FTSE 100 movers: Compass points higher
29th Sep 2009 11:51
Contract caterer Compass is pointing higher after it reported trading has gone well in the fourth quarter with underlying earnings to be up by around 14% on a constant currency basis. Operating profit will get a boost of £120m from the movement of our key currencies compared with last year. Rumours
Read moreLondon open: Dull start for Footsie
29th Sep 2009 08:51
Three-figure gains in the US overnight haven't helped London much with blue chips going lower in early dealings. Property groups are weak with all of the sector heavyweights - British Land, Land Securities and Hammerson - under pressure. Banks are offsetting some of this weakness after the Times
Read moreLondon close: US data sinks Footsie
24th Sep 2009 16:46
Footsie turned down sharply in the last couple of hours of trading as US shares retreated on weak home sales and lower commodity prices, especially oil. Property companies led the UK lower after Canary Wharf property owner Songbird announced it would issue 62bn shares at a penny each as part of a
Read moreLondon afternoon: Property stocks a drag
24th Sep 2009 15:03
After spending the lunchtime session in positive territory the Footsie has fallen back into the red, with property companies leading the way down. Land Securities, British Land, SEGRO and Hammerson are all under the cosh as investors cool on the sector following huge cash calls this week by Liberty
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Microsoft talk lifts Autonomy
24th Sep 2009 10:11
Software group Autonomy, which announced a license agreement with the European Commission, is one the best performers today. Traders said it is less to do with that bit of business, though, and more with rumours of a Microsoft takeover bid, though they added it is a story that has done the rounds b
Read moreLondon close: Footsie dips into the red
23rd Sep 2009 17:05
A late swoon saw London's blue-chip index give up the gains of the morning to close marginally lower on the day, as investors banked profits ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision this evening on US interest rates and its quantitative easing (QE) programme. The morning's gains had been achieved on
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie nears intra-day high
23rd Sep 2009 14:01
The market's climb regained momentum over the lunchtime session. Investors have been put in the mood to buy by the prospect of the Bank of England increasing its quantitative easing programme some time in the future. The minutes to the most recent meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy co
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Liberty taps shareholders again
23rd Sep 2009 12:44
Property group Liberty pulled the rug from under the property sector with its £280m placing at 500p. The retail park specialist has already had one hefty placing this year, raising £590m through a placing and open offer at 310p, and investors seemingly balked at this latest tap. The 500p placing p
Read moreLondon midday: Market rises despite cash calls
23rd Sep 2009 11:55
The market is off the top but still in positive territory, despite a flood of fund raising announcements this morning. Property group Liberty International shares have been hit by a placing today of up to 56.1m new shares, increasing its shares in issue by just under 10%. The fund raising comes l
Read moreBroker tips: Cadbury, defensives, Trinity Mirror
7th Sep 2009 13:35
US foods group Kraft will need to boost its offer to stand any chance of winning control of Cadbury, the world's second largest confectionery company in terms of sales, broker Charles Stanley reckons. 'The Kraft offer values Cadbury on less than 2x sales, significantly lower than the 2.3x sales it
Read moreBroker snap: Nomura goes defensive
7th Sep 2009 12:59
Nomura Securities is changing the emphasis of its portfolio strategy, moving away from the traditional cyclical groups such as basic industries, consumer cyclicals and capital goods towards some of the recent laggards, such as telecoms, healthcare and utilities. 'The cyclicals now trade on large pr
Read moreLondon afternoon: Back in the blue
27th Aug 2009 14:27
The London stock market continues its see-saw day, moving back into positive territory over the lunch-time session. Some encouragement was drawn from the CBI's distributive trades survey which found that the balance of retailers expecting a deterioration in their general business situation over the
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie sinks into the red
27th Aug 2009 12:08
Having enjoyed a brief sojourn above the 4900 level Footsie is now in negative territory, weighed down by poor performing financial stocks. Banks, insurers and properties are all being given the cold shoulder though Royal Bank of Scotland is an exception after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted its pri
Read moreWH Smith finance boss sells more shares
25th Aug 2009 16:27
WH Smith's financial director Robert Moorhead has sold nearly £240,000 worth of shares in the newsagent chain. He offloaded 53,896 shares at 445.2p a time and now has 176,504. The firm's shares have rallied since he last offloaded shares in February, pocketing 360.9p a time for 10,197 shares In a
Read moreWednesday preview: BoE minutes provide focus
18th Aug 2009 17:27
All eyes will be on the Bank of England midweek as economists study minutes from the Monetary Policy Committee's meeting earlier this month. They'll be keen for more information on why the central bank made its surprise decision to extend its quantitative easing programme by £50bn. In an otherwise
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