London midday: Cadbury hits new high
23rd Nov 2009 12:06
London shares are racing ahead as the dollar's recent strength wanes, prompting renewed interest in mining shares. Gold has hit new highs, and that has led to sharp mark-ups in the price of gold miner Randgold and silver and gold miner Fresnillo. Elsewhere in the sector ENRC, Lonmin, Xstrata, Rio
Read moreLondon open: Miners propel Footsie higher
23rd Nov 2009 08:51
Miners are driving Footsie higher again, with all of the top ten gainers metals groups. Xstrata, Rio Tinto and Randgold are the top risers, but the gains are sector-wide and strong. There's also good news at Lloyds Banking Group where the bank has the part-nationalised lender enjoyed "strong dema
Read moreLondon pre-open: Lloyds in focus as Footsie targets 5,300
23rd Nov 2009 07:38
It looks like being a bright start to the week, with the leading index predicted to rise 50 points at the start of play and Wall Street showing early indications it will jump later today. There's also good news at Lloyds Banking Group where the bank has the part-nationalised lender enjoyed "strong
Read moreStrong demand for Lloyds bond swap
23rd Nov 2009 07:06
Lloyds Banking Group's £21bn fundraising got off to a good start today, with the part-nationalised lender's offer to swap existing debt for contingent capital encountering "strong investor demand". Offers to exchange £12.51bn of existing securities were received, of which £8.78bn have been accepted
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: ITV, Water companies, Lloyds Banking
22nd Nov 2009 10:45
New ITV chairman Archie Norman is expected to charge millions of viewers to watch all but the broadcaster's main channel, the Mail on Sunday reports. The ending of ITV's days as a free-to-air broadcaster is likely to happen soon after the former Asda boss joins as non-executive chairman in January
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 moreSchroders executives pocket option gains
17th Nov 2009 15:51
Two executive directors of asset manager Schroders have taken up options and sold most of them for large profits. Chief executive Michael Dobson took up options over 1,802,033 non-voting shares, of which 906,285 were at nil cost and the rest at prices of 705p, 483p and 398p a share. The total cost
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: Bank bonuses, Regal Petroleum, Lloyds Banking
17th Nov 2009 06:32
Bankers who are not prepared to forgo controversial contracts that flout new rules on bonuses should get out of the mainstream industry, Lord Myners has declared. The City Minister fired a warning shot ahead of the Queen's Speech tomorrow, which will outline plans to forbid guaranteed bonuses and o
Read moreLondon open: Winning start to week
16th Nov 2009 08:42
Mining heavyweights head the pack Monday, notching up strong gains on record gold prices and demand for other metals. Randgold is top of the pile after gold hit a new record high. Rio Tinto, Xstrata and Kazakhmys are also riding high. Even Lonmin is better despite reporting a full-year loss. The S
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Barclays, Lloyds, British Airways
15th Nov 2009 09:51
The American investment bank JP Morgan is to trigger one of the City's biggest pay days by buying out the remaining 50% of Cazenove, the blue-blooded broker, for £950m. About £650m will be split between 80 former Cazenove partners, including a number of aristocrats and society figures, many of who
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: British Airways, Lloyds Banking, Tesco
13th Nov 2009 06:08
British Airways and Iberia, the Spanish flag carrier, have announced a deal to create Europe's largest airline. The merger by the two loss-making companies is expected to set off another round of cost-cutting at both to save £360m a year. Jobs are likely to be lost at head offices in London and Ma
Read moreLondon open: BT turns Footsie blue
12th Nov 2009 08:32
Shares are inching higher in early deals as investors welcome second quarter results from BT, offsetting losses among insurers following results from Friends Provident owner Resolution. Telecoms giant BT reported second quarter revenue was in line with expectations and thinks it can cut costs by at
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Cadbury, British Airways, Lloyds
12th Nov 2009 06:03
Up to 14 per cent of Cadbury's share register is estimated by brokers to be controlled by hedge funds that are betting Kraft will raise its $16.2bn (£9.8bn) offer for the UK confectioner, increasing the likelihood that its hostile bid will succeed. Brokers predict that towards the end of the bid bat
Read moreLondon close: Flat finish for FTSE 100
10th Nov 2009 16:29
Footsie finished slightly in the red having failed to find any sense of direction all day as results sent stocks in both directions. Banking titan HSBC climbed after it said underlying third quarter profit was "significantly" ahead of the same time last year. It's also seeing some stabilisation in
Read moreLondon afternoon: Miners drag Footsie under
10th Nov 2009 14:31
With the US markets opening lower, London has followed suit, despite a strong performance from FTSE 100 index heavyweight HSBC. Banking titan HSBC said underlying third quarter profit was "significantly" ahead of the same time last year. It's also seeing some stabilisation in its bad debts picture,
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