London afternoon: Footsie turns lower
25th Sep 2009 13:49
London's blue chips have turned lower on disappointing US durable goods orders, which fell 2.4% in August. The figure disappointed analysts who were expecting a 0.5% increase. Durable goods excluding transportation were unchanged versus predictions of a 1% rise. It has overshadowed the news comin
Read moreBroker tips: RBS, Petrofac, Euromoney
25th Sep 2009 12:57
The share price of part-nationalised bank Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has recovered from just above 35p in mid-July to more than 50p, a rally that continues to perplex Goldman Sachs. The US investment bank expects RBS to remain loss-making in the short term, while the threat of another cash call c
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Goldman perplexed by RBS
25th Sep 2009 12:44
Goldman Sachs is perplexed by the share price recovery from part-nationalised bank Royal Bank of Scotland from 35p in mid-July to more than 50p. The US investment bank expects RBS to remain loss-making in the short term, while the threat of another cash call continues to hang over the bank's share
Read moreLondon midday: Oil rise gives Footsie support
25th Sep 2009 12:16
Leading shares are holding on to early gains helped by a rally in the price of crude oil, which has buoyed the prices of majors BP and BG as well as a host of second-liners. News coming out of the G20 summit in Pittsburgh is making the headlines with consensus already reached on boosting the influe
Read moreBroker snap: US banks turn bearish on Petrofac
25th Sep 2009 10:50
US investment houses Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch dealt oilfield support services group Petrofac a double-blow on Friday with some bearish comment. Merrill Lynch has downgraded Petrofac to 'underperform' from 'neutral', with a price target of 930p. The US broker believes that the recent improv
Read moreLondon close: Footsie clings on to gains
8th Sep 2009 17:01
Leading London shares closed mixed, with strong gains on resource stocks counter-balanced by losses on life assurance stocks. Kazakhmys, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, Xstrata and Vedanta Resources led the mining sector higher, as metal prices improved. Gold miners Fresnillo and Randgold Resources were
Read moreLondon close: Footsie runs out of steam
26th Aug 2009 16:27
Wall Street's inability to hold onto new home sale-inspired gains was the final nail in the coffin for London, bringing to an end a six-day winning streak. Much of the blame lay with the UK-listed miners who hogged the list of largest losers on weaker metal prices. Antofagasta was among the worst
Read moreLondon afternoon: RBS buoyed by pension moves
26th Aug 2009 14:32
Equity prices are mixed with a lower bias. The Footsie continues to drift lower, weighed down by underperforming resource stocks. Pre-tax profits plunged at Tullow in the first half of the year as the firm felt the pinch of the slide in oil prices. The oil company posted a pre-tax profit of £34.
Read moreLondon midday: Resource stocks a drag
26th Aug 2009 12:09
Given that resource stocks are in the dog-house the Footsie is doing well to be only moderately in the red on a day of mixed results for blue chips. Pre-tax profits plunged at Tullow in the first half of the year as the firm felt the pinch of the slide in oil prices. The oil company posted a pre-t
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Petrofac, Bunzl, G4S
25th Aug 2009 05:53
Petrofac once again defied all expectations with its interim results yesterday. Cautious investors will rightfully wonder whether it is time to book profits. The Independent thinks not; besides the convincing earnings story - forecast upgrades are likely to be forthcoming in light of yesterday's u
Read moreLondon close: Stocks finish ahead
24th Aug 2009 16:23
London's leading shares have finished the day with comfortable gains as miners and banks stole the limelight. Mining giant Rio Tinto is reportedly in talks with the Aluminium Corporation of China (Chinalco) over co-operation in bauxite and alumina production. The Australian Financial Review newspap
Read moreLondon afternoon: Centrica claims victory
24th Aug 2009 14:33
The Footsie regained some of its momentum over the lunch-time session, helped by expectations of a firm start on Wall Street. Centrica is wanted after it declared victory in its battle to take over Venture Production. The British Gas owner bought another 8.4% of Venture shares this morning, taking
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie backs off from 4900
24th Aug 2009 12:06
London's blue-chips are off the top but still predominantly in the blue. Strong miners and financials helped push the FTSE 100 index above 4900 shortly before 11:00am but this just encouraged profit-takers to make their move. Advertising firm WPP was the morning's best performer ahead of results o
Read moreLondon open: Miners on the rise
24th Aug 2009 08:21
Miners are leading the way in early dealings on Monday, with silver miner Fresnillo the best performer. Fresnillo is up almost 3%, with Eurasian Natural Resources, Randgold Resources and BHP Billiton also going well. Oil services group Petrofac lifted its dividend for the six months to June 30 as
Read moreLondon pre-open: More gains expected
24th Aug 2009 07:48
Footsie is expected to build on its strong gains of last week in early dealings, heading ever closer to the 5,000 point mark. Oil services group Petrofac lifted its dividend for the six months to June 30 as revenues and profits rose in spite on the sharp drop in oil prices from the same period the
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