Hornby chief exec builds stake
6th Jun 2011 16:00
The chief executive of Hornby Frank Martin has topped up his holding in the train set maker and now has nearly 1% of the company. He took 20,000 shares at 142p a time, paying a total of £28,400. That takes his holding to 374,092 shares, about 0.97% of the company. His purchase comes soon after Hor
Read moreLondon close: Footsie recovers after steep fall
3rd Jun 2011 16:40
After a steep decline after lunch - on the back of a poor start on Wall Street - the Footsie recovered to finish above water, albeit only by around 0.1%. US economic data fuelled a brief sell-off just before 2pm after some much weaker than expected jobs data. Just 54,000 new jobs were added in the
Read moreLondon midday: Traders sit tight ahead of US jobs figures
3rd Jun 2011 12:23
Stocks are pausing for breath following some big losses lately, with traders now looking ahead to US jobs data due later this afternoon. With summer approaching, advertising giant WPP, the top riser in the FTSE 100 today, has decided the time is right to go for a Brazilian, and has acquired a 70% s
Read moreLondon open: Modest gains for FTSE 100
3rd Jun 2011 08:33
Stocks have moved tentatively higher following some hefty losses lately, though there could be some excitement later in the day when US jobs figures are released. Oil firm Cairn Energy has got cracking on its West Greenland offshore drilling campaign, with drilling commenced on two wells. With su
Read moreLondon pre-open: Modest gains anticipated
3rd Jun 2011 07:35
London is set to claw back some of yesterday's losses, but with traders keeping their powder dry until this afternoon's US non-farms payrolls data, volumes are expected to be low. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 26 points from yesterday's close of 5,848. Oil firm Cairn Energy has g
Read moreHornby on track despite sales fall
3rd Jun 2011 07:10
Toy train maker Hornby saw sales fall in the year to 31 March, but blamed this on supply issues rather than the tough economic outlook and said it the business is in "great shape." Sales slipped to £63.4m from £63.9m the previous year, while pre-tax profits fell to £4.1m from £5.7m. Hornby, most f
Read moreFriday preview: Hornby hopes to pick up steam
2nd Jun 2011 17:07
The brand names controlled by hobby products firm Hornby are enough to make men of a certain age go all misty eyed: as well as the eponymous trains sets, the company produces Scalextric racing sets, Airfix model kits and Corgi die-cast models. As one might expect, the crucial season for the company
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Babcock, Hornby, Playtech...
26th Jan 2011 06:48
Babcock bought rival VT last year and said investors would be looking at how well it performed. So far, it seems the integration is on track, with management confident of hitting a run-rate of £11m by the end of March. Babcock also exceeded expectations on paying down debt following the VT acquisi
Read moreLondon close: GDP contraction casts a shadow
25th Jan 2011 16:38
The leading share index finished in the red on a day that was dominated by grim figures showing an unexpected contraction in the UK economy in the fourth quarter of 2010. Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.5% between October and December according to figures released by the Office for Nat
Read moreLondon midday: Shares stuck lower after shock GDP contraction
25th Jan 2011 12:18
Shares took a dive after figures showed a shock contraction in GDP, but have recovered slightly. Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.5% between October and December according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), having grown by 0.7%. The latest figures are stil
Read moreLondon open: Miners make for dull start
25th Jan 2011 09:03
Miners have pulled Footsie lower in early dealing despite the 100-point plus surge on Wall Street overnight. Kazakhmys and Randgold are the worst affected, but the whole sector has run into a bout of profit taking. BSkyB is higher even though the bid from NewsCorp seems no nearer a conclusion. Cu
Read moreHornby FY forecast derailed
25th Jan 2011 08:28
Scalextrix and model train set maker Hornby warned annual pre-tax profit will fall short of market expectations after key Christmas sales were hurt by harsher than usual weather conditions. "Retail customers experienced weaker sales than expected in the weeks immediately prior to Christmas. The ma
Read moreLondon close: Footsie rallies to narrow losses
12th Nov 2010 16:47
Footsie recovered from an early slump to close just a few points lower as well-received company updates nearly cancelled out losses in the mining sector. Miners were big fallers on disappointment with the outcome at the G20 meeting and the possibility of a currency free-for-all. Talk that China is
Read moreLondon afternoon: Imagination hit by Samsung rumour
12th Nov 2010 14:27
Considering mining shares are in the dumper Footsie, though lower on the day, is faring reasonably well, after a lunch time session that saw share prices move sideways. Miners are big fallers on disappointment with the outcome at the G20 meeting and the possibility of a currency free-for-all. Talk
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie flat after recovery
12th Nov 2010 12:13
Shares are looking for direction now after staging an impressive recovery from this morning's losses. Aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce is going well despite warning solving the problems on its Trent 900 engine will mean it making less money than expected in 2010. Centrica is also higher after the Br
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