London open: Small improvement for Footsie
11th Nov 2010 08:16
Blue chips started pretty much as expected, posting reasonable gains in response to yesterday's steady recovery on Wall Street, with commodity plays leading the pack. The Dow Jones was trading deep in the red when London shut up shop Wednesday, but shed nerves ahead of today's G20 meeting in Seoul
Read more3i in the black
11th Nov 2010 07:53
Private equity house 3i ramped up investment and swung into profit during the first half. Profit before tax came in at £54m for the six months ended 30 September compared with a £57 loss in 2009, helped by a much smaller exchange rate hit. The net portfolio return rose by £4m to £236m. 3i realised
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: ARM recovers
28th Oct 2010 12:57
Footsie is moving ahead today thanks to a wide range of companies. Chip designer ARM is clawing back some of its recent losses. Vodafone has spent another £21.7m on buying back shares. That takes the total spent since 16 September to £464.5m. The share price has risen by more than 8% in the past
Read more3i purchases more bonds for cancellation
19th Oct 2010 08:29
Private equity investor 3i has purchased more of its bonds in the market for cancellation. The group bought a total of £37.3m of 3i Group plc 3.625% Convertible Bond due 2011, leaving £167.5m of the bonds still out there in the market. The market purchases signal a return to the buy-back programme
Read moreLondon close: Footsie slumps in last hour
30th Sep 2010 16:48
A last hour slump sent Footsie into the red by the close of a roller-coaster day. The index had been over 50 points higher in mid-afternoon after US second quarter gross domestic product (GDP) was revised upwards to show a 1.7% quarterly increase. But the Dow turned down sharply soon after, draggin
Read moreLondon afternoon: US GDP data jolts Footsie into life
30th Sep 2010 15:02
Leading equities stormed higher after US second quarter gross domestic product (GDP) was revised upwards to show a 1.7% quarterly increase. Although this represented a slow-down from the 3.7% gain in the first quarter economists had not been expecting any improvement on the previous estimated gain,
Read moreLondon midday: Sluggish Footsie
30th Sep 2010 12:00
Investors are holding fire ahead of this afternoon's release of US gross domestic product data. The downgrading of the credit rating of Spanish sovereign debt came as little surprise and has had minimal effect on sentiment, as has news that the bail out of Anglo Irish Bank could cost Ireland as much
Read moreLondon open: Footsie falls back
30th Sep 2010 08:36
Yesterday's drab showing by Wall Street has engendered a cautious mood on this side of the pond, sending London's leading share index into the red. There has been plenty of corporate news for traders to get their teeth into, much of it relating to the food sector. Compass Group has headed south ev
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks set to step back
30th Sep 2010 07:31
Yesterday's drab showing by Wall Street has engendered a cautious mood on this side of the pond, and dealers expect the FTSE 100 to open around 25 points down from its close last night. There has been plenty of corporate news for traders to get their teeth into, much of it relating to the food sect
Read more3i sells less, buys more
30th Sep 2010 07:04
Private equity house 3i spent much more money on investments and sold far less during the five months to the end of August, it revealed ahead of meetings with analysts and investors. The blue chip firm made investments of £257m during the period, up from £155m last year when the financial crisis wa
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Positive reaction to Unilever deal
27th Sep 2010 12:52
Investors have reacted favourably to Unilever's $3.7bn (£2.3bn) purchase of Alberto Culver, the owner of such brands as TRESemmé, Nexxus, VO5, St Ives and Simple. Barclays Capital has launched research into Autonomy with an overweight rating and has Sage at equalweight. Vedanta Resources is high
Read moreLondon pre-open: Promising start is forecast
27th Sep 2010 07:38
Equities are set to extend Friday's near-1% rally following huge gains on Wall Street and triple-digit advances in the Far East. In company news, Wolseley, the supplier of goods to the plumbing and heating trade, is to resume paying dividends at the interim stage next year after finishing the old y
Read more3i expands debt management footprint
27th Sep 2010 07:21
Private equity group 3i is to buy debt management business Mizuho Investment Management (UK). 3i has entered into an agreement with Mizuho Corporate Bank (MHCB) to purchase 100% of the shares in business Mizuho Investment Management (MIM) for an enterprise value of £18.3 million. MIM specialises i
Read moreLondon close: Footsie gives up gains
17th Sep 2010 16:39
London's leading share index certainly made up for its early sluggishness on the last day of trading this week, but the day ended in disappointment as strong early gains evaporated. As is often the case, it was the US that was mostly responsible. Shares on Wall Street are broadly in the red followi
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie goes flat
17th Sep 2010 14:45
The afternoon session has seen Footsie heading backwards and even dipping below last night's level at one stage, and with company news thin on the ground the temptation for traders to make an early start to the week-end must be high. Invensys has been usurped from its position as best performing bl
Read more