London close: Directionless day for FTSE 100
29th Sep 2009 16:52
Footsie finished slightly in the red after another day of flitting between the red and the blue while not showing any real sense of direction. Swiss bank Credit Suisse has issued a bearish note on the property sector prompting the likes of Land Securities, SEGRO and Hammerson to shift into reverse
Read moreLondon afternoon: Back to square one
29th Sep 2009 14:34
It's back to square one for the Footsie which is barely changed on the day, with gains on banks and insurers counterbalanced by miners and property stocks. Swiss bank Credit Suisse has issued a bearish note on the property sector prompting the likes of Land Securities, SEGRO and Hammerson to shift
Read moreLondon midday: Blue chips still struggling
29th Sep 2009 12:06
Miners and property stocks are keeping Footsie in the red despite the banking and insurance sectors going well. Swiss bank Credit Suisse has issued a bearish note on the property sector prompting the likes of British Land, Land Securities, SEGRO and Hammerson to shift into reverse. Credit Suisse's
Read moreMitie sees steady sales growth
29th Sep 2009 08:07
Support services group Mitie expects revenue growth this year will be in the mid single-digit range, with stronger growth in the second half of the year reflecting the benefit of contracts and project work. That forecast, for the financial year to March 2010, excludes the impact of the acquisition
Read moreThursday tips round-up: Balfour Beatty, BHP Billiton, Mitie
13th Aug 2009 06:07
Balfour Beatty has an enviable balance sheet, a strong order book and diversified income streams. It is likely to be a beneficiary of infrastructure spending in continuing stimulus packages and fears about future public spending have been overdone over the past few months. The shares remain a buy at
Read moreMITIE raises £43m to fund purchase
12th Aug 2009 14:33
Support and maintenance services supplier MITIE has raised about £43m from a placing to help fund today's acquisition of Dalkia Energy and Parkersell Limited. The company, which placed 19m shares at 225p each, has agreed to pay £130m on a cash and debt free basis for the businesses. All but £10m ha
Read moreLondon close: Footsie falls for fourth week
10th Jul 2009 17:04
London's blue-chip index fell for the fourth week in succession, with insurance and resource stocks the major fallers today. Aviva was the biggest casualty as fears resurfaced about the future of the company's dividend but its fellow life assurance stocks Prudential, Standard Life, Legal & General
Read moreLondon afternoon: Equities drift down in quiet trading
10th Jul 2009 14:06
London equities are sleepwalking to a dull end to a dull week. Life assurance stocks feature among the weakest performers as global markets continue to drift lower. Aviva, Prudential and Standard Life suffer the biggest falls in the sector. In the mining sector Rio Tinto is still under a cloud aft
Read moreLondon midday: Downward drift continues
10th Jul 2009 12:23
Equities continue to drift lower with blue-chips faring worse than second-liners. Better than expected Producer Prices data has limited the falls in London but expectations of a weak opening on Wall Street has not helped matters. UK producer output prices in June fell 0.2%, after rising 0.4% in May
Read moreLondon open: Crude dip drags Footsie down
10th Jul 2009 08:44
London's blue chips have given back some of yesterday's gains though trading is light after a dull day on Wall St yesterday. Oil-related stocks are the main movers, with light crude futures dipping below $60 per barrel for the first time in weeks. Royal Dutch Shell and BP are weak in sympathy. Oil
Read moreLondon pre-open: Footsie points lower
10th Jul 2009 07:41
London's top stocks look set to give back some of yesterday's gains. Traders expects Footsie to open around 15 points lower. Bovis has scrapped its interim dividend but said the housing market has shown signs of stabilisation during the first half. The housebuilder said it has decided not to pay
Read moreMitie wins £100m deal with Santander
10th Jul 2009 07:29
Support and maintenance services supplier Mitie has made a steady start to the year with revenues booked already at 78% of the expected total for the year. This time last year the total booked was 83%. Group earnings for the year to March are developing in line with management's expectations, Miti
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Mitie, Cranswick, Big Yellow
19th May 2009 06:41
Mitie, the group which has, among others, the contract to clean the Tower of London reported stellar preliminary results yesterday, with revenues, profits and, most importantly, the dividend all up. Mitie is quite a bit smaller than Serco or Capita and the Independent urges urge investors to back a
Read moreLondon close: Footsie climbs higher
18th May 2009 16:50
Footsie closed with strong gains after steady advances throughout the afternoon, supported by a good showing on Wall Street. It was India that stole the show among world markets though in the wake of the Congress party's election victory. Vedanta, which mines for copper in the country, shrugged off
Read moreLondon afternoon: Momentum gathers pace
18th May 2009 14:33
A strong start on Wall Street has given renewed impetus to London's advance, with a strong showing by the Indian stock exchange also benefiting some India-focused stocks. Vedanta is a rare bright spot among miners, benefiting from the bounce Indian stocks received in the wake of the country's elect
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