London open: Modest gains
15th Apr 2010 08:43
London's benchmark index has kicked off with modest gains with banks proving popular early on. Investors are keen on the likes of Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC Holdings But they seem unsure about Rio Tinto, which released a first quarter update. The group said its operation continued
Read moreMoneysupermarket.com on course for FY
15th Apr 2010 07:48
Price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com enjoyed a solid first quarter, returning to revenue growth, and remains confident for the full year. Internet revenue rose by 6% in the quarter to 31 March, despite a 4% fall in visitors on the year after a slow January across the entire business. Reve
Read moreThursday tips round-up: Henderson, Moneysupermarket, Melrose
25th Feb 2010 05:54
Investors have applauded Henderson's New Star deal, more than doubling the share price from 50½p in January 2009 to yesterday's close of 122.1p. The price has eased since January amid predictions of a forthcoming market correction and renewed worries that a double-dip recession will weaken consumer
Read moreLondon close: Carnival provides lift
24th Feb 2010 16:55
Footsie closed slightly higher, with Carnival giving London's blue chips a lift after announcing that it is going to increase the price of its cruises. Carnival was leading the FTSE 100 higher after the cruise operator said it will be lifting ticket prices following strong reservations activity for
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks steady at higher levels
24th Feb 2010 14:12
London has moved into consolidation mode in the afternoon session, ahead of a moderately firmer opening on Wall Street. HSBC remains the top performer as reports circulate that the company is preparing to sell its train leasing business for around £2bn. Sentiment towards the bank is also sweetened
Read moreLondon midday: HSBC rolls higher on train sale rumours
24th Feb 2010 12:04
Banks are leading the market's advance today, more than offsetting weakness among miners. HSBC was the morning's top performer as reports circulate that the company is preparing to sell its train leasing business for around £2bn. Sentiment towards the bank is also sweetened by reports that the boar
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Melrose oil production impresses
24th Feb 2010 10:13
Shares in Melrose Resources gushed higher after the oil and gas explorer and producer gave an update of its daily production in 2009 that was slightly ahead of its latest guidance. Output during the year amounted to 38.6m barrels of oil a day (Mboepd), compared with guidance of 38.5Mboepd. Price co
Read moreLondon open: Early gains for blue chips
24th Feb 2010 08:54
Financials are keeping Footsie moving forward this morning. Standard Life, HSBC and Aviva are all in demand despite the 100-point fall on the Dow overnight. Reckitt Benckiser is lower again on worries over the inquiry into its sales methods for Gaviscon heartburn products. Mining giant BHP Billit
Read moreMoneysupermarket.com confident for FY
24th Feb 2010 07:33
Price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com posted a 26% decline in full year EBITDA but added it was confident in its prospects for the full year. Trading improved significantly in February after a slow start in January. Adjusted EBITDA for the year ending 31 December 2009 fell to £36.0m from £
Read moreLondon close: Footsie finishes below 5,500
12th Jan 2010 17:17
Equities staged a rally in the afternoon session but it was not enough to push the Footsie back into the black, largely because of weak miners, which took fright at moves by the Chinese central bank to cool down the economy by increasing the reserves ratio for Chinese commercial banks. Fresnillo, L
Read moreLondon afternoon: Chinese banking move sparks selling
12th Jan 2010 14:47
News that China has raised the reserve requirements for its banks in an attempt to choke growth in the economy has spooked global markets, including London. The prospect of China slowing down economic expansion does not sit well with miners such as Fresnillo, Lonmin, Kazakhmys, Vedanta and Xstrata,
Read moreLondon midday: Retreat picks up pace
12th Jan 2010 12:11
The market's retreat is picking up pace, as the losses suffered by miners lengthen in the wake of disappointing results from Alcoa, the US aluminium producer. Alcoa, which kicked off the fourth quarter earnings reporting season in the US, declared a slightly worse than expected loss from continuing
Read moreMoneysupermarket.com trades as expected
12th Jan 2010 07:54
Moneysupermarket.com, the price comparison website, today confirmed that its 2009 results were in line with what was expected when it last updated in November. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) are expected to be around £36m. 'The group's financial pos
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Lonmin, Cranswick, Amlin
17th Nov 2009 06:39
Away from the Xstrata situation, there is little reason to get excited about Lonmin. The group suffered as platinum prices fell last year, and even as demand for the metal has improved, the strength of the rand in South Africa, where Lonmin has its operations, has not helped. The platinum miner sa
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Bellway and Barratt build gains
16th Nov 2009 12:12
Shares in housebuilders Bellway and Barratt climb after peer Persimmon said it has started to buy sizeable parcels of land again as sales have recovered to the point where it is fully sold this year, while orders for 2010 are up 50%. Persimmon itself fails to make it into the top 10 though. Among
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