London close: Financials lead advance
10th Dec 2009 16:31
UK shares closed not far off their best levels of the day as a strong start on Wall Street built on substantial support for UK-listed financial plays. Investors welcomed Alistair Darling's decision yesterday not to slap a windfall tax on banks and speculation that British lenders had agreed to resc
Read moreLondon afternoon: RBS rises on asset sale hopes
10th Dec 2009 14:19
Rises outnumber falls by around three to one among Footsie constituents, as the blue- chip index consolidates the morning's gains. Banks and insurers remains the flavour of the day, while properties and miners are out of favour. Royal Bank of Scotland leads the market rally on press reports that i
Read moreLondon midday: Banks lead rally
10th Dec 2009 12:34
Financial stocks are driving the market higher, with banks and insurers featuring prominently among the best performers. In the banking sector RBS, Lloyds and Barclays rack up the best gains while among insurers Standard Life, Legal & General and RSA are to the fore. Property stocks, however, are
Read moreLondon open: Shares start down
10th Dec 2009 08:15
London's top stocks are slightly lower in early dealings Thursday morning despite progress from US blue chips last night. United Utilities is leading the fallers following news that its chief financial officer Tim Weller is to jump ship to take over the CFO role at the Cable & Wireless division, Ca
Read moreMoss Bros upbeat after improvement
10th Dec 2009 08:04
Menswear retailer Moss Bros said it had seen a 'marked improvement' in trading in the 18 weeks to 5 December, with like-for-like sales up 5.5%. The company said the improvement is expected to have a 'materially positive' impact on expectations for the full year. 'We are ever mindful of the uncerta
Read moreMoss Bros trading director steps down
6th Oct 2009 08:28
Menswear retailer Moss Bros confirmed that trading director Ciaran McCloskey will be leaving the group with effect from 6 October 2009. His role on the Board will not be replaced, Moss Bros said in Tuesday's short company statement. McCloskey joined Moss Bros in June 2007 as director of business
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Compass, Moss Bros, Close Brothers
30th Sep 2009 06:45
Caterer Compass shares trade on a 2009 price earnings rating of 12.7 times, and offering a dividend yield of 3.7%, there are certainly better value stocks around, but Compass is a core holding; an investment to add to the portfolio and not worry about. Investors should take the chance to stock up. B
Read moreMoss Bros H1 losses widen
29th Sep 2009 07:30
Menswear retailer Moss Bros widened pre-tax losses in the first half while sales fell but believes it will meet full year expectations after improved trading in the second half. During the six months to 1 August pre-tax losses grew to £3.0m from a pre tax loss of £2.2m the year before. Total group
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Friends Provident, Venture Production,
13th Jul 2009 06:19
Clive Cowdery, the insurance tycoon, plans to bypass the Friends Provident board and take his £1.7 billion bid directly to shareholders as he forges ahead with plans to create a super-sized insurer. The move comes before an expected formal confirmation today from the life and pensions group that it
Read moreHalfords chief buys stake
15th Jun 2009 16:06
Halfords boss David Wild has spent £137,000 on shares in the bike and car parts retailer less than a week after slightly better than expected full-year profits. Wild bought 40,000 shares at 343p each, just a few pennies off the 52-week high of 346p. They were down near 200p last October. Prof
Read moreSuits boost to Moss Bros sales
29th May 2009 07:39
Good demand for suits has boosted sales at menswear chain Moss Bros over the past ten weeks, though it expects the "very challenging current trading environment" to continue through the remainder of the year. Refelecting that, like for like sales for the 16 weeks to 23 May fell by 3.9%, with total
Read more