London midday: Footsie holding on
25th Jan 2010 12:22
London continues to trade just above 5,300 thanks to financials and mining plays, although defensive issues are proving a drag. The UK's leading index slumped 200 points last week as investors discussed the potential impact of President Obama's new bank controls. But it appears there's a feeling t
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: Cadbury, Ladbrokes, Mitchells & Butlers
12th Jan 2010 06:30
Irene Rosenfeld, the chief executive of Kraft, has been dealt an extraordinary snub by two leading shareholders in Cadbury after trying to launch a charm offensive. Ms Rosenfeld has sought to meet a number of institutional investors in the British confectionery group before next week's final deadli
Read moreNational Grid warns of new gas shortage
11th Jan 2010 16:18
Cold weather has delayed gas imports from Norway, reducing Britain's reserves of stored gas to just six hours and forcing National Grid to issue another gas shortage alert. Supplies from Norwegian Sea gas field Ormen Lange, which is capable of providing a fifth of the UK's gas, were stopped by ener
Read moreLondon close: Footsie flatlines
7th Jan 2010 16:46
A late afternoon rally fizzled out to leave London's blue chip index little changed on the day. Banks emerged from a sticky start as the day's best performers led by Barclays and Lloyds Bank, which both received decent write-ups in an otherwise cautious broker note from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. It
Read moreGas usage to hit all time high
7th Jan 2010 15:06
Demand for gas in the UK is expected to hit a record high today, as the big freeze continues. Gas pipeline operator National Grid forecast that demand would reach 456.7m cubic metres (mcm) of gas, beating the previous record figure of 449 mcm seven years ago to the day. National Grid had to issue
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks defy broker gloom
7th Jan 2010 14:27
Leading shares are mixed, with the Footsie barely changed now miners have recovered from a weak showing in the morning session to show gains in the afternoon. Kazakhmys and Fresnillo lead the mining sector but their gains are surpassed by two stocks from the banking sector where Barclays and Lloyds
Read moreDisappointment as Ofgem postpones price review
21st Dec 2009 12:24
National Grid is 'disappointed' with today's decision by Ofgem to postpone the next transmission price control review (TPCR5) for a year until 2013. The energy regulator said Monday it will extend the 2007-2012 gas and electricity transmission price control by one year so that it will now run until
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie in the blue
2nd Dec 2009 14:52
Though banks are still looking sickly, Footsie has struggled into positive territory on the back of a strong mining sector. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) remains the biggest faller among blue-chips, with lingering concerns about its exposure to Dubai World's debt now overshadowed by with newspaper r
Read moreLondon midday: Banks get battered
2nd Dec 2009 12:11
After yesterday's strong gains, equities come off the boil today with banks, in particular, getting hammered, on enduring fears over exposure to Dubai debt. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking are the big fallers among blue-chips, while elsewhere in the banking sector Barclays is also o
Read moreLondon open: Flat start for Footsie
2nd Dec 2009 08:41
London's blue chips have made a flat start despite gains for miners as gold hit a new record high. The metal rose above $1,200 per ounce again overnight in Asia as investors sought refuge from a weak dollar and Dubai's woes. Lonmin, Vedanta and Kazakhmys are all going well. Offsetting that are som
Read moreLondon midday: Share prices steady down
30th Nov 2009 12:09
UK share prices are stabilising at lower levels after hopes of a continued rebound from the Dubai-inspired shake-out on Thursday were quashed by disappointing UK consumer confidence figures. Figures from market research firm Gfk NOP showed consumer sentiment fell to -17 from -13 in October. Middle
Read moreBroker tips: Utilities, Mitchells & Butlers, Ricardo
26th Nov 2009 12:42
On the day when Ofwat, the water regulator, released its final ruling on pricing restrictions for the water companies, Morgan Stanley has issued a timely review of the utilities sector. Two of Thursday morning's best performing stocks, Severn Trent and United Utilities, are named as Morgan Stanley'
Read moreBroker snap: MS sees earnings risk for utilities
26th Nov 2009 10:45
On the day when Ofwat, the water regulator, released its final ruling on pricing restrictions for the water companies, Morgan Stanley has issued a timely review of the utilities sector. Two of Thursday morning's best performing stocks, Severn Trent and United Utilities, are named as Morgan Stanley'
Read moreFriday tips round-up: National Grid, Unite, BG
20th Nov 2009 06:36
National Grid prides itself on a highly risk-averse business model, and yesterday's half-year results go some way to vindicating the strategy. And there is plenty more to come. The integration of the $12bn purchase of KeySpan in 2007 is not yet complete but is on track for $200m-worth of annual sav
Read moreLondon close: Footsie ends weakly
19th Nov 2009 16:46
Footsie turned sharply lower at the close after a very poor start on Wall Street with the Dow down by more than 150 points in the first few hours. Miners bore the brunt of the selling with Antofagasta, Anglo American, Xstrata, Randgold Resources, Rio Tinto and Vedanta all lower. Platinum refiner J
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