Comment: Tough times ahead for Intercontinental Hotels
11th Aug 2009 17:17
Just how subdued any economic recovery might be is well demonstrated by Intercontinental Hotels Group's latest update. The owner of the Holiday Inn chain today posted a sharp fall in revenues over the six months to June 30, to $726m from $974m over the same period the previous year. RevPAR (reven
Read moreLondon close: Weak US drags down Footsie
11th Aug 2009 16:32
Footsie finished the day firmly in the red despite a bright start as banks weighed on the leading share index and a poor start in the US compounded earlier losses. While there was little US company news, stocks were hit by analyst downgrades on companies such as Yum Brands, which owns fast food cha
Read moreLondon afternoon: US slump spreads to Footsie
11th Aug 2009 15:37
Footsie has plunged further into the red in line with a poor performance on Wall Street. While there was little US company news, stocks were hit by analyst downgrades on companies such as Yum Brands, which owns fast food chains such as Pizza Hut, and mobile phone group Sprint Nextel. Banks are wea
Read moreTechnical Analysis Snap: IHG slides as it falls into loss
11th Aug 2009 14:05
Hotel Group InterContinental's decision to hold their interim dividend, despite a 25% drop in revenue and a $50m loss, has seen their share price take a bit of a hammering in trading on Tuesday. Today's daily candlestick is currently displaying bearish tendencies, in the form of a bearish en
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie struggles as banks dip
11th Aug 2009 12:07
Footsie has slipped into the red as results and takeover can't offset another day of weakness in the banking sector. Banks are weak after the FT is reported that Lloyds Banking's tentative plans to raise an estimated £15bn-£20bn in a rights issue to reduce its reliance on the government face a wall
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks slide on cash call scepticism
11th Aug 2009 11:06
Banks are weak after the FT is reported that Lloyds Banking's tentative plans to raise an estimated £15bn-£20bn in a rights issue to reduce its reliance on the government face a wall of scepticism in Whitehall and among investors. Royal Bank of Scotland is also lower. Power generator International
Read moreLondon open: Solid start for blue chips
11th Aug 2009 08:26
London's blue chips have opened stronger than expected higher on a couple of decent results and the confirmation of Friends Provident's and Resolution's tie-up. Clive Cowdery's insurance investment vehicle Resolution will be catapulted into the FTSE 100 index after life insurer Friends Provident ac
Read moreLondon pre-open: Small gains ahead
11th Aug 2009 07:35
London's top stocks look set to open marginally higher with traders expecting Footsie to add 5 points in early trading. Clive Cowdery's insurance investment vehicle Resolution will be catapulted into the FTSE 100 index after life insurer Friends Provident accepted a new £1.86bn bid on Tuesday. Fr
Read moreIntercontinental Hotels slides into loss
11th Aug 2009 07:12
Hotel group Intercontinental held its interim dividend despite a tough first half that saw revenues tumble and the group post a loss after one-off items. Sales in the six months to June fell 25% to $726m from $974m and Intercontinental fell $50m in the red, compared with a $232m profit, as it took
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Rio Tinto, Lloyds Banking, Resolution
10th Aug 2009 06:10
China has accused Rio Tinto of spying on its steel industry for six years, costing the country Rmb700bn ($102bn) in excessive charges for iron ore. The remarks, contained in an editorial in the magazine of the National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets, indicate that Beijing's det
Read moreLondon close: Footsie adds to week's gains
17th Jul 2009 16:28
Footsie rounded off its best week since March with more gains. Miners were prominent among the risers. Eurasian Natural Resources, Xstrata, Vedanta Resources and Rio Tinto are doing well. British Airways climbed after saying it is raising £600m, including a £300m convertible issue and another £30
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie on course for strong week
17th Jul 2009 12:15
London is heading for its best week in three months as miners climb, while British Airways is flying high despite a £100m first quarter loss. The FTSE 100 got off to a decent start following a late rally on Wall Street last night and better than expected numbers from IBM and Google and has carried
Read moreLondon open: Decent start for Footsie
17th Jul 2009 08:44
London's blue chips have opened brightly after the late rally on Wall St and better than expected numbers from IBM and Google. British Airways is an early riser despite a £300m convertible issue, shuffling of its pension guarantees to free up another £300m and a first quarter loss of £100m. That lo
Read moreLondon close: Footsie limps back into positive territory
27th May 2009 17:02
The movements of London's blue-chip index looked as if they were being directed by the grand old Duke of York today, with the index starting the day on the up, then heading lower over the lunchtime session before finishing roughly where it started. Sterling moved above $1.60 for the first time sin
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Serco, Babcock, Stobart
13th May 2009 06:52
Outsource group Serco said yesterday that 2009 has started strongly and that it is on track to meet full-year expectations. The group trades at a deserved premium. The shares have come off a little since December, which now makes Serco a better punt. Buy says the Independent. There are some compell
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