London midday: New highs for FTSE 100
6th Jan 2011 12:12
The top share index is posting gains for the third day in a row and is trading at levels not seen since May 2008. Gold miner Randgold leads the mining sector higher as the price of gold stabilises. Vedanta Resources and Xstrata are the other stand-out stocks in the sector. It is chip designer ARM
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Betfair, Go-Ahead, Imagination Technologies...
15th Dec 2010 06:46
After racing to the front of the pack with its autumn flotation, Betfair was all but pulled up lame yesterday. The betting exchange's shares took a hammering as its first set of a results as a quoted company missed City forecasts. Broker concern about the decline in horse-racing revenues in the sec
Read moreLondon close: One-month high for Footsie
13th Dec 2010 16:33
More than £2bn of merger and acquisition activity got pulses racing in City dealing rooms, combining with strong miners and gains on Wall Street to send London to its highest in a month. Oilfield services group Wood Group is forking out $955m (£607m) for rival PSN, which it will merge with its prod
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie maintains lead
13th Dec 2010 15:04
Blue chips are trading not far off their best levels of the day, still led by mining stocks and supported by a decent start on Wall Street. A rash of merger and acquisition activity over here is replicated in the US, getting investors in buying mood in the absence of any major economic news. Oilfi
Read moreBroker tips: Rio Tinto, Reckitt Benckiser, Xchanging
13th Dec 2010 13:58
Nomura's 2011 forecasts for Rio Tinto are ahead of consensus as the broker expects average realised iron ore prices to rise substantially more. The broker sees supply growth limited to 9% as increasing shortages of skilled labour and environmental issues continue to delay large expansion projects,
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Reckitt buys Indian business
13th Dec 2010 13:58
Household products group Reckitt Benckiser has agreed to buy privately owned Indian firm Paras Pharmaceuticals for around £460m. Para sells over the counter health and personal care brands including cold & flu remedy D'Cold and Dermicool for prickly heat. Software company Autonomy says that it ha
Read moreBroker snap: Reckitt taps into fast-growing Indian market
13th Dec 2010 10:43
Broker Panmure Gordon has expressed its approval over Reckitt Benckiser's Indian acquisition as the group enters one of the fastest growing healthcare markets in the world. The provider of consumer healthcare and household products announced Monday that it has acquired the privately owned Indian ov
Read moreReckitt buys India's Paras
13th Dec 2010 08:41
Household products group Reckitt Benckiser has agreed to buy privately owned Indian firm Paras Pharmaceuticals for around £460m. Reckitt, the owner of famous brands including Finish dishwasher tablets and Harpic limescale remover, said it would finance the transaction from existing facilities. Par
Read moreDeparting finance chief cuts Reckitt stake
4th Nov 2010 16:38
Departing Reckitt Benckiser finance director Colin Day is cutting his shareholding in the household products supplier. Day announced his departure in October but he had to wait for the third quarter figures to be announced before he could sell any shares. The latest deals are the sale of 20,000
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Aviva, Reckitt Benckiser, Stagecoach...
3rd Nov 2010 06:40
Having spurned the unwanted attentions of Royal & Sun Alliance, Aviva has produced a moderately positive set of third-quarter numbers which suggest that Aviva was right to resist its rival's rather ill-judged attempt to push it into selling its general insurance business. On valuation grounds, Avi
Read moreLondon close: More gains for Footsie after well-received results
2nd Nov 2010 16:36
A strong performance on Wall Street ahead of the US Federal Reserve's decision on whether to increase monetary stimulus measures - not to mention the mid-term election - helped sustain good gains in London. Sentiment here was buoyed by well-received results from some big names. Beleaguered oil gia
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie consolidates gains
2nd Nov 2010 14:26
Footsie moved sideways over the lunch time session, as investors digested a busy morning of big company announcements. Beleaguered oil giant BP comfortably beat third quarter profit forecasts though it has had to take an additional $7.7bn charge in respect of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The marke
Read moreBroker tips: Lloyds Banking, IMPs, Reckitt
2nd Nov 2010 13:27
Investment house Killik has reiterated its positive recommendation on Lloyds Banking Group after the part nationalised lender's interim management statement indicated things are ticking along much as expected. "The Lloyds investment case is a simple one of recovery from the impact of the financial
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie builds on gains
2nd Nov 2010 12:15
Footsie has built on its earlier gains as investors react positively to updates. Beleaguered oil giant BP comfortably beat third quarter profit forecasts though it has had to take an additional $7.7bn charge in respect of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The market had been expecting underlying net in
Read moreBroker snap: Impressive outlook for Reckitt Benckiser
2nd Nov 2010 11:18
Strong pharma growth and impressive margins has seen Panmure Gordon (PG) retain its 'buy' recommendation for Reckitt Benckiser, the provider of consumer healthcare and household products. Despite the three months to September being seen as, to many, Reckitt's most challenging quarter, the results i
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