London midday: Pearson beats expectations
27th Jul 2009 12:07
Strong mining stocks are supporting the Footsie's quest to achieve a record breaking 12th successive day of gains today. Lonmin leads the mining sector higher after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to "neutral" from "sell". Kazakhmys and Antofagasta are the next best performers. Pearson remains th
Read moreLondon open: Footsie on course for record streak
27th Jul 2009 08:20
London's winning streak continues with Footsie still firmly on course for a record-equalling eleventh straight day of gains. Twelve days of gains would make this streak the best ever for Footsie. Pearson is the best performer on a much better than expected trading update. Pearson upped its interim
Read moreLondon pre-open: More gains ahead
27th Jul 2009 07:37
London's top stocks look set to continue their recent winning streak, with traders expecting Footsie to add 60 points in early dealings. Bus and train group Stagecoach is in exclusive discussions with the bidder for National Express to acquire some of its businesses if the offer goes through. Repo
Read moreNational Grid on track
27th Jul 2009 07:14
Gas and electricity pipeline grid operator National Grid said it is on track to deliver a strong performance in 2009/10. The group added that it is also well positioned to deliver a year of strong performance which will continue to underpin its 8% dividend growth policy through to March 2012. "I
Read moreLondon midday: Shares pause for breath
22nd Jul 2009 12:07
Leading shares are mixed, with losses on miners and banks offset by gains on defensive favourites such as tobaccos and utilities. Mining giant BHP Billiton set the tone for the sector with its annual production report this morning. Quarterly (Apr-Jun) production increased for 12 major commodities
Read moreSunday tips round-up: Diploma, SABMiller, Hays
12th Jul 2009 12:53
Distributor Diploma shares are trading on a September 2009 earnings multiple of 8.9 times, which does not look too demanding, and they are yielding 5.8%, which is pretty impressive. The strength of the group's balance sheet means that this looks pretty secure and the company is well placed to snap
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Tesco, Whitbread, Halma
17th Jun 2009 06:46
First-quarter results from supermarket group Tesco were very good but the shares are sitting at a prospective February 2010 multiple of just 12.2 times, a discount to its rivals. This discount is unwarranted. Shares in Tesco were first recommended at 329¾p in December. They remain a buy and are sti
Read moreLondon close: Late rally not enough
8th Jun 2009 17:01
Footsie came off its lows towards the close of trading Monday but still finished lower, held back by a weak mining sector. Mining stocks Vedanta Resources, Eurasian Natural Resources, Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Fresnillo, Lonmin and Antofagasta all featured among the ten worst perfor
Read moreLondon afternoon: Lloyds rump placed at 60p
8th Jun 2009 14:20
Footsie clawed back some losses over the lunch time session but remains in the red, thanks largely to the weakness of miners, which are following metals prices lower. Mining stocks Vedanta Resources, Eurasian Natural Resources, Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Fresnillo, Lonmin and Antofa
Read moreLondon midday: Miners weigh down Footsie
8th Jun 2009 12:19
London's blue-chip index is doing its usual trick of following the miners, which today are in a down phase. The worst performers in the mining sector are Vedanta Resources, Eurasian Natural Resources, Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Fresnillo and Antofagasta. Hochschild Mining follows
Read moreLondon open: Bright start for Footsie
29th May 2009 08:39
London has started the session in style following last night's three-figure gains on Wall Street. Retailers are pushing ahead led by Debenhams, Marks & Spencer and Kesa. The latest house price index from Nationwide showed a jump of 1.2% in May providing further hope that the housing market slump is
Read moreLondon pre-open: Heading higher
29th May 2009 07:40
London looks like starting the session in style following last night's three-figure gains on Wall Street, with the blue chip index predicted to rise over 40 points early on. Water company Severn Trent saw profits fall for the year due to increased energy and commodity costs. Profit before tax for
Read moreNational Grid to appeal metering contracts fine
29th May 2009 07:08
Gas and electricity pipeline grid operator National Grid is to appeal a Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) judgement on Gas Metering Contracts. On 29 April 2009, the Tribunal agreed with regulator Ofgem's original finding that the company was in breach of competition law by entering into a number of
Read moreNewmark directors buy
15th May 2009 16:39
Investment holding firm Newmark Security said non-executive chairman Maurice Dwek purchased over 5.78m shares in the group. He paid 1p per share and increased his total stake to 59m shares, representing 13.12% of the group. Non-executive director Alexander Reid purchased 5m at the same price to in
Read moreLondon close: Late surge boosts blue chips
14th May 2009 16:48
A late surge helped Footsie close firmly in the blue after it traded within a narrow range for the bulk of the day. BT set a gloomy tone with worse than anticipated results and a dividend cut more severe than predicted, but other results got a more encouraging response. Insurer Prudential rose by
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