London close: Footsie ends weakly
19th Nov 2009 16:46
Footsie turned sharply lower at the close after a very poor start on Wall Street with the Dow down by more than 150 points in the first few hours. Miners bore the brunt of the selling with Antofagasta, Anglo American, Xstrata, Randgold Resources, Rio Tinto and Vedanta all lower. Platinum refiner J
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie stuck in the red
19th Nov 2009 14:06
Footsie is bumbling along close to its low for the day ahead of what is expected to be a weak start on Wall Street. Futures point to falls of anything between 50-70 points for the Dow when US trading starts, with weak metal prices likely to be a key theme. Here, lower metals have already hit the
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Morgan Crucible update fails to impress
19th Nov 2009 13:25
A cheery trading update from Morgan Crucible has failed to please the market and the firm's shares are the worst-performing in the FTSE 250. Materials company Morgan Crucible said that demand for its products has stabilised after a soft summer and expects its performance over the second half of the
Read moreLondon noon: Miners drag Footsie down
19th Nov 2009 12:00
Barely a fifth of the FTSE 100 constituents are in positive territory, but the fall on the blue-chip index is still modest, given the weakness of miners. With metals prices softening, the likes of Antofagasta, Anglo American, Xstrata, Randgold Resources, Rio Tinto and Vedanta are on the slide, as i
Read moreLondon open: Miners lead Footsie lower
19th Nov 2009 08:19
Miners are leading London's top stocks lower in early dealings on Thursday, while investors also have a stream of company updates to consider. Nine out of the ten worst performers are miners. Fresnillo, Xstrata, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Vedanta Resources, Eurasian Natural Resources,
Read morePennon lifts H1 pre-tax profit 13%
19th Nov 2009 07:27
Water firm Pennon Group reported a 13% rise in half year pre-tax profit and said its businesses are 'well positioned in the current economic slowdown.' In the six months ended 30 September pre-tax profit rose to £94.8m from £83.9m the same time a year earlier. Revenue rose by 6% to £535.5m. Chairm
Read moreSector movers: Intelek bucks the trend
17th Nov 2009 14:16
Shares in communications electronics group Intelek fall after it reported a drop in first half profits but said it remains confident in the future of the group. Curiously though, the technology hardware and equipment sector is one of today's heaviest falling sectors, with Pace, the set-top box maker
Read moreTrio take place in top index
18th Sep 2009 17:33
Balfour Beatty, Pennon and Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust spent their last day in London's premier league Friday as demotion to the FTSE 250 comes into effect tonight. The latest quarterly reshuffle, based on closing share prices two weeks ago, sees pest control firm Rentokil Initial, hotel an
Read moreDealings round-up: BlueBay duo cash in
18th Sep 2009 17:26
Two directors of BlueBay today took advantage of the recent tripling in its share price to trim their holdings in the fixed income fund manager. A secondary placing of shares saw Nick Williams, Chief Financial Officer, sell 1m shares and Alex Khein, Chief Operating Officer dispose of 2m shares. Th
Read moreStobart bosses pocket £5m
7th Aug 2009 17:24
Two directors at Stobart walked off with a combined total of £5m today as they trimmed their stakes in the transport and logistics group. Chief executive Andrew Tinkler sold 3.65m shares at 100p a time and now about 30.5m shares, just over 12% of the company. William Stobart, chief operating offic
Read moreLondon close: Blue chips surge continues
30th Jul 2009 16:42
Corporate newsflow and resurgent miners sent Footsie to within a whisker of its highest close this year. Investors piled into blue chips after a string of household names reported earnings this morning. Triple-digit gains for the Dow added to the upward momentum in the afternoon. Telecoms giant
Read moreLondon afternoon: Miners push Footsie higher
30th Jul 2009 14:48
Corporate news-flow and resurgent miners are driving Footsie higher today, with the benchmark index adding to its gains over the lunch-time session. Telecoms giant BT racked up a double-digit percentage gain in the morning after quarterly figures that were not as bad as feared. EBITDA (earnings b
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie tops 4600
30th Jul 2009 11:54
Footsie has broken through the 4,600 barrier, helped by well received results from index heavyweight BT and strong demand for miners. Telecoms giant BT racked up a double-digit percentage gain in the morning after quarterly figures that were not as bad as feared. EBITDA (earnings before interest, t
Read moreSector movers: Better than expected BT results lift telecom sector
30th Jul 2009 10:52
The telecommunications sector jumps ahead after BT's results, while still fairly grim, were ahead of expectations. The firm saw profits slump in the first quarter, held back by BT Global Services, while its pension deficit surged. The group said net pension position at 30 June 2009 was a deficit o
Read moreLondon open: Positive start to busy day
30th Jul 2009 08:16
Investors have a batch of results to consider this morning, with BT currently leading London's blue chips higher after publishing quarterly figures. Telecoms giant BT saw adjusted EBITDA fall 3% in the first quarter, held back by BT Global Services. It saw adjusted EBITDA come in at £1.3bn against
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