London afternoon: Stocks are becalmed
4th Mar 2010 14:13
It's been an up and down day for the blue-chip index although the Footsie has rarely strayed far from its overnight level. As expected, the Bank of England has held interest rates at 0.5% and taken no further action on quantitative easing (QE) amid conflicting signals over the state of the UK econo
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie drifting sideways
4th Mar 2010 12:13
Footsie is trading sideways after the Bank of England decided on no change to its stance on interest rates and quantitative easing. UK interest rates stay at 0.5% and the QE programme at £200bn. On the company front, results are dominating. Engineering and project management firm Amec is worst of t
Read moreLondon open: Footsie struggles early on
4th Mar 2010 08:30
A four-day winning streak could end Thursday after a poor start following last night's late sell-off on Wall Street, weaker miners and some disappointing company results. Engineering and project management firm Amec is worst of the blue chips as investors react badly to a 3% slip in revenues, or 12
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Carnival price increase
24th Feb 2010 15:55
Cruise operator Carnival is the biggest riser in the Footsie after announcing that it is going to increase the price of its cruises. The decision has been taken after strong reservations activity for 2010. The price increases will be up to 5%. They will happen on 22 March but overall cruise prices
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Centrica, Recession, Royal Dutch Shell
25th Jan 2010 06:35
The cold winter weather this year will deliver a £100m boost to the profits of Britain's Big Six energy companies, according to forecasts by City analysts. Centrica, the owner of British Gas and Britain's largest gas and electricity supplier, with 16m customers, is likely to be the biggest single
Read moreLondon close: Footsie turns positive
19th Jan 2010 17:22
London's top stocks finished the day above the 5,500 mark after turning positive in afternoon trading. Luxury fashion label Burberry was the best performer of the day after saying it expects profits for the full year to be at the top end of expectations after seeing strong sales in the last three m
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie falls despite Cadbury cheer
19th Jan 2010 12:00
Footsie is in the red, despite strength from Cadbury which has been sweetened by its board's recommendation of a revised offer from US food giant Kraft, as investors mull the latest round of third quarter trading statements. The revised terms for Cadbury are worth around 850p a share and have clea
Read moreLondon open: Weak start from FTSE 100
19th Jan 2010 08:41
London's leading share index has fallen into the red in early dealings after a mixed reception for company updates. Brewer SABMiller and property group Land Securities are among the fallers. Peroni and Grolsh brewer SABMiller saw lager volumes dip slightly in the first nine months of its current
Read moreLondon pre-open: Quiet start on the cards
19th Jan 2010 07:38
There's no lead from Wall Street this morning as US markets were closed for a public holiday yesterday, meaning a flat start for stocks over here. Investors are hoping for news from Dairy Milk maker Cadbury today, which is reported to have fallen to an £11.7bn takeover by US food conglomerate Kraft
Read moreLand Securities reveals £655m of West End schemes
19th Jan 2010 07:03
Land Securities will start £655m of development projects in London this year to take advantage of expected 'good rental growth' in the West End office market. In a third quarter trading update, it said it's in the process of placing construction contracts on three major developments. Building at t
Read moreWeek Ahead: Taylor Wimpey, Land Securities, Kesa
15th Jan 2010 12:03
Taylor Wimpey will kick next week's results schedule off with a trading update that should see a continuation of the stabilisation the housebuilder was seeing back in November. Sector peers Bovis, Barratt Developments and Persimmon have all recently released relatively upbeat trading statements, t
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Land Securities gets Goldman boost
11th Jan 2010 15:57
Footsie has lost many of its early gains but it remains slightly higher on the day. Property company Land Securities has been added to the conviction buy list of broker Goldman Sachs. That has helped the Land Securities share price and British Land appears to have followed it upwards. Goldman Sa
Read moreBroker tips: Land Securities, Ryanair, Carillion
11th Jan 2010 13:23
Real estate plays are in focus Monday as Goldman Sachs predicts more stable yields and a strong recovery in demand for prime office space. It thinks rising demand for office space, especially in Sweden and the UK, at a time when new supply is limited is likely to lead to a strong recovery in prime
Read moreBroker snap: Goldman backs Land Securities
11th Jan 2010 11:53
Real estate plays are in focus Monday as Goldman Sachs predicts more stable yields and a strong recovery in demand for prime office space. It thinks rising demand for office space, especially in Sweden and the UK, at a time when new supply is limited is likely to lead to a strong recovery in prime
Read moreLondon close: RBS leads the charge
4th Jan 2010 17:12
A strong start to the year on Wall Street gave London a boost, prompting the blue-chip index to finish at its highest point for the day. Part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland's led the advance after Exane BNP Paribas suggested that 'fundamental (rather than purely speculative) investor in
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