Tuesday paper round-up: Election to be called for 6 May
6th Apr 2010 06:41
Gordon Brown will on Tuesday call an election for May 6, giving him four weeks to overturn a clear Conservative advantage in the opinion polls to gain his first electoral mandate as leader and extend 13 years of Labour rule. The prime minister will travel to Buckingham Palace this morning, followin
Read moreLondon close: Footsie eases back
26th Mar 2010 16:50
Footsie drifted lower going into the weekend, but remained near the 21-month highs it hit earlier in the week. With corporate news thin on the ground, broker commentary drove much of the action. Unilever is downgraded to neutral from 'overweight' by HSBC on sales volumes concerns. Hi-tech weapon
Read moreTechMARK movers: DRS continues post-results rise
26th Mar 2010 15:05
DRS Data & Research is continuing its rise following the news of its reduced loss earlier in the week. The optical character recognition services supplier reduced its annualised costs by £1.5m and that helped to cut the loss from £2.55m to £915,000. The share price has risen by nearly one-quarter
Read moreLondon afternoon: Sleepwalking lower
26th Mar 2010 14:05
It's been a good week for the Footsie but it looks set to end with a whimper rather than a bang. With corporate news thin on the ground broker commentary is driving much of the action. Unilever is downgraded to neutral from 'overweight' by HSBC on sales volumes concerns. Hi-tech weapons group Qi
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie drifts lower
26th Mar 2010 12:19
Footsie is bumbling along a tad directionless as investors consider the Greek bail-out, Budget fall-out and the prospects of more air and rail strikes. Property companies are among the best performers, with Hammerson, Segro, British Land and Liberty the four highest risers so far. In economic news
Read moreFriday tips round-up: QinetiQ, LSE, Petropavlovsk
22nd Jan 2010 06:04
Profit warnings come in threes - or so the old stock market adage goes. That's why QinetiQ's second profit warning in a matter of months is a major concern, says the Telegraph. There are better opportunities elsewhere in the market for capital appreciation, so Questor advises taking the loss on the
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: BlueBay helped by upbeat analysts
20th Jan 2010 14:49
UBS has upgraded fixed income fund manager BlueBay to 'buy' from 'neutral' with price target up to 400p from 360p ahead of tomorrow's second quarter update. The broker thinks assets under management will have risen 9% to $34bn from $31.1bn at the end of September, driven primarily by further net f
Read moreTechMARK movers: Optos improves usage figures
20th Jan 2010 14:17
Medical retinal imaging technology developer Optos reported strong figures for the three months to December 2009. Usage of its retinal imaging machines is rising. The average monthly site usage increased from 96 in the first quarter of the last financial year to 105 in the latest quarter. There wa
Read moreLondon close: Footsie follows US lower
15th Jan 2010 16:39
Footsie finished the week on a low as a poor performance in the US dragged the leading share index down in afternoon trading. US shares fell after consumer confidence rose less than expected in January. Here, Man Group was the heaviest faller after the hedge fund manager suffered a 4% drop in fund
Read moreTechMARK movers: Dialight's second upgrade in five weeks
15th Jan 2010 15:25
Dialight says it will make higher than expected earnings in 2009. The light emitting diodes technology developer had already said that earnings would be better than expected last December and this latest announcement has sparked a further upgrade. Dialight generated more revenues from obstruction l
Read moreLondon afternoon: Flat Footsie
15th Jan 2010 14:27
The blue-chip index is treading water, though there has been some keen interest in the day's big results announcements. Man Group is sharply lower after the hedge fund manager suffered a 4% drop in funds under management during the third quarter, mainly due to the $1.2bn pulled out of its flagship
Read moreSector movers: Pearson lifts media sector
15th Jan 2010 12:44
Financial Times publisher Pearson is helping lift the media sector higher after it confirmed it is looking at possible options for its Interactive Data subsidiary, including the disposal of its majority stake. Also higher in the sector is Daily Mail publisher DMGT. UBS upgraded it to 'buy' from 'ne
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Retail weakness continues
15th Jan 2010 12:43
Retailers are still left on the shelf following some cautious trading updates from the sector earlier this week Music, books and films retailer HMV, bike and car parts chain Halfords, and department store group Debenhams, all of which issued Christmas trading statements this week, are in the red.
Read moreLondon midday: Leading shares ease back
15th Jan 2010 12:28
Leading shares are mixed, with the FTSE 100 dipping into negative territory after JP Morgan issued a mixed set of figures. The US banking titan's bottom line was healthier than expected, with fourth quarter earnings per share of 74 cents versus expectations of 60 cents, but net revenues of $25.2bn w
Read moreLondon open: Blue chips flat
15th Jan 2010 08:44
London is going nowhere this morning despite more gains in the US overnight and better than expected fourth quarter results from chip giant Intel, announced after hours. On home soil, Man Group suffered a 4% drop in funds under management during the third quarter, mainly due to the $1.2bn pulled ou
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