London open: Shares dive as Greek crisis drags on
16th Jun 2011 08:33
Shares have taken a dive as the Greek debt crisis continues to set traders' nerves on edge and after US shares fell following some disappointing economic data from the world's biggest economy. Greek prime minister George Papandreou is to seek a vote of confidence in the Greek parliament today, as t
Read moreMulberry profit strides ahead
16th Jun 2011 08:01
Upmarket fashion group Mulberry defied consumer gloom to reveal better than expected full year pre-tax profit as demand for its products soared. Pre-tax profit for the year ended 31 March surged to £23.3m from £5.1m a year earlier after strong demand for luxury goods in the UK and abroad. The Ba
Read moreWolseley chairman spends £200,000
14th Apr 2011 17:03
Gareth Davis, the chairman of Wolseley, has splashed out nearly £200,000 on shares in the plumbing supplies group. Davis, who took up his post at Wolseley at the beginning of the year after he stepped down as the chief of Lambert & Butler cigarettes maker Imperial Tobacco, took 9,720 shares at 2,14
Read moreLondon close: Japan gloom stifles rally
11th Mar 2011 16:41
The devastating earthquake in Japan this morning overshadowed today's trading but shares struggled to climb into the blue and finished just a few points short. The tsunami resulting from the earthquake has already killed a large number of people in Japan, with police in the port of Sendai reporting
Read moreLondon afternoon: Rally runs out of steam
11th Mar 2011 14:29
An attempt at continuing the late-morning rally fizzled out over the lunch time session, but prices are not as soft as might be expected given the array of bad news out there, such as the Japanese earthquake, the Libyan situation and the continuing concerns about European sovereign debt. The insura
Read moreLondon midday: Japan earthquake casts shadow
11th Mar 2011 12:21
The earthquake in Japan is casting a shadow over trading today and the FTSE 100 sits just a few points above 5,800 now. The insurance sector has been hit by worries over the possible effects of the Japan earthquake. Aviva, Legal & General and Prudential are suffering losses. The damage caused by th
Read moreLondon open: Footsie recovers early losses
11th Mar 2011 09:07
London is trying to stage a rally after the rout on Wall Street yesterday over the situation in Libya, sovereign debt in the eurozone and overnight a huge earthquake in Japan. Bus and train group FirstGroup remains on track to hit full-year to earnings and cash targets, but warns it's been a bumpy
Read moreMulberry to beat forecasts
11th Mar 2011 08:08
No problems with recession for the rich and famous or their suppliers such as posh handbag and accessory maker Mulberry, which now expects to beat market forecasts for the current year. "Strong UK and export sales during January and February have continued into March and sales and profit for the
Read moreLondon close: Shares end week on a high
21st Jan 2011 16:59
London's leading share index went into the weekend on a high after falls the previous two days. Royal Bank of Scotland led the top share index higher after the FT reported that bank executives and officials at the Treasury are talking about ways for the bank to exit the toxic asset scheme. After
Read moreASOS director banks £2.8m
21st Jan 2011 16:42
Jon Kamaluddin, the international director of AIM-quoted online fashion retailer ASOS, has secured a near-£2.8m gain by exercising options and selling the shares immediately. Kamaluddin exercised options over 80,000 shares at 43.5p a share and 96,995 shares at 58.25p a share. That is a total cost
Read moreLondon afternoon: Miners lead revival
21st Jan 2011 14:35
After yesterday's triple-digit fall the Footsie has clawed back around half of those losses, helped by a strong performance from miners. Weather conditions in Australia have improved enough to allow Rio Tinto to end the force majeure event that's disrupted supplies of aluminium from Boyne Smelters
Read moreBroker tips: Rentokil, Mulberry, Bellway
21st Jan 2011 13:51
Panmure Gordon has upped the price target for Rentokil Initial , having crunched the numbers and come up with a new sum of the parts (SOTP) valuation. The new price target is 108p, up from 96p, even though the new valuation is based on based on the group's troublesome City Link business being wort
Read moreBroker snap: Mulberry: expensive, but worth it
21st Jan 2011 13:25
For years, shares in Mulberry have, like their handbags, looked expensive, but people still keep buying them (the shares, and the handbags). Broker finnCap reckons the reasons why people keep faith with the shares is the expectation of upgrades to earnings forecasts, and the latest trading update s
Read moreLondon midday: RBS leads the way
21st Jan 2011 12:08
Royal Bank of Scotland is leading the top share index higher after the FT reported that bank executives and officials at the Treasury are talking about ways for the bank to exit the toxic asset scheme. Fellow bank Lloyds is also going well. Weather conditions in Australia have improved enough to
Read moreLondon open: Footsie recoups losses
21st Jan 2011 08:53
London's leading shares have claw backed a small proportion of yesterday's heavy losses, encouraged by the late rally on Wall Street yesterday. Royal Bank of Scotland is leading the way forward after the FT reported that bank executives and officials at the Treasury are talking about ways for the
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