Wednesday tips round-up: Babcock, Lookers, Intercontinental Hotels
12th May 2010 07:40
Babcock's scope to provide public services more cheaply is its big attraction. Although fears of government cutbacks remain to the fore, the company is not dependent on new capital expenditure. Further, the tie-up with VT gives it an unparalled presence in technical training, an area where skills a
Read moreLookers to exceed forecasts
11th May 2010 13:49
Car dealer Lookers' trading performance for the four months ended 30 April ahead of budget and prior year and the group is continuing to produce record results. Consequently, group results for the half year to 30 June 2010 are expected to exceed management expectations. The Parts Division has deli
Read moreLookers boss adds to stake
19th Mar 2010 16:49
Peter Jones, the chief executive of motor dealer Lookers, has added to his stake in the company. He has bought 300,000 shares at 59p each. Jones now owns 2.281m shares in Lookers, which is equivalent to 0.59% of the company. Jones bought 1.42m shares at 40p each in the company's placing and open
Read moreLondon close: Late rally limits losses
9th Mar 2010 16:36
A strong early performance from US shares helped Footsie recover from earlier weakness to close only slightly lower on a U-shaped day for the leading share index. Sentiment had earlier been dented by weak economic news. Data from the Office for National Statistics showed the UK's deficit on trade i
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie meanders in the red
9th Mar 2010 14:18
Disappointing UK trade figures knocked Footsie early with little help likely from the US as futures point to a weak start on Wall Street. Data from the Office for National Statistics showed the UK's deficit on trade in goods widened to £7.99bn from £7.01bn the previous month, about £1bn more than
Read moreLondon midday:Trade figures derail rally
9th Mar 2010 12:05
Disappointing trade figures announced at 9:30 nipped an attempted rally in the bud and shares spent the rest of the morning in retreat. Data from the Office for National Statistics showed the UK's deficit on trade in goods widened to £7.99bn from £7.01bn the previous month, about £1bn more than ec
Read moreLookers profit surges, strong start to 2010
9th Mar 2010 07:33
Car dealer Lookers said full year profit increased by £26.4m after a strong performance from its parts division. Adjusted profit before tax for the year ended 31 December 2009 increased by 102% to £28.3m. Revenue on a like for like basis increased by 4.2% to £1.75bn. Lookers chief executive Pete
Read moreTuesday preview: Intl. Power, Liberty Intl., Lookers
8th Mar 2010 17:38
Energy company International Power is due to declare full year results on Tuesday with the market expecting pre-tax profits of £730m, up from £682m in 2008, on revenue of £3,355m. A slight increase in the dividend is expected while debt could come down to £5.2bn from £5.4bn at the half-year stage.
Read moreLookers to beat expectations
12th Jan 2010 13:04
Car dealer Lookers expects to exceed previous expectations after strong trading continued into the fourth quarter. The firm said it gained new car market share with like-for-like sales for the year closing 13% ahead of 2008 levels in a new car market that closed the year 6% down on 2008, despite th
Read moreLondon close: Late swoon by Footsie
30th Oct 2009 16:52
Mining stocks proved a major millstone around Footsie's neck today while end of the month position closing also contributed to a fall of almost 2% on the blue-chip index, a decline that was mirrored on Wall Street. The US market gave back most of yesterday's gains in the morning session after US co
Read moreLondon afternoon: Shire provides some cheer
30th Oct 2009 14:19
Footsie dipped into the red over the lunch-time session, as Wall Street opened lower. Metal prices are in retreat, prompting investors to bail out of mining stocks, including precious metals miners such as Fresnillo and Randgold. Among base metal miners, Kazakhmys and Lonmin are the worst perform
Read moreLondon midday: Retailers lifted by consumer confidence
30th Oct 2009 12:12
Insurers and miners are hampering the Footsie's progress today, but outside of these two sectors most blue-chips are on an upward trajectory, helped by some decent news on the economy. Economic data released Friday shows that UK consumers are more confident now than at any time in the last 21 mont
Read moreLondon open: Upbeat start for Footsie
30th Oct 2009 08:18
London's blue chips have opened higher thanks to upbeat economic and company news out this morning. Economic data released Friday shows that UK consumers are more confident now than at any time in the last 21 months. The GfK/NOP consumer confidence index improved to -13 in October, the best number
Read moreLookers bullish as Q3 'significantly' ahead
30th Oct 2009 07:19
The government's car scrappage scheme has done Lookers a big favour, helping the car dealer deliver third quarter results "significantly" ahead of both budget and last year's effort. It said the strong trading performance seen in the first half of the year continued between July and October, partic
Read more'Cash for bangers' reaches half-way point
20th Aug 2009 13:06
Just three months after its launch, the car 'scrappage' scheme announced by the government in April has already been hailed as a resounding success. More than 150,000 have participated in the programme, in which the government and the motor industry contribute £1,000 each towards the purchase of a
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