London close: UK stocks finish flat as markets pause at 15-year high
18th Feb 2015 16:29
Renewed optimism surrounding Greece gave market sentiment a boost on Wednesday, though stocks had erased gains by the close as investors took profits with the FTSE 100 near its all-time high. The Footsie finished the session down just 0.05 points at 6,898.08, retreating after hitting an intra-day hi
Read moreHargreaves Lansdown launches free withdrawals scheme for pensioners
18th Feb 2015 16:19
Hargreaves Lansdown, one of Britain's biggest financial firms, has launched a new "drawdown" service that offers free cash withdrawals to pensioners. The company said it will allow customers who use its service to make an unlimited number of withdrawals once the so-called "pension freedoms" are impl
Read moreLondon close: Stocks trim losses on Greek hopes, Chinese stimulus
4th Feb 2015 17:09
A late rally helped the FTSE 100 to erase most of its losses on Wednesday as optimism surrounding Greece and stimulus measures in China lifted sentiment, though stocks still finished in the red after hitting a five-month high the previous day. London's Footsie ended the session down 0.2% at 6,860.02
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Hargreaves Lansdown falls short of expectations, Sky higher on strong interim figures
4th Feb 2015 13:51
Half-yearly results from fund manager and savings outfit Hargreaves Lansdown showed record assets under administration and growing client numbers, though shares fell sharply after revenues and profits came in shy of City expectations. Analysts at Shore Capital said: "The figures show a slight improv
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks fall, but losses pared after PBoC move
4th Feb 2015 12:08
Stocks declined on Wednesday as London's FTSE 100 retreated from a five-month high, though losses were trimmed slightly after China took measures to stimulate its economy. The People's Bank of China trimmed the banks' reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points to 19.5%, the first such cut since Ma
Read moreBroker tips: Hargreaves Lansdown, Sky, Oil services
4th Feb 2015 11:47
Shore Capital said Hargreaves Lansdown has its work cut out for the remainder of the year after the fund manager and savings outfit missed forecasts with its interim results. "We hold the Hargreaves Lansdown business model in very high regard, its asset gathering process remains hugely impressive. H
Read moreLondon open: Stocks retreat from five-month high, Hargreaves Lansdown falls
4th Feb 2015 09:03
London's blue-chip stocks pulled back from a five-month high on Wednesday morning as investors watched developments in Greece and service-sector data from across the globe. The FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 6,857 early on, as strong gains from Sky and a host of pharmaceutical stocks were outweighed by f
Read moreHargreaves Lansdown looks expensive after interim miss, says ShoreCap
4th Feb 2015 08:49
Shore Capital said Hargreaves Lansdown has its work cut out for the remainder of the year after the fund manager and savings outfit missed forecasts with its interim results. On the up side, assets under administration rose 4.7% over the six months to 31 December 2014 to a record £49.1bn by 31 Decem
Read moreLondon pre-open: FTSE closing in on record high as Greek hopes rise
4th Feb 2015 07:24
Ongoing optimism surrounding Greece was set to push stock markets higher on Wednesday, with London's FTSE 100 expected to extend gains after reaching a five-month high. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open 18 points higher than Tuesday's close of 6,871.80. That was the index's highest finish
Read moreHargreaves Lansdown delivers record AuA but misses forecasts in first half
4th Feb 2015 07:02
Half-yearly results from fund manager and savings outfit Hargreaves Lansdown delivered record assets under administration (AuA) and increased client numbers, but shares dropped on Wednesday after revenue and profit figures missed City expectations. Looking ahead, while the company acknowledged that
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Gold miners soar on UBS recommendation, Experian rises
15th Jan 2015 14:57
Gold mining stocks were performing well after UBS said they are "well-placed to benefit from FX and oil weakness" compared with their industrial metal peers. Precious-metal producers Randgold Resources and Fresnillo were the best performers. Third-quarter organic revenue was flat at informatio
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 drops over 1% as oil and mining stocks drop
8th Dec 2014 16:29
Weakness in the oil and gas sectors and poor economic data from across the globe prompted a weak start to the week for the UK stock market, as equities pulled back from a two-week high. With crude prices tumbling to their lowest in over five years, oil producers and stocks in the oil services sector
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Brent crude price crash hits oil and gas stocks
8th Dec 2014 14:29
Shell registered losses as the price of Brent crude dropped to its lowest in five years. Brent touched a low of $66.77 on Monday, its worst intraday level since October 2009. Morgan Stanley lowered its forecast for the average price of Brent oil in 2015 to $70 from $98, expecting it to trough in the
Read moreLondon close: UK stocks retreat from two-month high as Petrofac, miners fall
24th Nov 2014 16:23
A wave of M&A news failed to give UK markets a boost on Monday as investors took profits after stocks hit their highest in two months the previous session. The FTSE 100 finished 0.3% lower at 6,730 with a massive drop in the share price of oilfield services firm Petrofac and weakness in the mining s
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Petrofac shares slide on profit warning
24th Nov 2014 16:05
Petrofac's share price dropped by a quarter after the group scaled back its profit assumptions, saying that depressed oil prices and the timing of deliveries will result in a weaker bottom line. The company said net profits for 2014 will be at the lower end of the guided $580m-600m range, but would
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