London close: Shares fall as Libya crisis intensifies
21st Feb 2011 16:53
The top share index was nursing big losses at trading's close as worries over the turmoil in Libya sent the oil price soaring and continued high usage of the European Central Bank's marginal lending facility stoked nervousness over banks. Banks are granted the right to seek overnight loans from th
Read moreLondon afternoon: ECB emergency loans give banks jitters
21st Feb 2011 14:26
Concerns about rising oil prices should Libya descend into civil war are nagging away at investors, while continued high usage of the European Central Bank's marginal lending facility is making traders nervous about banks. Banks are granted the right to seek overnight loans from the European Centr
Read moreLondon midday: Banks hold back FTSE 100
21st Feb 2011 12:12
Shares are in the red as banking stocks fall back and the turmoil in the Arab world casts a shadow. Banks are the main drag, with RBS, Lloyds and Barclays nursing losses following gains last week. RBS and Lloyds are due to release results later this week. The oil price has topped $104 a barrel as
Read moreLondon open: Bid chatter lifts Footsie
21st Feb 2011 08:44
London has recovered its early losses with a smattering of bid talk and some decent trading updates encouraging a few buyers. The US market will be closed for Presidents' Day Invensys is the top performer after weekend reports it is being stalked by international rivals considering a bid for the co
Read moreMondi FY profit surges
21st Feb 2011 07:26
South African paper and packaging firm Mondi increased full year pre-tax four fold and upped its dividend as demand continues to pickup from financial crisis levels. Pre-tax profit rose to €372m for the year ended 31 December 2010 from €49m a year earlier. Group revenue increased 18% to €6.2bn.
Read moreSector movers: Miners down on inflation concerns
15th Feb 2011 16:24
The mining sector has taken a hit as an increase in the Chinese inflation rate raised the prospect of further increases in Chinese interest rates in the near future. Consumer prices rose at an annual rate 4.9% in China in January. The rise compares with a 4.6% increase in December, which was still
Read moreFriday tips round-up: Rio Tinto, Rolls-Royce, Diageo...
11th Feb 2011 06:59
Rio Tinto, which in the bad days of spring 2009 had debts of $39bn (£24.2bn) after the badly timed purchase of Alcan in 2007, exited last year with just $4.3bn of borrowings, or gearing of 6%. It generated a record $23.5bn of cash last year, up 70% on 2009. This is by any standards a staggering tu
Read moreLondon close: Footsie lower as results disappoint
10th Feb 2011 16:29
Footsie staged a late rally to climb back over 6,000, but still ended the day lower amid a very mixed bag of company results. It was a day for corporates to keep their head down as even those companies posting good numbers got whacked. Miner Rio Tinto fell after record full-year profits, a $5bn sha
Read moreSector movers: Mondi gives forestry and paper a lift
10th Feb 2011 16:21
The forestry and paper sector is higher after paper and packaging firm Mondi said underlying operating profit for the year ended 31 December 2010 is expected to be considerably higher than the same time a year earlier. The group, which is listed in London and Johannesburg, said it expects basic un
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Hargreaves Lansdown tops the list
10th Feb 2011 16:05
Wealth management and stockbroking firm Hargreaves Lansdown had a record breaking second half to 2010. Underlying profit before tax in the six months to 31 December rose 41% to £56.3m from £43.1m the year before. Easyjet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou fiercely criticised the payments last year to
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie hovers around 6,000
10th Feb 2011 15:18
Footsie has slumped below 6,000 with insurers and miners featuring prominently among the laggards. Miner Rio Tinto is lower even though it had plenty to please shareholders, with record full-year profits, a $5bn share buyback and 20% increase in the dividend. The Anglo-Australian group made a net
Read moreLondon midday: Shares stuck lower after Bank holds rates
10th Feb 2011 12:29
Shares remain firmly in the red following the Bank of England's decision to leave interest rates and quantitative easing unchanged. The Bank has kept interest rates on hold at a record low of 0.5% Mixed results have added to the unsettled mood. Drinks giant Diageo raised revenues in the six months
Read moreMondi sees considerably higher FY profit
10th Feb 2011 07:23
Paper and packaging firm Mondi said underlying operating profit for the year ended 31 December 2010 is expected to be considerably higher than the same time a year earlier. The group, which is listed in London and Johannesburg, said it expects basic underlying earnings per share for the year ended
Read moreCluff finance boss invests £10,000
22nd Dec 2010 16:55
Cluff Gold's finance director has bought shares. Pete Gardner took up the post in October 2009 but this is the first time he has bought shares. He acquired 10,000 shares at 104.65p each, for a total outlay just short of £10,500. Gardner used to work in corporate finance for accountants PKF.
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Stocks hold off bad weather
21st Dec 2010 15:15
The market has held on to early gains led by paper and packaging group Mondi and information technology services firm Computacenter. Centamin Egypt continues to rise after the results of the Sukari project scoping study showed that the gold miner can more than double the capacity of its process pla
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