvanted vaccine to 291m. The grou
Read moreRelenza only short-term cure for Glaxo's ills
23rd Jul 2009 16:36
A dose of swine flu is not the only thing worrying GlaxoSmithKline shareholders this summer, having watched the drug giant lose half its value since the start of the decade. Glaxo should do well out of the pandemic. It's received orders for 195m doses of its Relenza vaccine from governments around
Read moreRoche churns out more Tamiflu
23rd Jul 2009 12:08
Switzerland's Roche has ramped up production of Tamiflu as the swine flu pandemic spreads fear around the world. The drugs giant said sales of Tamiflu rocketed by 200% in the first six months of the year and plans to produce about 400 million packs a year by the start of 2010. Roche sold 1bn Swis
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Stagecoach, GSK, Water groups
23rd Jul 2009 06:16
Stagecoach, the bus and train operator, was linked with a takeover bid for its crisis-hit rival National Express last night as FirstGroup, a third competitor, walked away from a possible deal, says the Times. GSK, Britain's largest pharmaceuticals company, could make up to £1bn from sales of its s
Read moreThursday tips round-up: GSK, Sportingbet, BHP Billiton
23rd Jul 2009 06:09
GlaxoSmithKlein should be a dead cert buy in the current climate. The twin drivers of the recession, which normally favours pharmaceutical companies, and swine flu, for which GSK has one of the only two recognised antiviral treatments, Relenza, should guarantee investors favourable returns over the
Read moreLondon afternoon: Treading water
22nd Jul 2009 14:18
The Footsie briefly moved into positive territory over the lunch time session before easing gently back into the red. Pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline is marginally higher after a second quarter update in which it posted a fall in revenue in the second quarter as generic competition in the US
Read moreGlaxo to triple flu treatment production
22nd Jul 2009 12:04
Drug giant Glaxo is to more than triple its production of flu treatment Relenza to cope with the outbreak of the H1N1 virus or swine flu. It expects to have an annual production capacity of 190m treatment courses of the drug, up from 60m recently. Glaxo also said it last month started production o
Read moreWednesday preview: GlaxoSmithKline, BoE Minutes
21st Jul 2009 16:05
Second quarter results from the drug giant GlaxoSmithKline are due Wednesday. Charles Stanley is looking for a 14% increase in year on year sales to £6.7bn. "By contrast, operating margins are likely to be adversely impacted by the significant off-patent pressure over 2008 caused by the loss of Lami
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: General Motors, FSA, Diageo
21st Jul 2009 06:13
General Motors, the American carmaker, was believed to be weighing up three bids for its European business last night as it emerged that the German Government had demanded that Sberbank, the state-owned Russian lender, has a reduced role in any offer. Yesterday afternoon Magna, the Canadian car par
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Lloyds Banking, Barclays, Thames Water
19th Jul 2009 09:38
Lloyds Banking could shock the market with its first-half results by announcing that accounting trickery has helped it scrape into the black. Despite enormous bad-debt provisions - estimated at £13bn - the bank is likely to post a modest headline profit for the first six months of the year. Some o
Read moreWeek ahead: Glaxo, Vodafone, BoE minutes
17th Jul 2009 10:05
Domino's Pizza has been bucking the trend during the recession, with the company's takeaway pizzas in high demand as people cut back on eating out but still treat themselves as they stay at home. The firm reported a tasty 9.3% rise in like-for-like sales in the 13 weeks to March 31. Investors will
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