London close: Jittery Footsie finishes lower
20th May 2009 16:36
Footsie failed to sustain a slight rally that came after a positive US opening and finished in the red after an indecisive day's trading. Miners Lonmin, Rio Tinto, Vedanta, Randgold, Antofagasta and Kazakhmys all went well, while silver and gold producer Fresnillo was wanted after it said it has su
Read moreLondon afternoon: Wall St. sparks London rally
20th May 2009 14:49
A buoyant opening on Wall Street has encouraged UK shares to claw back the morning's losses and the FTSE 100 is now virtually back up to its overnight level. Banks are leading the revival, with Lonmin, Rio Tinto, Vedanta, Randgold, Antofagasta and Kazakhmys all going well, while silver and gold pro
Read moreSector movers: Metals stocks rise again
20th May 2009 12:48
The industrial metals sector is shrugging off a gloomy trading update from International Ferro Metals to climb for the second day in a row. The ferrochrome producer said it remains focused on preserving cash and cutting costs as it reported falling sales of the alloy used to make stainless steel. I
Read moreLondon midday: Financials drag Footsie down
20th May 2009 12:01
Leading shares remain mixed with the Footsie in negative territory thanks, in part, to weak performance by financial stocks. The share price of Lloyds Banking Group has been adjusted to take into account the fact that the shares no longer carry the right to participate in the group's compensatory o
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Experian boosts its own credit-worthiness
20th May 2009 11:44
Credit checking group Experian has pushed on after brokers' warmed to its latest trading update, saying that its own credit-worthiness is looking better than expected on the the amount of cash it generated in the second half of last year. Broker Charles Stanley said the pre-tax profits of $843m wer
Read moreLondon opening: Footsie opens quietly
20th May 2009 08:40
Wall Street's weaker tone is being echoed in London with blue chips struggling to make headway. Credit checking firm Experian hailed its revenue and profit growth last year despite exceptionally difficult market conditions. Revenue rose to $3,873m in the year to 31 March 2009 from $3,789m a year ea
Read moreLondon pre-open: Equities to follow Wall St. lower
20th May 2009 07:43
Wall Street's weaker tone looks set to be echoed in London at the outset, with City sources expecting the FTSE 100 index to open around 18 points down from last night's close of 4,482. Credit checking firm Experian hailed its revenue and profit growth last year despite exceptionally difficult marke
Read moreJune 5 is decision day for Lloyds' shareholders
20th May 2009 07:02
Lloyds Banking Group shareholders will have until noon on 5 June to decide whether to participate in the bank's placing and compensatory open offer. Qualifying shareholders, i.e. those who acquired shares before 8:00am on Wednesday, 20 May, will be able to subscribe for 0.6213 new ordinary shares f
Read moreLloyds director buys
19th May 2009 17:00
Lloyds Banking Group non-exec Timothy Ryan has purchased 20,000 shares in the bank. Ryan paid 94p per share, taking the total cost of the purchase to nearly £19,000. The group did not reveal his current holdings. Yesterday, the bank confirmed it has agreed with the Treasury to launch a previously
Read moreLloyds and ABN axe more staff
19th May 2009 14:37
Lloyds Banking Group is cutting another 625 British jobs on the same day that Dutch bank ABN Amro announced plans to get rid of as many as 6,500 staff. The losses are blamed on the merger of the UK bank's corporate and small-business lending units, part of the wholesale banking business, following
Read moreLondon open: Footsie up despite M&S disappointment
19th May 2009 08:48
Footsie has built on yesterday's gains as traders wade through the continuing stream of company results. Marks & Spencer has fallen sharply after it revealed a final dividend cut of a third after the clothes and food retailer saw a sharp drop in pre-tax profits to £706.2m from £1.13bn. M&S said it
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: Bank of England, Barclays, Lloyds
19th May 2009 06:17
The Bank of England revealed yesterday that it had racked up record profits of almost £1bn in the year to February as its fee-earning activities burgeoned amid the global financial and economic turmoil, reports the Times. Lehman Brothers Holdings wants to investigate whether the sale of its US brok
Read moreLondon afternoon: Momentum gathers pace
18th May 2009 14:33
A strong start on Wall Street has given renewed impetus to London's advance, with a strong showing by the Indian stock exchange also benefiting some India-focused stocks. Vedanta is a rare bright spot among miners, benefiting from the bounce Indian stocks received in the wake of the country's elect
Read moreLondon midday: Lloyds lifts market
18th May 2009 11:57
Leading shares are off the top but Footsie remains in positive territory despite the mining sector moving down virtually en masse. Vedanta is a rare bright spot among miners, benefiting from the bounce Indian stocks received in the wake of the country's election result. India's Sensex index surged
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners hit by broker caution
18th May 2009 11:13
The mining sector is down 11% over the last week, adding weight to the growing number of voices suggesting that the sector's revival has been premature. US bank Citigroup has been reviewing the sector and is of the opinion that any good news likely to emerge in the next six months from miners has a
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