13th Jan 2012 12:03
The Footsie's earlier gains were pared by lunchtime as US stock futures slipped ahead of key earnings report from JP Morgan Chase & Co and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. Italy issued €4.75bn in medium-term debt, the top of its €3-4.75bn target range. The borrowing costs of Ju
Read more13th Jan 2012 08:30
Banks were leading the way on Friday with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) topping the charts, lifting the Footsie above the 5,700 level. Hopes that the sovereign debt crisis in Europe is easing lifted the mood on the markets, with investors looking ahead to a key Italian debt auction later today. Just
Read more12th Jan 2012 16:24
Gains were pared in afternoon trade on Thursday following a poor start on Wall Street, meaning that the FTSE 100 finished in the red for the second day in a row. It was a busy day on the corporate news front, with Tesco and RBS grabbing the headlines, while central banks did what was expected and ke
Read more12th Jan 2012 14:24
Tesco's Christmas trading statement plunged the UK's leading supermarket chain into the bottom spot after reporting that its sales performance in the home market fell below expectations, prompting the company to advise full-year trading profit growth will be around the low end of the range of analys
Read more12th Jan 2012 11:58
After a subdued start, the Footsie seems to have found its direction, trading up near the 5,700 level, helped by the latest Italian and Spanish debt auctions which saw solid demand and a fall in yields. Italy has sold a total of €12bn in bills, with yields on its 12-month debt falling to 2.74% from
Read more12th Jan 2012 09:08
Reckitt Benckiser: J.P. Morgan Cazenove downgrades to neutral from overweight. Tesco: Nomura reiterates buy rating and 500p target; Panmure Gordon cuts target from 500p to 440p, buy rating unchanged. Royal Bank of Scotland: Shore Capital reiterates sell. Tesco: Shore Capital downgrades to hold fr
Read more12th Jan 2012 08:28
A sharp fall for the retailers was met with a strong showing by the banks this morning, equating to a flat start for the FTSE 100. It has been reasonably busy on the corporate front, with several firms providing trading statements, but RBS and Tesco dominated the headlines early on. MARKETS CELEBRA
Read more11th Jan 2012 16:58
Eurozone debt worries weighed on London's stock market today with some disappointing economic data from the region's largest economy dampening the mood. Energy stocks led the decline on the FTSE 100, tracking oil prices lower. SOVEREIGN DEBT CRISIS RUMBLES ON News that German gross domestic produc
Read more11th Jan 2012 11:49
After trading within a narrow 20-point range for most of the morning, it seems if the Footsie has found its direction, dropping around 40 points by midday, with Eurozone concerns once again in the spotlight. Euro-area gross domestic product growth slowed to 0.1% quarter-on-quarter in the third quar
Read more10th Jan 2012 16:53
The Footsie closed near its highest levels of the day at 5,697, breaking through the 5,700 mark briefly in late afternoon trade. Upbeat economic data from China along with news that Fitch doesn't intend to downgrade France this year lifted the mood across Europe today with benchmark indices across t
Read more10th Jan 2012 14:46
Miners were leading the rise on Tuesday, with Vedanta Resources, Kazakhmys and Antofagasta gaining ground after some positive economic data from China boosted sentiment. China's trade balance widened from $145.3bn to $165.2bn in December and while import growth on the whole had slowed, imports for c
Read more10th Jan 2012 12:00
Resource stocks performed well in morning trade, lifting the FTSE 100 over 1.1% higher. Miners were gaining ground after some positive economic data from China boosted sentiment, while Cairn Energy was on the up after detailing its $3.5bn cash return to shareholders. A big mover was Gulf Keystone,
Read more9th Jan 2012 16:59
The FTSE 100 finished close to its lowest levels of the day with resource, pharmaceuticals and banking stocks providing a drag in the afternoon session. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy gave a press conference earlier today in which they outlined details of their
Read more9th Jan 2012 15:27
InterContinental Hotels was rising after Deutsche Bank upgraded its rating from hold to buy. Investec has kept its positive stance on the temporary power rental market and says that the investment case remains "compelling", with the temporary power and temperature control provider Aggreko getting a
Read more9th Jan 2012 14:04
Wearing a smart dark suit with a tie in British racing green, Lloyds Banking Group chief António Horta-Osório has eased back into the driving seat at the part-owned British lender after a two-month rest period taken so he could recover from exhaustion. At Horta-Osório's instigation, the board of Ll
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