London close: Afternoon rally fizzles out
9th Dec 2009 17:13
The Chancellor's pre-Budget Report speech had little effect on UK equities, with much of its content widely expected while others subscribed to the view espoused by the Shadow Chancellor that it was more of a 'pre-election report' than a pre-Budget report. As expected, banks that pay excessive bonu
Read moreLondon afternoon: Cautious response to Pre-Budget
9th Dec 2009 14:27
London's blue chips have reacted cautiously to the chancellor's pre-Budget speech even though the big numbers were better than feared. The government's borrowing forecast for this year came in ahead of market predictions with a slight upward revison to £178bn, while Alistair Darling stuck to his fo
Read moreLondon midday: Shares hold steady
9th Dec 2009 12:06
With less than half an hour to go before the Chancellor's pre-Budget Report speech, leading equities are back to square one, as investors wait to see what the Chancellor has in store. Speculation is he'll announce the biggest squeeze in public spending for a generation, with only schools, hospital
Read morePan Andean rallies on takeover offer
9th Dec 2009 10:42
Pan Andean gained on news that the oil and gas group received a £18m takeover offer from Toronto-listed peer Petrominerales. Petrominerales has offered to buy the shares for 15 pence each and one share of Hydrocarbon Exploration for every one Pan Andean share held. Hydrocarbon Exploration is a n
Read moreSmall Cap round-up: Metalrax, Payzone, PanAndean...
29th Sep 2009 09:47
Engineer Metalrax slipped into a loss of £2.5m in the half year to June reflecting difficult market conditions. However, the seasonality in some of the key businesses combined with the benefits of turnaround and cost cutting actions create a more positive outlook for the second half. Sales fell to £
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