FTSE 250 movers: Ophir races into top spot on acquisition news
16th May 2012 16:04
Oil and gas group Ophir Energy was a high riser after announcing that its joint venture with BG Group found its fifth consecutive gas discovery in Tanzania with the Mzia-1 well in Block 1 showing "significant potential upside". Digital sports media company Perform Group jumped after announcing tha
Read moreLondon midday: Greece, UK concerns pull Footsie to five-month low
16th May 2012 11:34
- Footsie nears five-month low - Potential Greek exit grips markets - Bank of England cuts GDP forecast, unemployment falls Concerns over a potential exit of Greece and growth in the UK were weighing on the FTSE 100 by Wednesday lunchtime, with the Footsie sinking to intraday levels not seen since
Read moreLondon open: Footsie at lowest levels since mid-December
16th May 2012 09:04
- Greek concerns dent Footsie again - Glencore, Sainsbury fall after going ex-dividend - Lamprell tanks on FTSE 250 London's FTSE 100 suffered a third straight sell-off on Wednesday, sending the blue chip index to a near five-month low in early trading on the back of concerns over the political si
Read moreProvident on a high after strong start
2nd May 2012 13:17
Provident Financial, the FTSE 250 doorstep lender, has reported a good start to the year after its Home Credit business delivered a sound collections performance through the first four months of 2012. Delinquency levels at Vanquis Bank remain at record lows, the firm said, and the business continu
Read moreWednesday preview: Next, Wetherspoon, Playtech ...
1st May 2012 19:17
Fashion chain Next is going up against very strong comparative figures when it releases first quarter sales figures on Wednesday. "On a macro level, two out of three of the months to be reported have been weak (February and April) according to published data and information gleaned from private com
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Persimmon in top spot on cash return
28th Feb 2012 15:10
Persimmon raced into the top spot after the house-builder announced a cash return worth £1.9bn over the next nine and a half years, something that Peel Hunt has called a 'game-changer'. Meanwhile, underlying pre-tax profits increased 55% to £148.1m, higher than market expectations of £141.1m. Also
Read moreTuesday broker round-up - UPDATE
28th Feb 2012 10:02
SABMiller: Nomura downgrades from buy to neutral, target increased from 2,600p to 2,700p. HSBC: Nomura cuts tagged from 725p to 650p, buy rating kept. Pearson: Nomura reiterates reduce rating and 1,200p target. Whitbread: Peel Hunt cuts target from 1,938p to 1,860p, buy rating kept; Nomura reiter
Read moreLower bad debt charges at Provident Financial
28th Feb 2012 07:49
Sub-prime lender Provident Financial reported a 12% increase in full year pre-tax profit, helped by lower bad debt charges. The firm, which posted pre-tax profit of £162.1m compared to £144.5m 2010, said it was confident of further growth in the year ahead. Revenue for the year increased to £910.8
Read moreFriday tips round-up: Tesco, Barratt, Provident Financial, RBS
13th Jan 2012 06:56
The Telegraph's Questor column looks at yesterday's big news from Tesco that like-for-like sales in the UK dropped 2.3% in the final six weeks of last year. That announcement has seen the stock lose 18.5% of its value in the last 24 hours. Questor makes the point that Warren Buffet, the great shama
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Ocado soars on impressive festive sales
12th Jan 2012 15:03
There were plenty of company announcements on the FTSE 250 on Thursday, providing some big swings in the market. The biggest mover was Ocado after the online grocer reported a festive surge with gross sales in the seven trading days before Christmas jump 23.8% from the same period in 2010. Shares
Read moreVanquis Bank's performance does Provident credit
12th Jan 2012 12:03
Provident Financial, the door step lending company, has seen its shares jump on news 'receivables' for 2011 - that is money it expects to get back from borrowers - will be marginally ahead of 2010. It says customer numbers have dropped 2% as a result of tighter underwriting during the last 12 month
Read morePearson chief sells £0.5m worth of shares
12th Dec 2011 16:36
Marjorie Scardinom, chief executive of Pearson, has made multiple sales of her stake in the firm on the same day it announced plans to sell its 50% stake in FTSE International to the London Stock Exchange. Scardinom, 64, sold 32,960 at 1,147.00p each, 12,040 at 1,140.59p, and 5,000 at 1,147.49p fo
Read moreLondon close: Stocks slump after giving up rally
27th Jul 2011 16:49
Stocks finished deep in the red, giving up an earlier rally, after a poor showing on Wall Street. Energy supplier Scottish & Southern Energy suffered after going ex-dividend. Meanwhile, sector peer Centrica also fell, albeit by a lesser extent, after utilities firm British Gas (owned by Centrica)
Read moreFTSE 250 Movers: Provident Financial sees sharp rise
27th Jul 2011 13:42
Shares in Provident Financial jumped after the doorstep lender lifted half year profits on the back of higher customer numbers. Pre-tax profits in the half year to 30 June climbed to £62.3m from £54m as customer numbers increased to 2.4m from 2.3m. Pork products supplier Cranswick saw its share
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks still stuck lower
27th Jul 2011 12:03
The top share index nestles slightly in negative territory, perhaps waiting for US trading to start before striking into the blue. Energy supplier Scottish & Southern Energy is suffering after going ex-dividend. Meanwhile, sector peer Centrica also fell, albeit by a lesser extent, after utilities
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