London close: Markets lifted by corporate earnings, China outlook
24th Oct 2013 16:22
- FTSE 100 at levels not seen since May - China manufacturing PMI at seven-month high - Financials, miners and pharma stocks gain techMARK 2,642.27 +0.68% FTSE 100 6,713.18 +0.58% FTSE 250 15,526.93 +0.21% UK markets set a fresh five-month high on Thursday as investors celebrated an improved outlo
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Sports Direct sinks on Ashley's transaction
24th Oct 2013 14:34
Sports Direct, the High Street retailer which impressed the market with its first-half trading update yesterday, sank sharply today. The firm revealed that MASH Holdings, a company wholly owned by founder and Deputy Chairman Mike Ashley, sold 16m shares (a 2.7% stake) at 662.5p each, a 7.5% discou
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks rise as Chinese manufacturing hits seven-month high
24th Oct 2013 12:10
- Chinese HSBC PMI at seven-month high - Eurozone composite PMI misses forecasts - Sports Direct founder sells 106m-pound stake techMARK 2,629.17 +0.18% FTSE 100 6,706.61 +0.48% FTSE 250 15,526.08 +0.20% UK stocks were performing well on Thursday as some improving data from China fuelled some dece
Read moreLondon close: Stocks pull back from five-month high
23rd Oct 2013 17:01
- Miners, banks weigh on Footsie - Money-market rates spike in China - RSA up on bid speculation techMARK 2,624.47 -0.41% FTSE 100 6,674.48 -0.32% FTSE 250 15,494.97 -0.11% The FTSE 100 finished in negative territory for the first time in 10 trading sessions on Wednesday as traders took profits af
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: RSA rises amid heavy volume on bid talk
23rd Oct 2013 14:06
Chip designer ARM Holdings fell for the second straight day as investors gave a cool reaction to its third-quarter results. JPMorgan Cazenove said this morning that it sees "no reason to be building positions at this time and would take profits in the short term". A number of stocks were also trad
Read moreLondon midday: Markets pull back from five-month high as banks fall
23rd Oct 2013 11:15
Concerns over the Chinese economy and a weak performance by banking stocks halted a nine-day winning streak for UK markets on Wednesday, as investors chose to take profits following a strong run. The FTSE 100 snapped a nine-day winning streak this morning, pulling back from Tuesday's finish of 6,69
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Energy companies, Shale gas, RBS
23rd Oct 2013 06:51
Sir John Major, former Conservative prime minister, piled pressure on David Cameron to act against the "big six" energy companies, suggesting they should be hit with a windfall tax. Major said it was "unacceptable" that energy companies were raising prices up to 10 per cent, leaving some people with
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: BHP Billiton, Pay-outs, Merlin Entertainments
22nd Oct 2013 07:29
BHP Billiton is in demand this morning after the Australian miner said it was lifting its full-year iron ore production forecast due to resurgent demand in China. The miner's shares have risen 1.7 per cent after it said it now expects to produce 212mn tonnes of iron ore this financial year against p
Read moreLondon close: Markets rise for eighth straight day, but RBS sinks
21st Oct 2013 16:54
The FTSE 100 hit a two-and-a-half-month high on Monday ahead of the eagerly anticipated US jobs report as markets managed to offset some heavy falls from heavyweight bank RBS. The UK lender dropped nearly 5% today after Chancellor George Osborne was quoted as saying that a decision over a 'good ban
Read moreGoldman Sachs to acquire RBS money market funds
21st Oct 2013 15:44
Goldman Sachs Group is reportedly set to purchase money market funds being sold by Royal Bank of Scotland as it moves its focus to core customer franchises. Goldman Sachs is making the acquisition because the funds will go together well with its European and global fixed income and liquidity manag
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: BAE and Rolls-Royce boosted by Citigroup comments
21st Oct 2013 14:30
BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce were today making gains after analysts at Citigroup said that they have a "positive outlook" on civil aerospace due to a ramp-up of new aircraft production and rising production of legacy aircraft. While the bank said it is still cautious on the wider defence sector, it
Read moreBroker tips: RBS, Whitbread, Kingfisher
21st Oct 2013 12:16
Nomura has maintained its 'reduce' rating for part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland, saying that talks over a split-up and large settlements highlight the risks the company faces ahead of its third-quarter results on November 1st. "Against this expectation of material losses from the bad
Read moreRBS falls five per cent on break-up claims
21st Oct 2013 11:47
Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland led London's FTSE 100 Index lower this morning on claims that the UK government was moving closer to breaking up RBS into a 'good' and 'bad' bank. The stock had fallen 18.9p to 353.8p at 12:15PM in London on a report that Chancellor George Osborne is to give the go-
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 at a two-and-a-half-month high
21st Oct 2013 11:22
The FTSE 100 was trading at its highest levels since early August on Monday morning as equities extended gains made last week following the last-minute US deal to extend the debt ceiling. Upside was limited in morning trade, but London's benchmark index still managed to push past its September high
Read moreBroker snap: Nomura concerned with RBS split ahead of Q3 results
21st Oct 2013 10:11
Nomura has maintained its 'reduce' rating for part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland, saying that talks over a split-up and large settlements highlight the risks the company faces ahead of its third-quarter results on November 1st. "Judging from a Telegraph article over the weekend, we thi
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