London close: Footsie runs out of steam
26th Aug 2009 16:27
Wall Street's inability to hold onto new home sale-inspired gains was the final nail in the coffin for London, bringing to an end a six-day winning streak. Much of the blame lay with the UK-listed miners who hogged the list of largest losers on weaker metal prices. Antofagasta was among the worst
Read moreLondon afternoon: RBS buoyed by pension moves
26th Aug 2009 14:32
Equity prices are mixed with a lower bias. The Footsie continues to drift lower, weighed down by underperforming resource stocks. Pre-tax profits plunged at Tullow in the first half of the year as the firm felt the pinch of the slide in oil prices. The oil company posted a pre-tax profit of £34.
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Punch Taverns still fizzing
26th Aug 2009 12:16
Punch Taverns is higer again after Shore Capital reinitiated the pub group as a 'buy' following yesterday's upbeat trading update. Fellow pub landlords Enterprise Inns and Marston's are also higher. Instrumentation and controls group Spectris continues rising after yesterday saying it expects to
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Legal & General, Marston's, Drax
5th Aug 2009 06:40
Life insurance is a complicated business, says Legal & General's chief executive Tim Breedon, adding that that explains the relative cheapness of his company's stock. The shares got even less expensive yesterday, when they fell 4.75% after the group's first-half results. Complicated accounting proc
Read moreLondon close: Footsie finishes just down
4th Aug 2009 16:33
London staged a late rally but still finished just in the red as financials weighed and the US started in tepid fashion. Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered was the biggest faller of the day after saying it is to raise £1bn through a placing. It posted solid first half figures with profits up by 1
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie has rare down day
4th Aug 2009 15:02
Footsie is having a poor day with financial and miners weak and a flat start to trading on Wall Street. Insurer Legal & General set the downbeat tone by slashing its interim dividend by 45% after posting a loss of £1bn on a European embedded value (EEV) basis. The half-year dividend has been cut t
Read moreLondon midday: Dull morning for Footsie
4th Aug 2009 12:03
Stocks remain stuck in the red after a poor morning session with shares undermined by miners slipping back and financials under pressure. Insurer Legal & General set the tone, by slashing its interim dividend by 45% after posting a loss of £1bn on a European embedded value (EEV) basis. The half-yea
Read moreMarston's shrugs off poor weather
4th Aug 2009 07:55
Brewer and pub group Marston's said it is continuing to see the improvement in trading that began in April in spite of recent unseasonal summer weather. At the company's managed pub division, like-for-like sales in the six weeks to August 1 were up by 2.3% from the same period the previous year, co
Read moreLondon close: Eighth day of gains
22nd Jul 2009 16:27
Footsie finished with gains for the eighth day in a row to sit just shy of 4,500 points after flitting between the red and the blue for much of the day. Mining stocks weighed down the market. BHP Billiton set the tone for the sector with its annual production report this morning. Quarterly (Apr-Jun
Read moreLondon afternoon: Treading water
22nd Jul 2009 14:18
The Footsie briefly moved into positive territory over the lunch time session before easing gently back into the red. Pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline is marginally higher after a second quarter update in which it posted a fall in revenue in the second quarter as generic competition in the US
Read moreLondon midday: Shares pause for breath
22nd Jul 2009 12:07
Leading shares are mixed, with losses on miners and banks offset by gains on defensive favourites such as tobaccos and utilities. Mining giant BHP Billiton set the tone for the sector with its annual production report this morning. Quarterly (Apr-Jun) production increased for 12 major commodities
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Stobart pulls away
22nd Jul 2009 10:14
Shares in Stobart speed ahead after the transport and logistics group bagged a distribution contract for Tesco's new 1.2m sq ft import centre in Middlesbrough worth about £25m a year. Shares in IG Group are higher again after the spread-betting firm said yesterday that profits for the year climbed
Read moreLondon open: Cautious start after great run
22nd Jul 2009 08:53
A late recovery in the US has failed to get London off to a good start and Footsie is struggling to trade higher for the eighth day in a row. Miners are a major weak spot this morning. The underlying trend for metals demand is still being masked by restocking activity, according to BHP Billiton, an
Read moreLondon pre-open: Footsie eyes 8 in a row
22nd Jul 2009 07:40
A late recovery in the US last night is set to get London off to a good start as it looks to close higher for the eighth trading day in a row. Better than expected earnings from a host of Wall Street's biggest names outweighed cautious comments from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke to leave US
Read moreMarston's rights issue gets 91% take-up
22nd Jul 2009 07:02
Just over 91% of shareholders at Marston's have backed the brewer and pub owner's £176m cash call. The firm, which has been criticised for earmarking the money to finance expansion rather than reduce its £1.2bn debt pile, said RBS Hoare Govett and JP Morgan will seek buyers for the 25.6m unwanted s
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