London afternoon: Footsie still in the blue
13th May 2010 15:06
London's top stocks are easing down towards the close after a flat start on Wall Street and some calming down of the excitement over the plans of the new Conservative-Liberal government. The focus now is on just how they new government intends to get the UK's debt levels down, with a VAT rise to 20
Read moreLondon midday: BT leads market higher
13th May 2010 12:07
London's top stocks are making good gains helped by BT's full-year numbers and a decent showing from the miners. BT is the strongest riser on news that telecoms giant returned to the black in the last quarter and the full year and reported a 6% rise in the dividend. Pre-tax profit hit £1.01bn in th
Read moreLondon open: FTSE posts early gains
13th May 2010 08:20
London's top stocks are on the rise in early dealings on Thursday, tracking triple-digit gains on Wall Street last night and a rally in Asia. Global markets appear more optimistic about Europe's ability to sort out the region's debt problems and the receding threat of a crisis spreading to the glo
Read morePetrofac sees strong growth
13th May 2010 07:54
Oilfield support services group Petrofac has made a good start to 2010 and said it is confident that it will be another year of strong growth. The group's backlog at the end of April stood at about $7.3bn (31 December 2009: $8.1bn), comprising approximately $5.8bn from the Engineering & Constructi
Read moreLondon close: Footsie slumps on eventful day
27th Apr 2010 16:31
Footsie was deep in the red at trading's close after credit rating downgrades for Greece and Portugal added to already substantial losses, with miners among the stocks posting heavy falls. With oil and metals prices in retreat as fears grow about potential delays in financial aid reaching Greece re
Read moreLondon afternoon: Reckitt fails to cut the mustard
27th Apr 2010 14:35
Footsie drifted lower over the lunch time session, not helped by disappointing results from household goods maker Reckitt Benckiser. Shares in Reckitt sank to the bottom of the FTSE 100 despite the French's mustard maker posting a rise in earnings and sales for the first quarter. The firm said oper
Read morePetrofac buys CO2 storage company
27th Apr 2010 13:26
Petrofac, the oil and gas facilities service provider, has acquired Scottish CO2 storage company CO2DeepStore Limited. CO2DeepStore is based in Aberdeen and is focused on the CO2 geological storage sector of the carbon capture and storage market, a rapidly developing sector of the market involving
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie slides below 5700
27th Apr 2010 12:04
Footsie has given up all of yesterday's gains and more and has dipped below the 5700 level. Barely a dozen of the blue-chip index's constituents are in the blue, with miners featuring prominently among the laggards. Vedanta, Rio Tinto, Kazakhmys and Xstrata are the worst performers in the mining s
Read moreLondon close: Footsie keeps lead
26th Apr 2010 16:34
Stocks built on Friday's gains as investors piled into miners and high street banks, although the leading index finished toward the bottom of the session's range. An increase in metal prices proved attractive, with Chile-focused copper giant Antofagasta the pick of the bunch. Kazakhmys was also wa
Read moreLondon afternoon: RBS shakes off 'sell' note
26th Apr 2010 14:11
The Footsie moved sideways over the lunch time session, with the blue chip index remaining buoyed by the strength of miners and banks. Kazakhmys is wanted after it sold a 49% stake in its copper project Aktogay to Chinese company Jinchuan Group for $120m. Kazakhmys said the estimated development c
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie stays strong
26th Apr 2010 12:19
Strength in the mining sector on the back of higher metals prices has given Footsie a lift. Xstrata, Antofagasta and ENRC are going well while Kazakhmys is also wanted after it sold a 49% stake in its copper project Aktogay to Chinese company Jinchuan Group for $120m. Kazakhmys said the estimated
Read moreLondon open: Miners lift Footsie
26th Apr 2010 08:25
Mining stocks give London an early boost as metal prices make headway while a batch of upbeat trading statements has also boosted sentiment. Xstrata, Antofagasta and ENRC are the top risers in the mining sector while Kazakhmys is also wanted after it sold a 49% stake in its copper project Aktogay
Read morePetrofac wins North Sea contract
26th Apr 2010 07:50
Oilfield support services group Petrofac has secured a new North Sea contract with Britannia Operator Limited (BOL), the joint venture between Chevron and ConocoPhillips. The deal is worth £35m over a five year period, with the option of a five year extension. It continues a relationship between P
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
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