London midday: Shares tread water
14th May 2009 11:54
It is back to square one for London's blue-chips, with gains on banks and miners cancelled out by losses on oils and telecoms giant BT. Banks suffered some profit taking earlier in the week but are bouncing back, helped by a research note on the sector from Morgan Stanley. The US investment bank ha
Read morePru sales slip, but bonds give boost
14th May 2009 11:42
Sales fell by 5% at insurer Prudential during the first quarter following a sharp drop in business in Asia. Total insurance sales dropped to £697m in the first three months of 2009 from £732m a year ago, but slumped 11% in Asia, or 26% in local currency, to £333m. "Although we expect market condi
Read moreBroker snap: Excellent buying opportunity at Pru
14th May 2009 11:11
Life assurance group Prudential described its first quarter performance as 'resilient', a view with which broker Panmure Gordon concurs. 'New business sales were ahead of the top end of the range and 8% ahead of consensus driven by better than expected performances in the US and Asia,' the broker s
Read moreLondon open: BT in focus
14th May 2009 08:19
London's blue chips have opened lower with telecoms giant BT among the main fallers early on. BT suffered a 40% slump in pre-tax profit during the four quarter, forcing the firm to slash its dividend and announce plans to axe another 15,000 jobs. Fourth quarter pre-tax profit plunged to £429m from
Read moreLondon pre-open: Tiny loss to start
14th May 2009 07:37
Last night's three-figure plunge on Wall Street had been expected to weigh on trade in London Thursday, but indications are that the FTSE 100 will open just a few points lower. Telecoms giant BT is likely to steal the headlines. It suffered a 40% slump in pre-tax profit during the four quarter, for
Read morePrudential sales slip 5% in Q1
14th May 2009 07:22
Insurer Prudential called a 5% drop in insurance sales during the first quarter to £697m a "resilient" performance and boasted asset management net inflows of £2.7bn. Sales in Asia fell 11% versus the same time last year, but were roughly in line with the fourth quarter of 2008 at £333m. Jackson i
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