London midday: Miners continue to rally
10th Jun 2009 12:19
Footsie is up more than 100 points with miners and banking shares driving the market forward. Miner ENRC is one of the main risers. Today it said sales and production volumes during the first quarter were better than prior expectations though pricing pressures remain. Vedanta, Xstrata, Kazakhmys, R
Read moreLondon close: Footsie finishes flat
9th Jun 2009 17:05
The UK's blue-chip index spent the day flitting above and below last night's closing level so it should have been no surprise when the FTSE 100 closed virtually unchanged. Thomas Cook was the day's best performer after it calmed investors' nerves over the collapse of Arcandor, which has a 52% stake
Read moreYell appoints Wigley as new chairman
8th Jun 2009 07:23
Yellow Pages publisher Yell has appointed Bob Wigley as its new chairman. He will take up his new job following the Annual General Meeting in July. Wigley, (48), an accountant, was previously the Europe, Middle East and Africa chairman at Merrill Lynch International, and held a number of senior cor
Read moreComment: Lloyds' merger mystery party
5th Jun 2009 17:13
The Lloyds Banking Group AGM on Friday was no party for directors as shareholders took the opportunity to vent their spleen at the company's hasty takeover of the toxic debt receptacle that is HBOS, with one shareholder at the AGM declaring the acquisition a 'disaster'. Many shareholders bought int
Read moreLondon close: Rio bombshell pulls back Footsie
4th Jun 2009 17:03
Rio Tinto dominated late trading as its deal with Chinese giant Chinalco looked all but dead in the water as the mining giant confirmed it is considering its options. A rights issue to raise up to $15bn could be announced as soon as tomorrow according to reports in Australia. Rio shares slumped by
Read moreLondon afternoon: Rio dives on Chinalco rumours
4th Jun 2009 14:27
Disappointment with the Bank of England's decision not to expand its quantitative easing programme prompted a downturn in the market, wiping out the morning's gains. London's blue-chip index is also struggling with the burden of a weak mining sector, which has moved further into the red after rumou
Read moreLondon midday: Financials lead rally
4th Jun 2009 12:03
The Bank of England's interest rate decision was every bit the non-event economists had been predicting, with the key lending rate left unchanged at 0.25% while no further changes to the quantitative easing programme have been made. Equities remain slightly firmer, with financials recovering some o
Read moreTechnical Analysis: Banks still finding upside difficult
2nd Jun 2009 16:33
Since the beginning of March, the turnaround in the fortunes of the banking sector has been quite remarkable. The lows of 1,877 seem a distant memory now after a rise of over 100%, but this rally needs to be set into the context of the decline before it. Since the beginning of May the banking sec
Read moreDomino's vice chairman sells £1m slice
1st Jun 2009 14:50
Colin Halpern, vice chairman of the pizza delivery firm Domino's, has pocketed more than £1m after offloading some of his shares in the group. H S Real, a company owned by a discretionary trust, the beneficiaries of which are his children, sold 500,000 shares at 205p a share. The sale leaves Halpe
Read moreThursday's newspaper round-up: Vauxhall/GM, banks, Astra
28th May 2009 06:38
Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, has secured pledges from each of the three main potential bidders for Vauxhall to safeguard the vast majority of the carmaker's 5,000 British workers, it emerged last night, reports the Times. The Telegraph says talks over the fate of General Motors' European
Read moreLondon close: US sparks Footsie recovery
26th May 2009 16:29
Footsie finished higher Tuesday after a strong performance by US shares, lifted by consumer confidence figures, hauled London's leading share index out of the red. The mining sector summed up the volatility seen on the markets today. Rio Tinto climbed after it said it had agreed a 33% cut in contra
Read moreLondon afternoon: Defensive stocks back in favour
26th May 2009 14:42
Hopes that Wall Street might provide a fillip to UK shares have been dashed as US markets open in a similarly dull fashion to London. Mining stocks and financials are the worst performers while defensive sectors such as tobaccos and supermarkets have returned to favour. Mining giant Rio Tinto is lo
Read moreLondon midday: Equities drift lower
26th May 2009 12:07
It was a dull morning session for London's leading shares, with the market following Asian markets lower after the news broke concerning North Korea's nuclear bomb test. Mining stocks and financials are the worst performers. Mining giant Rio Tinto is lower after it agreed a 33% cut in contract fin
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Land Securities, Brixton Estates, Lloyds
24th May 2009 09:22
The chief executive of Land Securities, Francis Salway, has been given six months to come up with a radical business plan for the FTSE 100 property giant - or face being sacked. Alison Carnwath, the new chairwoman, has laid down the gauntlet after a set of shocking results this month, which saw th
Read moreLondon afternoon: Equities continue upward drift
22nd May 2009 14:08
The market remains in credit after yesterday's shake-out and while it is by no means a convincing rally, driven as it is largely by the strength of mining stocks, the hesitancy is probably dictated by the unwillingness of traders to carry large positions over the long week-end. Having been talked d
Read more