JD Sports front-runner to acquire Blacks Leisure
6th Jan 2012 17:46
Retailer JD Sports Fashion is reportedly in the box-seat to scoop up the juicy bits of Millets stores owner Blacks Leisure after the outdoor goods group goes into administration. A source familiar with the situation has informed news agency Reuters that the sports fashion-wear seller has out-bid Sp
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: SVG Capital rockets 20%
20th Dec 2011 16:13
The big mover of the day was private equity firm SVG Capital, which jumped over 20% after revealing that it return up to £170m to shareholders via share buy-backs and tender offers as part of a new investment strategy. SVG reported that it had strengthened its balance sheet with cash balances stan
Read moreLondon midday: Banks and pharmas drag Footsie lower
20th Dec 2011 11:54
London's blue chip index was slightly down at midday, despite a temporary stint in the blue, with heavyweight banking and pharmaceuticals stocks providing a drag. The Footsie nevertheless has been trading within a narrow range, with just 33 points separating the intraday low and high. The European
Read moreLondon close: Banks tumble as Osborne speaks
19th Dec 2011 16:19
The Footsie tanked in late afternoon trade with the government's response to Sir John Vickers banking report weighing heavily on the banking sector. In a debate in the House of Commons, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said that lenders should be forced to ring-fence their high street len
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Ocado drops as Q4 fails to deliver
19th Dec 2011 15:33
Online grocer Ocado sank after revealing that it had to operate "under capacity constraints" at its Hatfield distribution centre in the fourth quarter. Profit margins had been hit by production issues as well as the cost of employing extra staff as it installed further capacity, the company said. S
Read moreFTSE 250 Movers: Christmas comes early for Thomas Cook
25th Nov 2011 13:23
Thomas Cook and market competitor TUI Travel were both on the up after it was reported that the cash-strapped Thomas Cook is set to survive though the Christmas period thanks to the support of its banks. According to speculation, the firm will recieve £100m to keep it afloat in the coming days. A
Read moreLondon close: German bond auction response unnerves investors
23rd Nov 2011 17:05
After an uneventful morning session that came as a relief after the turbulent events of recent days, shares turtned sharply lower in the afternoon session, as US markets took a bath. The results of this morning's German bond auction set nerves a-jangling. Germany issued €3.644bn in 10-year bonds
Read moreFTSE 250 Movers: Thomas Cook regains lost ground
23rd Nov 2011 15:33
Thomas Cook was regaining lost ground after plummeting on Tuesday on the revelation that it would delay the release of its results until it has asked its banks about borrowing more money. The company is running short of cash due to a "deterioration of trading in some areas of the business in the cur
Read moreLondon midday: Reassuringly dull morning session
23rd Nov 2011 12:01
It has been a comfortingly dull morning session in London after all the excitement of recent weeks, though there is no sign of Footsie bringing an end to its losing streak, though its cause is not helped by the index constituents Man, Next and Standard Life trading in ex-dividend form. MINERS HEAD
Read moreLondon open: Chinese data weighs on stocks
23rd Nov 2011 08:31
The Footsie fell below the 5,200 level early on, as some gloomy data from China dampened the mood. Weighing on sentiment today is the poor data out from China, which showed factory activity levels dropping to their lowest in 32 months. The HSBC flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI),
Read moreLFL sales slow at JD Sports
23rd Nov 2011 07:42
High street sports retailer JD Sports Fashion has seen the growth of like-for-like (LFL) sales slow down in the sixteen weeks ended 19 November due to the ongoing troubles facing the everyday consumer. Since the end of the first half, LFL sales grew by just 0.2% from the same period last year, wel
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks off intraday lows after manufacturing data
3rd Oct 2011 12:13
While losses have been trimmed since the open, Greek deficit fears continued to weigh on stocks at midday, with the banking peers Standard Chartered, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland among the heaviest fallers. Banks across Europe joined in with the sell-off, with French lenders BNP Paribas and
Read moreJD Sports returns to LFL sales growth
21st Sep 2011 07:26
JD Sports, the sports fashion retailer, saw like-for-like sales decline 1.6% in the first six months of 2011 but it has been picking up the pace in the second half of the year, with a return to like-for-like sales growth. Total revenues were up 14.6% on the same period last year to £439.8m, helped
Read moreFTSE 250 Movers: Ocado falls despite sales growth
19th Sep 2011 13:03
Ocado, the online grocery store, saw more than an 11% drop in its share price despite increasing its sales by almost one-fifth in the first 36 weeks of its financial year The group warned that investment in customer service will decrease its full year profit figure. Shares were rising ahead of JD
Read moreSector movers: Coppers prices boost industrial miners
30th Aug 2011 15:56
The industrial metals and mining sector was the best performing sector on Tuesday afternoon, helped by rising copper prices. By 15:49, the copper price was 1.29% higher at $416.25, a $5.30 gain on the day, as a pay dispute and strike at the world's third-largest copper mine, the Grasberg mine in In
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