Friday paper round-up: BP, Obama, Lloyds Banking
23rd Apr 2010 06:30
A team of engineers using an underwater robot was struggling last night to control one of the world's most challenging oil spills after an explosion ripped apart and sank a rig leased by BP in the Gulf of Mexico. As fears grew for the safety of 11 workers still missing, BP and US officials were ta
Read moreLloyds non-exec buys ahead of IMS
20th Apr 2010 16:31
Lloyds Banking Group non-executive director Dr Wolfgang Berndt has added to his shareholding. Dr Berndt paid 65.98p a share for 51,571 shares for a total investment of £34,027. Dr Berndt invested £201,000 in shares from the rights issue at the end of 2009. the rights issue price was 37p a share.
Read moreLondon close: Markets dive
16th Apr 2010 16:21
Along with other global markets, London's benchmark was sideswiped by news that Goldman Sachs has been charged with fraud on subprime mortgages by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Stocks nosedived around 70 points in the final hour of trading as the news emerged. The banking sector had be
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks push Footsie up
16th Apr 2010 10:07
London's leading shares have moved into the blue thanks to good performance from the banking sector. Royal Bank of Scotland is leading after broker BofA Merrill Lynch said the bank could benefit from the economic recovery. Merrill raised its 12-month price target for the shares to 65p from 45p. Llo
Read moreLondon close: Footsie at 22-month high
15th Apr 2010 17:12
The afternoon saw many leading shares consolidate or extend the morning's gains, solidifying the Footsie's position above 5800. Banks led the advance after better than expected results from US investment bank JP Morgan yesterday. Barclays received a boost from Execution Noble, which raised its targ
Read moreLondon afternoon: Brokers boost banks
15th Apr 2010 14:25
Footsie is keeping its head above 5800, climbing a bit further over the lunch time session despite expectations of a soft start on Wall Street. After better than expected results from US investment bank JP Morgan yesterday investors are keen on UK banks such as Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and
Read moreSector movers: Uniq pension plans hard to digest
15th Apr 2010 12:28
Uniq is leading the food sector producer sector lower. The company, whose customers include Marks & Spencer, posted a pre-tax loss of £18.5m for the year, compared with £100,000 the previous year, on revenues that edged up to £287.2m from £286.7m. But what has really concerned investors is a prop
Read moreLondon midday: Flat Footsie
15th Apr 2010 11:50
Leading shares remain mixed , with laggards among FTSE 100 constituents now marginally outnumbering leaders. Experian is the worst performing blue-chip. The credit checking firm saw revenues from continuing operations rise for the six months to March but revenues at its UK operations fell in the pe
Read moreLondon open: Greece deal boosts Footsie
12th Apr 2010 08:25
London's top stocks have made a good start to the new week on news that euro zone finance ministers have approved a €30bn emergency aid package for debt-stricken Greece. Under the terms of the deal, Greece would receive the potential aid via a three-year loan with an interest rate of around 5%, wel
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners head lower
8th Apr 2010 15:51
Weak metals prices mean that miners are leading the Footsie down today. Xstrata and Eurasian Natural Resources are the biggest losers. Even Vedanta Resources, which says that it achieved a significant uplift in annual production in its last financial year, is not immune. Vedanta achieved record qu
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie dips below 5700
8th Apr 2010 14:21
Footsie has slipped back below 5700 with banks joining miners in the doghouse this afternoon. Miners are out of favour as metal prices show signs of fatigue. Vedanta Resources provided a spot of cheer to the sector, saying it saw a significant uplift in annual production at all its businesses in fi
Read moreSector movers: Miners on the march
30th Mar 2010 14:48
The mining sector is higher after a couple of updates from big players. BHP Billiton has successfully persuaded several of its iron ore customers in Asia to move to shorter term contracts. The group said it has reached agreement with a significant number of customers throughout Asia to move existin
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie seeking direction
30th Mar 2010 14:20
Footsie is still marking time as gains in the mining sector struggle to offset losses among banking stocks. Mining giant BHP Billiton is higher after saying it has successfully persuaded several of its iron ore customers in Asia to move to shorter term contracts. The renegotiated contracts cover th
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Financials negate mining gains
30th Mar 2010 12:14
Mining companies remain the best performers in the Footsie but they can't totally offset the decline in financials. Strong demand for metals plus news that BHP Billiton has successfully persuaded several of its iron ore customers in Asia to move to shorter term contracts has boosted the whole sect
Read moreTuesday paper round-up: BHP Billiton, ITV, Lloyds Banking
30th Mar 2010 06:34
Global miners have passed a milestone in their efforts to change the way iron ore benchmark prices are set by convincing major steelmakers to adopt prices more closely linked to the spot market. BHP Billiton said on Tuesday that a "significant number" of Asian steelmakers had agreed to move from th
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