London midday: Good morning for blue chips
28th Oct 2010 12:06
London has enjoyed a strong morning with gains widespread following Shell's reassuring figures. The Anglo-Dutch grew earnings by 18% in the third quarter compared with a year ago, while the underlyng figure rocketed 88% to $4.93bn, well ahead of market forecasts. Earnings, on a current cost of sup
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Hansen Transmissions storms ahead
28th Oct 2010 11:27
Hansen Transmissions had a breeze behind it Thursday, up 9%, despite the wind turbine gearbox designer painting a pretty gloomy picture of market conditions. It still thinks revenues for the year will fall 10% from the previous 12 months, but it continues to cut costs and is seeing "significantly b
Read moreLondon open: Footsie looks to end losing streak
28th Oct 2010 08:15
Stocks have taken their cue from Wall Street, which recovered in late trade Wednesday, and are helped by a fight back at ARM Holdings and buoyant miners. Royal Dutch Shell grew earnings by 18% in the third quarter compared with a year ago, while the figure excluding big one-off items rocketed 88% t
Read morePremier Foods Q3 sales in a pickle
28th Oct 2010 07:38
Hovis bread owner Premier Foods said total group sales fell 4.2% in the three months to 30 September after a reduction in non-branded sales. "We still aim to make progress in the full year but the slowdown in Q3 means this is likely to be more modest and is, as always, dependent on Christmas tradin
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Traders tuck into Cranswick
5th Oct 2010 15:16
Investors have a strong appetite for Cranswick today after the pork products supplier said it has had a "positive" first half, with turnover up 8% at the meat supplier, or 12% adjusted for the sale of its cooked meats business. But elsewhere in the sector, Premier Foods is left untouched after gain
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Premier Foods, WS Atkins, AssetCo...
5th Oct 2010 06:56
At the weekend Premier Foods confirmed reports that it had received approaches to buy Quorn and the other component of its meat-free division, Cauldron. Pretty much everything in the Premier portfolio is up for grabs; in the board's words, it is "open-minded" about disposals. Speculation has centre
Read moreLondon close: Footsie fightback loses momentum
4th Oct 2010 16:48
Footsie enjoyed a brief incursion into positive territory in mid-afternoon trading, but was driven back into the red in line with weakness on Wall Street. Here, oil stocks were a major drag on the index with BP, Cairn Energy and Royal Dutch Shell all headed south. Plumbers' merchant Wolseley mov
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie treading water
4th Oct 2010 14:31
Footsie threatened to move back into positive territory over the lunch time session but just fell short. Oil stocks remains a major drag on the index with BP, Cairn Energy and Royal Dutch Shell all heading south. The morning's biggest faller, satellite operator Inmarsat , is now showing a small
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Premier Foods and Yell jump 10%
4th Oct 2010 14:23
Premier Foods and Yell are jostling for top spot in the FTSE 250, notching up gains in excess of 10%. Hovis bread and Branston Pickle owner Premier Foods has confirmed reports in the weekend papers that offers have been made for its meat free business that includes Quorn. Struggling Yellow Pages p
Read moreLondon midday: Inmarsat hit by stake sale talk
4th Oct 2010 12:02
Resource stocks remain a drag on the Footsie which ended the morning in arrears after a moderately firm start. BP, Cairn Energy and Melrose Resources are among the big hitters in the oil sector nursing losses, while in the mining sector Xstrata, Lonmin and Antofagasta are under the cosh. Anglo-Swi
Read morePremier Foods attracts bidders for Quorn
4th Oct 2010 07:03
Hovis bread and Branston Pickle owner Premier Foods has confirmed reports in the weekend papers that offers have been made for its meat free business that includes Quorn. "As stated at the time of its interim results on 4th August, the board remains open minded about disposals, provided they delive
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Interest rates, RBS, Lloyds
4th Oct 2010 06:16
Sir John Gieve, the former deputy governor of the Bank of England, has stepped into the increasingly divided debate over monetary policy and urged the Bank not to print more money. Claims that Britain's economy was heading into a Japanese-style slump were far too pessimistic, Sir John said in an i
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Premier Foods, Prudential, Tesco
3rd Oct 2010 11:34
Shareholders have opened fire on Premier Foods for failing to cut debts of £1.4bn and are calling for a shake-up at the company that produces brands such as Hovis, Mr Kipling, Bisto, Sharwoods and Homepride, the Observer reports. The calls come as Premier Foods's share price has crashed to 16p - cl
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Resource stocks on the rise
1st Sep 2010 13:46
Resource stocks are higher as commodity prices rise. Oil explorer and producer Salamander Energy and platinum specialist Aquarius Platinum are among the risers. However, not all commodity stocks are joining the party, with oil explorer Melrose Resources among the fallers. Investors also have an a
Read moreSector movers: Inmarsat launches mobile stocks higher
6th Aug 2010 13:58
Mobile phone satellite operator Inmarsat is leading the mobile telecommunications sector higher after first half profits surged forward as earthquakes in Haiti and Chile boosted the use of its broadband service. For the second day in a row, investors have no appetite for food stocks in a week in wh
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