Wednesday preview: Compass, UU, Johnson Matthey, GDP
24th Nov 2009 17:35
Contract caterer Compass Group is expected to show little or no like for like growth in revenue when it declares full year results on Wednesday, but pre-tax profit is still expected to show a healthy rise on the back of a strong improvement in margins and currency gains. Market consensus is for pr
Read moreSector movers: Miners lead the charge
23rd Nov 2009 11:18
Mining stocks are at the forefront of today's equity advance as metal prices continue rallying. Once again, gold has hit a new record as investors seek shelter from the falling dollar. Copper has reached a 14-month high. Precious metals stocks are also shining, with platinum group Lonmin, silver
Read moreLondon close: Footsie ends weakly
19th Nov 2009 16:46
Footsie turned sharply lower at the close after a very poor start on Wall Street with the Dow down by more than 150 points in the first few hours. Miners bore the brunt of the selling with Antofagasta, Anglo American, Xstrata, Randgold Resources, Rio Tinto and Vedanta all lower. Platinum refiner J
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie stuck in the red
19th Nov 2009 14:06
Footsie is bumbling along close to its low for the day ahead of what is expected to be a weak start on Wall Street. Futures point to falls of anything between 50-70 points for the Dow when US trading starts, with weak metal prices likely to be a key theme. Here, lower metals have already hit the
Read moreLondon noon: Miners drag Footsie down
19th Nov 2009 12:00
Barely a fifth of the FTSE 100 constituents are in positive territory, but the fall on the blue-chip index is still modest, given the weakness of miners. With metals prices softening, the likes of Antofagasta, Anglo American, Xstrata, Randgold Resources, Rio Tinto and Vedanta are on the slide, as i
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Index hits year-high
12th Oct 2009 11:31
Footsie hit a new 12-month high as buyers continue to shrug off concerns about the recent market rally being too far, too fast. Insurers are the best performers led by Old Mutual. Platinum specialist Johnson Matthey, another South African-focused group, is also going well. Lloyds Banking is the w
Read moreLondon close: Footsie slides with Wall Street
1st Oct 2009 16:28
Footsie closed sharply lower after the US reacted badly to worse than expected dole claims. The Dow is now down more than 100 points with investors nervous ahead of the big monthly non-farm payrolls figure tomorrow. BAE struggled after the Serious Fraud Office asked the Attorney General if it can p
Read moreLondon afternoon: Blue chips drifting along
1st Oct 2009 14:05
Footsie has recovered a little ahead of the US open, but the index is still in the red with weapons group BAE Systems especially under the cosh. Early indications are for the Dow to drop between 15-18 points, with intital jobless claims a bit higher than expected. The big jobs figure comes tomorro
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie slips after record quarter
1st Oct 2009 12:08
Footsie has paused for breath after its record-breaking quarter with weapons group BAE Systems especially under the cosh. The Serious Fraud Office has asked the Attorney General if it can prosecute the defence contractor over alleged bribery in a number of countries. The SFO is deciding if it shou
Read moreLondon open: Healthy start to Q4
1st Oct 2009 08:40
London set off higher Thursday as buyers snapped up miners and Legal & General (L&G) continued to attract speculative interest. Persistent talk that Resolution is circling L&G had the insurer higher again in early deals, while yesterday's upgrade by Deutsche Bank helped. The broker also thinks Av
Read moreLondon pre-open: Flat start expected
1st Oct 2009 07:42
After celebrating the biggest quarterly rise in its history yesterday the Footsie seems reluctant to move at all at the start of the new quarter, with traders predicting a flat opening. Interdealer broker ICAP expects revenue to increase by about 6% in the half year ended 30 September 2009, but pro
Read moreJohnson Matthey buys Applied Utility Systems
1st Oct 2009 07:32
Specialty chemicals firm Johnson Matthey said it has bought the assets of Applied Utility Systems from Catalytic Solutions for $8.5m in cash plus $1.5m subject to certain contingencies. California based Applied Utility Systems designs and supplies systems used in gas turbines for power generation,
Read moreLondon open: Flat start as markets catch breath
18th Sep 2009 08:44
Footsie has made a slow start after Wall St paused for breath overnight on concerns the recent equity market surge may have got ahead of itself. Part-nationalised bank Lloyds Banking Group is making the headlines. It has confirmed talks with the government about changes to the terms of it joining a
Read moreLondon close: Stocks gain on economic cheer
15th Sep 2009 16:40
Footsie put further distance between itself and the 5,000 point mark as the global economic outlook brightened. The US recession is 'very likely' to have ended, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said. Here, the UK Consumer Prices Index in August showed an annual increase of 1.6%, the lowest si
Read moreLondon afternoon: Weak retailers out of step
15th Sep 2009 14:18
Leading shares are consolidating the morning's gains, though retailers decline to join the party. Confusion and speculation surrounds the acquisition and fund raising intentions of general insurer RSA. Reports in today's FT suggest RSA indicated at a recent investors conference that it was looking
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