London midday: Banks lead rally
10th Dec 2009 12:34
Financial stocks are driving the market higher, with banks and insurers featuring prominently among the best performers. In the banking sector RBS, Lloyds and Barclays rack up the best gains while among insurers Standard Life, Legal & General and RSA are to the fore. Property stocks, however, are
Read moreLondon close: Miners push Footsie higher
2nd Dec 2009 17:09
Despite being weighed down by a number of ex-dividend stocks, Footsie finished the day in positive territory, with gains on miners outweighing losses on banks. With metals prices hardening, miners were in demand. Lonmin was the best performer after being raised to 'buy' by Investec, which also upgr
Read moreLegal & General names John Stewart chairman
2nd Dec 2009 12:56
Legal & General today announces the appointment of John Stewart as non-executive chairman of the insurer in succession to Sir Rob Margetts. Stewart will become chairman-designate from 1 January 2010 and will succeed Sir Rob with effect from 1 March 2010. Sir Rob will stand down from the board with
Read moreBroker tips: HMV, water firms, insurers
27th Nov 2009 11:39
HMV has been benefiting from the demise of competitors and is likely to continue doing so, says the broker Charles Stanley as it keeps its 'buy' rating on the music, film and video game retailer. Charles Stanley is not signed up to the scepticism about HMV's long term prospects expressed by other o
Read moreBroker snap: Nomura bullish on insurers
27th Nov 2009 11:07
Most of the threat from the latest Solvency 2 proposals is unjustified and is unlikely to materialise, says Nomura, leaving it upbeat about prospects for UK insurers. The broker notes growing industry and political opposition to Solvency 2, a fundamental review of the capital adequacy regime for th
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Dubai worries batter stocks
26th Nov 2009 14:26
London Stock Exchange is one of the heaviest fallers in the FTSE 100 after the exchange operator was forced to suspend trading for more than three hours following a technical hiccup this morning. It had already come in for selling ahead of the shutdown as analysts fretted over how the Dubai debt si
Read moreLondon afternoon: Trading resumes .. so does the decline
26th Nov 2009 14:18
Trading resumed on the London Stock Exchange at 2:00pm after the exchange's technical glitch, but prices are not looking any healthier than they were before the trading interruption. Banks are under the cosh on concerns over Dubai's debt situation. The government owned Dubai World, which has debts
Read moreLondon midday: Trading suspended on LSE
26th Nov 2009 12:07
Banks shares are leading the market lower today as investors fret about the debt situation in Dubai. The government owned Dubai World, which has debts of $59bn, has asked creditors if it can delay debt repayments due next month until May of next year. HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Lloyds
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Tesco, Reckitt Benckiser, Ladbrokes
20th Nov 2009 06:28
Tesco's telecoms arm threatened a price war with the likes of BT, Virgin Media and Carphone Warehouse as it unveiled plans yesterday to offer bundled broadband and home phone packages for the first time. Britain's biggest retailer announced that it had signed a five-year deal with Cable & Wireless
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: ITN, Queen's speech, L&G
19th Nov 2009 06:16
ITN will reveal its first-ever loss on Thursday as the new chief executive outlines austerity measures aimed at putting the organisation back into the black. John Hardie, who came into the job in June, will tell his 800 journalists and commercial staff that the organisation lost "a significant amoun
Read moreLondon close: Miners power Footsie gains
9th Nov 2009 16:31
Mining stocks were at the vanguard of a strong advance from FTSE 100 as commodity prices were boosted by plans outlined by world leaders over the weekend to continue with stimulus measures. Kazakhmys, Fresnillo, Rio Tinto and Vedanta were some of the best performers in the mining sector. Mining g
Read moreLondon afternoon: Cadbury rejects Kraft bid
9th Nov 2009 14:23
After all the waiting and speculation, the formal bid for Cadbury from US group Kraft Foods proved a disappointment, but it has not dampened sentiment in a buoyant London market. Kraft formally announced a bid for Cadbury on the same terms as the indicative offer announced at the beginning of Septe
Read moreSector movers: Insurers in demand
9th Nov 2009 13:56
Insurance stocks are going well after a strong performance from German insurer Allianz over the third quarter. Allianz was helped by strong performances from life insurance and asset management and saw operating profit climb by 23%. The best performer in the sector here is Prudential, which may be
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie bursts through 5200
9th Nov 2009 11:58
With the price of gold crashing through the $1,100 and other metal prices on the up, miners are leading a strong advance by Footsie. Demand for mining stocks has been spurred by comments at the close of the G20 summit pledging a continuing commitment to providing economic stimulation to the world e
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Axa's Asia move lights up life sector
9th Nov 2009 10:57
Life insurers lead the way forward this morning, excited by Axa and AMP's joint $10bn bid for their associate and Far East focused fund manager Axa Asia Pacific. Prudential is the best performer. It too has a significant and fast growing Asian operation and analysts are drawing a line through the p
Read more