London open: Footsie slips into red in early trading
1st Jun 2011 08:29
The Footsie has opened up in the red, with ex-div stocks National Grid, Marks and Spencer and Vodafone providing an early drag. Plumber's merchant Wolseley has taken a hit after it saw like for like (LFL) revenue growth of 6% in its third quarter. This represents a slow-down from the LFL growth ra
Read moreLondon close: More gains for FTSE 100
19th May 2011 16:48
Stocks finished with good gains again, though slightly off earlier highs, on a busy company news day. Shares in Investec rose sharply after the asset manager posted a rise in profits in the year to 31 March. The company, which operates in South Africa, the UK, Australia and other markets, said oper
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Investec leads the rise
19th May 2011 15:19
Shares in Investec rose sharply after the asset manager posted a rise in profits in the year to 31 March. The company, which operates in South Africa, the UK, Australia and other markets, said operating profit before tax £434.4m from £432.3m the previous year. Meanwhile Invensys, the engineering an
Read moreLondon midday: Strong gains for FTSE 100
19th May 2011 12:10
Stocks are testing the 6,000 point mark now as investors digest a flurry of updates. Shares in Investec rose sharply after the asset manager posted a rise in profits in the year to 31 March. The company, which operates in South Africa, the UK, Australia and other markets, said operating profit befo
Read moreLondon open: Bright start for stocks
19th May 2011 08:35
It's been a strong start for the Footsie, with Investec among the high risers after revealing its full-year results. The specialist bank and asset manager saw operating profit before tax rise by 0.5%, as strong growth in Asset Management, Wealth and Investment and Investment Banking was able to off
Read moreLondon pre-open: Traders raise glass to firm start
19th May 2011 07:40
London is set for a boozy, cheery start with trading updates from brewers SABMIller and Marston's occupying attention in the early going. City traders expect the top-shares index to open around 34 points firmer at 5,958. National Grid saw pre-tax profit rise by 25% in the year to the end of March,
Read moreOptimism flowing through National Grid
19th May 2011 07:04
Power grid operator National Grid's profits came in a shade above expectations, in a year where it splashed out a record £3.6bn in capital expenditure. Adjusted pre-tax profit of £2.47bn in the year ended March 31st was up 25% on the £1.97bn achieved the year before, and ahead of market expectation
Read moreThursday preview: National Grid, Marston's, Retail Sales
18th May 2011 18:25
Power provider National Grid's full year results are expected to unveil profits before tax of £2.43bn on revenue of £15.14bn. Earnings per share (EPS) are tipped to be 49.25p while market consensus for the full year dividend if 36.57p. "Despite a major macro tailwind in the UK, we would expect the
Read moreBroker tips: National Grid, Babcock, De La Rue
17th May 2011 12:39
While Nomura raises its estimates for power and gas grid operator National Grid (NG) ahead of the group's full-year results due on Thursday, the broker says that many positives are already priced in to the stock, and leaves its 'neutral' rating. The broker notes that NG has been a notable outperfo
Read moreBroker snap: Positives priced in at National Grid
17th May 2011 11:56
While Nomura raises its estimates for power and gas grid operator National Grid (NG) ahead of the group's full-year results due on Thursday, the broker says that many positives are already priced in to the stock, and leaves its 'neutral' rating. The broker notes that NG has been a notable outperfo
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Aggreko leads the way
4th Apr 2011 17:32
Temporary power supplier Aggreko was the best performer of the day after announcing that it is to help Japan keep its electricity supply up and running after last month's devastating earthquake. National Grid edged higher after RBS upgraded the power and gas grid operator to a 'hold', from 'sell',
Read moreBroker tips: CPP, National Grid, Alterian
4th Apr 2011 12:51
UBS downgrades identity theft and credit card insurer CPP and more than halves the target price following the FSA investigation. The group announced last week that the Financial Services Administration (FSA) had raised sales-related issues with its identity protection products, reducing profits in
Read moreBroker snap: National Grid upgraded after Ofgem move
4th Apr 2011 12:23
RBS upgrades power and gas grid operator National Grid to a 'hold', from 'sell', now that Ofgem has sweetened its initial approach to price regulation. The broker originally identified £650m of cashflow at risk from the 'RIIO' (performance-based model) UK price controls, but it notes that Ofgem's l
Read moreLondon close: Stocks hold on to gains
21st Mar 2011 16:17
The FTSE 100 remained broadly flat since 0900, holding on to gains made in early trading. Sentiment was boosted by signs of progress being made in the handling of the nuclear crisis. Two reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan were successfully brought into cold shut down unde
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks consolidate gains
21st Mar 2011 14:53
Stocks have largely been in consolidation mode in the afternoon session after a strong performance this morning. Telecoms titan Vodafone is a high riser on the back of AT&T's $39bn bid for Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA. If the bid is allowed, the enlarged firm will become number one, but both AT&
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