Sector movers: Aviva weighs on insurance
22nd Oct 2009 13:21
Aviva is weighing on the insurance sector after announcing that it is restructuring its European operations, turning its 12 separate continental businesses into a single pan-European unit. While the market is unimpressed, broker Panmure Gordon said the decision would give Aviva additional muscle in
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie off worst but still lower
22nd Oct 2009 12:12
Footsie is off its worst but is still showing hefty falls as miners and insurers lead the market lower. Platinum miner Lonmin has again unsettled the mining sector as it saw a 20% decline in production of the precious metal in the fourth quarter after having to shut down mines for safety reasons an
Read moreLondon close: Retailers weigh on Footsie
13th Oct 2009 16:46
A poor performance from US shares dragged Footsie into the red and the leading index finished the day with substantial losses. Retailers were out of sorts despite some moderately optimistic news from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) concerning retail sales. The BRC said annual retail sales growt
Read moreLondon afternoon: Retailers sag after sales data
13th Oct 2009 14:26
Leading shares remain mixed, with the Footsie easing back into the red over the lunchtime session. Retailers are out of sorts despite some moderately optimistic news from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) concerning retail sales. The BRC said annual retail sales growth in September accelerated to
Read moreLondon midday: Looking for direction
13th Oct 2009 12:14
The Footsie has crawled into positive territory, helped by miners recovering from their weak opening. Kazakhmys is the pick of the sector after revealing it is in talks with the China Development Bank and JSC Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna regarding a potential corporate loan facility of aroun
Read moreBroker tips: Insurers, Misys, Domino's Pizza
1st Oct 2009 12:53
The life assurance sector has recovered strongly from its first quarter lows but there is still plenty of juice left in the major players, Panmure Gordon reckons. The broker has increased its target prices for five insurers: Prudential (to 732p from 585p), Standard Life (234p from 212p), St. James'
Read moreBroker snap: Insurance consolidation 'inevitable'
1st Oct 2009 11:16
The life assurance sector has recovered strongly from its first quarter lows but there is still plenty of juice left in the major players, Panmure Gordon reckons. The broker has increased its target prices for five insurers: Prudential (to 732p from 585p), Standard Life (234p from 212p), St. James'
Read moreLondon close: Footsie dips into the red
23rd Sep 2009 17:05
A late swoon saw London's blue-chip index give up the gains of the morning to close marginally lower on the day, as investors banked profits ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision this evening on US interest rates and its quantitative easing (QE) programme. The morning's gains had been achieved on
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie nears intra-day high
23rd Sep 2009 14:01
The market's climb regained momentum over the lunchtime session. Investors have been put in the mood to buy by the prospect of the Bank of England increasing its quantitative easing programme some time in the future. The minutes to the most recent meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy co
Read moreLondon midday: Market rises despite cash calls
23rd Sep 2009 11:55
The market is off the top but still in positive territory, despite a flood of fund raising announcements this morning. Property group Liberty International shares have been hit by a placing today of up to 56.1m new shares, increasing its shares in issue by just under 10%. The fund raising comes l
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 moreLondon close: Stocks gain on economic cheer
15th Sep 2009 16:40
Footsie put further distance between itself and the 5,000 point mark as the global economic outlook brightened. The US recession is 'very likely' to have ended, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said. Here, the UK Consumer Prices Index in August showed an annual increase of 1.6%, the lowest si
Read moreLondon afternoon: Weak retailers out of step
15th Sep 2009 14:18
Leading shares are consolidating the morning's gains, though retailers decline to join the party. Confusion and speculation surrounds the acquisition and fund raising intentions of general insurer RSA. Reports in today's FT suggest RSA indicated at a recent investors conference that it was looking
Read moreLondon midday: RSA's bid plans unclear
15th Sep 2009 12:11
After a quiet but tospy-turvy session the blue-chip index ended the morning in positive territory, despite the UK inflation picture not improving as much in August as expected. The UK Consumer Prices Index in August showed an annual increase of 1.6%, the lowest since level since February 2005 and do
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
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