London midday: Bids add spice to bland market
13th Jun 2012 12:12
With Spanish government bond yields rising to all-time highs in the Eurozone era, Footsie is back to square one after a confident start. There are no major UK economic indicators today to provide direction and not a lot of corporate news flow either, adding to the general air of ennui. Supermarke
Read moreLondon open: London rises on Wall Street tailwinds
13th Jun 2012 08:40
Taking their lead from US and Asian markets, London's leading stocks have opened on the front foot. Wall Street rebounded strongly yesterday on hopes that the US Federal reserve might do a bit more to stimulate the US economy. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans, speaking in an
Read moreJD's growth quickens but Black's will take a year to fix
13th Jun 2012 07:32
Sports fashion retailer JD Sports Fashion has seen an improvement in like-for-like sales growth but, as anticipated, gross margins remain under pressure. LFL sales in the 19 weeks to June 9th were up 1.5% on the corresponding period of the previous year, which represents an improvement in the growt
Read moreLondon close: Shell rallies as it denies oil slick blame
12th Apr 2012 17:11
After a mixed morning session, London's top shares kicked on in the afternoon, buoyed by Wall Street's strength. Bulls seized upon comments by New York Fed President William Dudley who opined that the US economy is not yet firing on enough cylinders to make a serious dent in the jobless numbers.
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Hays leads the index higher
12th Apr 2012 15:15
Recruitment firm Hays leapt into the top spot after it posted a 12 per cent actual increase in group net fees for the quarter ended March 31st. As a result the firm expects full-year operating profit to be towards the top of the current market estimates. Egyptian gold miner Centamin rose strongly
Read moreLondon midday: Mid-caps set the pace
12th Apr 2012 11:49
The top share index spent the morning spinning its wheels with most of the excitement taking place among the mid-cap stocks. Last night, the Federal Reserve's April Beige Book survey encouraged the maintenance of the status quo. The Fed's survey revealed that overall activity "continued to expand a
Read moreThursday broker round-up
12th Apr 2012 09:30
African Minerals: Jefferies keeps buy rating and 1,100p target. Aggreko: Investec maintains buy rating. Cairn Energy: Nomura cuts target from 500p to 434p, buy rating kept. Faroe Petroleum: Nomura cuts target from 213p to 209p, buy rating kept. FirstGroup: Jefferies downgrades from buy to hold,
Read moreMargins under pressure at JD Sports
12th Apr 2012 08:12
JD Sports Fashion, which sells sportswear for people who are not necessarily interested in participating in sporting activity, said its margins are under pressure as even fashion-conscious consumers are looking for bargain prices on designer-labelled products. "Margins remain under pressure as cons
Read moreLondon close: Stocks establish a new high for the year
20th Feb 2012 17:46
-Miners jump as investors seek riskier assets. -Officials optimistic about securing Greek bailout. -PBoC cuts RRR for banks. -ECB bought no debt last week through SMP program. Stocks rose on Monday and established a new high for the year after what appears to have been some genuinely positive new
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Bumi lands on its derriere
3rd Feb 2012 13:48
Bumi, the Indonesian coal miner, hit a bum note with shareholders who have demanded a meeting to request a meeting to persuade their fellow shareholders to boot out co-Chairman Nathaniel Rothschild along with a number of other members of the board. Specialist bank and asset manager Investec fell a
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Chemring in bottom spot
24th Jan 2012 14:44
Military equipment maker Chemring was the biggest faller after saying that its traditional markets "will not be any easier this year". Investors seemed to focus more on what finnCap called a "lacklustre" outlook statement and less on the 25% rise in revenue and 6% improvement in underlying pre-tax p
Read moreLondon open: Footsie flat, Vodafone rises on Indian tax ruling
20th Jan 2012 08:28
The Footsie opened flat on Friday morning, with a rise in the banking sector being offset by resource stocks. The blue chip index nudged just a few points lower to 5,738 in early trading, following yesterday's 0.7% rise on the back of strong macro data and an improving outlook in the Eurozone. In o
Read moreLondon close: Stocks edge higher on IMF hopes
18th Jan 2012 16:33
- IMF looks to boost lending capacity by $500bn - UK jobless rate rises to 8.4% - Essar bounces back after Indian tax ruling UK stocks finished moderately higher on Wednesday, with reports that the IMF is boosting its lending capacity lifting the mood across European markets. The International Mo
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Intermediate Capital still on the rise
18th Jan 2012 15:27
Specialist investment firm Intermediate Capital was one of the top risers, extending gains after yesterday's trading statement in which it said assets under management were stable at €12bn in the three months to December 30th. The group also announced today that it will realise a £43m capital gain
Read moreLondon midday: Essar recovery pushes Footsie into the blue
18th Jan 2012 12:01
The Footsie pushed into positive territory in late morning trade, helped the blue chip index nudge above the 5,700 mark, helped by a strong recovery from Essar Energy and a well-received trading update from Man Group. Nevertheless, investors are keeping a close eye on Athens today as Greek private
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