Thursday preview: SABMiller, Mothercare, National Grid
19th May 2010 17:35
South African brewer SABMiller is probably looking forward to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa more than most companies but until then it is football crazy Latin America that is expected to drive growth in the company's profits. Charles Stanley thinks the Latin American region will report a 19% i
Read moreLondon midday: Greece woes can't halt bulls
23rd Apr 2010 12:29
London's leading shares have barely blinked on the news that Greece has asked for the $45bn EU/IMF aid package to be activated. The news hit the Euro, but has had little impact on a strong morning for UK equities. Oil company BP said it is initiating a rapid response to clear up an oil spill follo
Read moreLondon open: Minimal gains posted
23rd Apr 2010 08:28
London's leading shares are showing slight gains as a late recovery on Wall Street boosts investor sentiment. Banks are amongst the early movers with RBS, Barclays and Lloyds all higher, while utilities such as Severnt Trent, National Grid and United Utilities are at the bottom end of the market.
Read moreLondon close:Equities advance on broad front
20th Apr 2010 17:11
London brought its two day losing streak to an end today, despite a mixed reception to the day's major company announcements and a disappointing set of inflation figures. A sharp rise in fuel costs was responsible for much of the acceleration in the inflation rate, which climbed to 3.4% from 3% in
Read moreLondon afternoon: Tesco heads small band of fallers
20th Apr 2010 14:13
The blue-chip index shuffled sideways over the lunch time session with not even expectations of a firm opening on Wall Street encouraging buyers to commit further. Earlier in the day sentiment had received a knock from worse than expected inflation data. A sharp rise in fuel costs was responsible f
Read moreLondon midday: Equities resume upward trend
20th Apr 2010 12:15
Worse than expected inflation figures gave the market pause for thought but leading equities have since recovered their poise and ended the morning session on an upward trend. A sharp rise in fuel costs was responsible for much of the acceleration in the inflation rate, which climbed to 3.4% from 3
Read moreSector movers: Industrial Transportation shrugs off James Fisher weakness
16th Mar 2010 13:02
The industrial transportation sector is going well despite shares in James Fisher sinking a little following the marine service company's full-year results. The company saw a rise in revenues and profits in 2009 as its specialist technical division helped it shrug off the effects of the global econ
Read moreNational Grid considers next steps after court ruling
23rd Feb 2010 15:58
National Grid said it is reviewing its next steps which could include an appeal to the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal today dismissed its grounds for appealing against a judgement made by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) in April 2009. The CAT announced in April 2009 that they upheld,
Read moreRegulator proposes central energy buyer
3rd Feb 2010 07:32
Energy regulator Ofgem has suggested creating a central energy buyer to fund the UK's energy needs in a series of proposals that would see government take much firmer control over UK energy supplies. The regulator warned that the UK faced energy shortages and soaring prices unless more was done to
Read moreLondon close: Third day of gains
2nd Feb 2010 16:39
A strong start in the US helped London rise for the third day in a row and finish at its highest in over a week, with commodity plays the pick of the bunch. Investors piled into miners as metal prices took off and brokers backed a further recovery in share prices. Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC)
Read moreLSE launches retail bond market
1st Feb 2010 17:18
Some 33 years after the Jim Callaghan-led Labour government became an unlikely midwife to the concept of a 'share owning democracy' with its privatisation of a chunk of the government's stake in BP, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is hoping to convert a proportion of the British public to the appeal
Read moreBroker snap: De La Rue outlook 'excellent'
26th Jan 2010 10:24
Banknote printer De La Rue today reported strong trading in its third quarter and analysts at Ambrian feel the dynamics driving the outlook remain 'excellent'. The broker, which rates the shares a 'buy', points to a combination of market position, reputation, customer relationships and intellectual
Read moreLondon open: Blue chips struggle
26th Jan 2010 08:49
Footsie has fallen again in early dealing with miners again under pressure on worries about overheating in China and the possibility its government will slam the economic brakes on. The big mining names are all lower this morning. Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Lonmin are the worst affected, but fal
Read moreLondon close: Downward drift continues
25th Jan 2010 16:33
Nervousness returned to the markets after an indecisive start, sending Footsie to another day of losses on top of last week's slump. British American Tobacco, National Grid, GlaxoSmithKline and Scottish & Southern Energy were among the fallers. Miners were also hit, with ENRC, Anglo American and R
Read moreLondon afternoon: Shares drift lower
25th Jan 2010 16:04
Nervousness has returned to the markets following an indecisive start to the day. The UK's leading index has suffered further losses after last week's 200 point slump as investors discussed the potential impact of President Obama's new bank controls. US shares fell heavily last week on the shock
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