London close: Best finish in 12½ months
12th Oct 2009 16:48
UK share prices finished at their best levels in over a year Monday and, despite a few sellers appearing late on, the FTSE 100 ended the session above 5,200. Insurers Old Mutual, Standard Life and Legal & General were in demand all day. Rising stock markets are always good news for their investment
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks' balance sheet issues resurface
12th Oct 2009 14:23
The Footsie crashed through the 5200 barrier this morning to rise to a one-year high and although prices came off the top over the lunch-time session, the vast majority of blue-chips are still in the blue. The upward trend in global equity markets is good news for the insurers and their investment
Read moreLondon close: Stocks finish down
2nd Oct 2009 16:33
London's leading shares closed in the red but were off earlier lows as the US recovered somewhat after a poor start. A weaker than expected jobs report had pushed US stocks deep in the red, though by midday the markets had retraced some of the losses. Over here, there was good news for home owners
Read moreLondon afternoon: US jobs data sinks Footsie
2nd Oct 2009 14:05
Footsie has tumbled further below the 5,000 level after a disappointing read on the monthly US jobs numbers. US non-farm payrolls fell a worse than expected 263,000 in September, up from a downwardly revised 201,000 the month before, and compared with the 180,000 expected by economists. The unemp
Read moreLondon midday: Equities nervously lower
2nd Oct 2009 12:05
The Footsie dipped below the 5,000 level this morning as it followed Wall Street lower in the wake of patchy US economic data yesterday. Over here, there was good news for home owners as UK house prices rose for the fifth month in a row in September, according to the Nationwide Building Society. Th
Read moreBroker tips: Insurers, Misys, Domino's Pizza
1st Oct 2009 12:53
The life assurance sector has recovered strongly from its first quarter lows but there is still plenty of juice left in the major players, Panmure Gordon reckons. The broker has increased its target prices for five insurers: Prudential (to 732p from 585p), Standard Life (234p from 212p), St. James'
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Tough day for Footsie
1st Oct 2009 11:30
Blue chips had a tough day with the index turning down sharply after US initial dole claims figures came in worse than expected. Miners led the way lower on concerns that the US economy is not recovering as expected. Lonmin, Xstrata and Anglo American all fell sharply. Vedanta was the exception on
Read moreBroker snap: Insurance consolidation 'inevitable'
1st Oct 2009 11:16
The life assurance sector has recovered strongly from its first quarter lows but there is still plenty of juice left in the major players, Panmure Gordon reckons. The broker has increased its target prices for five insurers: Prudential (to 732p from 585p), Standard Life (234p from 212p), St. James'
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 close: Best ever quarterly gain for Footsie
30th Sep 2009 17:00
Wall Street fell out of bed at the start of its trading day after the release of disappointing business activity data and London quickly followed the US market downwards. However, a rally in the last half hour ensured that the FTSE 100 enjoyed its best ever quarterly percentage gain since the index
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie still lacking direction
30th Sep 2009 14:20
Footsie has continued its recent sluggish run, with company updates pulling the leading share index in both directions, but remains set for a record quarterly gain. Hedge fund manger Man is the best performer after a bullish trading update. "Investor sentiment is continuing to improve across the in
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 on course for record quarter
30th Sep 2009 12:13
Footsie still looks on course for a record quarterly gain, but early strong rises have been whittled away ahead of the US open. Hedge fund manger Man is the best performer after a bullish trading update. "Investor sentiment is continuing to improve across the industry, the performance outlook is h
Read moreSector movers: Takeover talk shakes up insurers
29th Sep 2009 14:44
Rumours that serial insurance company raider Clive Cowdery is preparing a takeover bid for Legal & General(L&G) through his investment vehicle Resolution has lifted the sector higher. L&G leads the way, with sector peer Aviva not far behind. Mining stocks are lower as metals prices slip back. Plati
Read moreLondon midday: Blue chips still struggling
29th Sep 2009 12:06
Miners and property stocks are keeping Footsie in the red despite the banking and insurance sectors going well. Swiss bank Credit Suisse has issued a bearish note on the property sector prompting the likes of British Land, Land Securities, SEGRO and Hammerson to shift into reverse. Credit Suisse's
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Compass points higher
29th Sep 2009 11:51
Contract caterer Compass is pointing higher after it reported trading has gone well in the fourth quarter with underlying earnings to be up by around 14% on a constant currency basis. Operating profit will get a boost of £120m from the movement of our key currencies compared with last year. Rumours
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