London close: Flat finish

30th Jun 2010 15:56

A jumpy start on Wall Street did nothing to steady a volatile Footsie, but despite all the fluctuations the leading index finished hardly changed on the day. London lost 272 points in June, the third monthly decline in a row, and traded a range of well over 400 points. Miners ENRC, Kazakhmys and A

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London afternoon: Miners spoil the party

30th Jun 2010 14:15

The Footsie turned south over the lunch time session as traders took note of the US stock futures market which indicates US markets will open mixed and miners took a turn for the worse. Anglo-Swedish drugs giant AstraZeneca is still the best performer after it received a favourable US ruling in it

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UK SMALLCAP ROUNDUP: HMV Strategy On Track Amid Record Sales

30th Jun 2010 12:30

Dow Jones smallcap news is now on Twitter, allowing you to catch up on the news away from your desk. Go to http://twitter.com/DJ_UK_Smallcaps HMV GROUP PLC (HMV.LN) Wednesday said its strategy of diversifying its business away from CDs and DVDs remains on track, although the CD market didn't de

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London midday: Respectable gains for Footsie

30th Jun 2010 11:58

Gains in London are now approaching respectable, buoyed by strong demand for heavy hitters in the pharmaceuticals and energy sectors. Anglo-Swedish drugs giant AstraZeneca is the best performer after it received a favourable US ruling in its battle to keep control of the patents to its best-selling

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UPDATE: Northgate To Raise Rates After Return To Profit

30th Jun 2010 10:25

(Adds executive and analyst comment.) By Jason Douglas Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Van rental company Northgate PLC (NTG.LN) Wednesday said it will continue to increase its rental rates and finish restructuring its U.K. operations in an effort to grow earnings, after raisi

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UK SMALLCAP ROUNDUP: Scott Wilson Bidder URS Gets Deadline

30th Jun 2010 09:30

Dow Jones smallcap news is now on Twitter, allowing you to catch up on the news away from your desk. Go to http://twitter.com/DJ_UK_Smallcaps SCOTT WILSON GROUP PLC (SWG.LN), a U.K. engineering consultant, Wednesday said its board will give its recommendation to shareholders on the company's bi

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London open: Steady opening for blue chips

30th Jun 2010 08:56

London has stabilised after the pounding for share prices on both sides of the Atlantic. Anglo-Swedish drugs giant AstraZeneca is the best performer after it received a favourable US ruling in its battle to keep control of the patents to its best-selling cholesterol-lowering drug Crestor. BP is a

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Northgate Swings To Profit; To Increase Rental Prices

30th Jun 2010 08:27

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Van rental company Northgate PLC (NTG.LN) Wednesday reported a swing to profit in fiscal 2010 and said its focus now is to complete a restructuring of its U.K. operations and increase its rental prices. Northgate said it intends to replace its 20 individually-branded U.K. bus

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Northgate back in profit

30th Jun 2010 07:54

Car and van renter Northgate has returned to profit after the huge write-downs that nearly sank the company last year, but ruled out a dividend in view of the economic uncertainty in both its main markets. "The company is facing difficult economic conditions in both the UK and Spain. There will be

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Wednesday preview: HMV, Northgate, house prices

29th Jun 2010 15:47

HMV, the favourite haunt of last minute present buyers, issues full year results on Wednesday. The shares are yielding an improbable 13.9%, suggesting that the market thinks the company will not be able to sustain that level of payments; HMV management thinks it can, while boosting dividend cover at

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London close: Footsie keeps climbing

6th Apr 2010 16:29

The day was dominated by news that the general election will be held on May 6 following Prime Minister Gordon Brown's announcement, but Footsie was lifted higher by unrelated factors. Petrofac led the market higher on its first day of trading since demerging its UK Continental Shelf assets into a

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London afternoon: Early gains dissipating

6th Apr 2010 14:23

Footsie is still in the blue but the gains are slowly dribbling away on a day which, aside from the heavily trailed dissolution of Parliament, is light on news. Petrofac is leading the market higher on its first day of trading since demerging its UK Continental Shelf assets into a new company, Enqu

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London midday: Stocks rise as poll date is confirmed

6th Apr 2010 12:14

With official confirmation of a May 6 election date now received the market is enjoying an end to the uncertainty, though sentiment is tempered by the prospect of a hung parliament. Petrofac is leading the market higher on its first day of trading since demerging its UK Continental Shelf assets int

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London open: Gains as Brown names the day

6th Apr 2010 08:52

With Gordon Brown expected to call an election for 6 May, election fever has gone into overdrive. Investors are more focused on resource plays this morning, though. Oil hit an 18-month high last night in New York as the good monthly jobs number last week encouraged more optimism on the US economy.

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London pre-open: Confident start expected

6th Apr 2010 07:40

With Prime Minister Gordon Brown expected to visit the Queen today to ask her to dissolve Parliament the market has put to one side concerns about the possibility that there will be no clear winner in a general election and looks set to resume after the Easter break in confident manner. Traders exp

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