London open: Stocks rise after Greek draft deal
9th Feb 2012 08:19
- Stock nudge higher after Greece drafts agreement. - BG leads oil stocks higher. - Hagreaves, Rio, Rolls-Royce, British Land, Diageo, Tate & Lyle fall after updates. It was a cautious start for the Footsie as stocks edged higher in early trading after Greece's political leaders pushed through a dr
Read moreLondon pre-open: Greek draft deal to boost FTSE 100
9th Feb 2012 07:29
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 19 points from yesterday's close of 5,876, after a draft financing deal from Athens was leaked to the press which detailed tough austerity measures including a 20% reduction in the Greek minimum wage. Mining giant Rio Tinto has hiked its full-year divi
Read moreRio boss waives bonus after huge write-down of aluminium assets - UPDATE
9th Feb 2012 07:03
Mining giant Rio Tinto has hiked its full-year dividend by 34% after reporting record underlying earnings in 2011, but net earnings were held back by a massive $8.9bn impairment charge relating to its aluminium businesses, prompting the group's Chief Executive to forgo his annual bonus. Underlying
Read moreThursday preview: QE decision, Rio, BG, Diageo
8th Feb 2012 17:54
Busy though the company news schedule is on Thursday, it is the outcome of the meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that is likely to garner most of the attention on Thursday, as the market expects the MPC to announce another round of asset purchases (quantitative easing,
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Reckitt Benkiser rises on results
8th Feb 2012 14:41
Moving into the afternoon trading session, Cillit Bang maker Reckitt Benckiser maintained its position as the leading riser among blue-chips. The consumer products group said it exceeded its full year targets in 2011, as it announced a strategy for 'continued out-performance'. Net revenue in 2011 ro
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks up as investors await news from Greece
8th Feb 2012 11:46
- Reckitt, miners and banks provide a lift on the FTSE 100. - Big movers on the FTSE 250 drag index into the red. - Markets await news from Greek meetings. Stocks pared gains by midday but were still trading in positive territory as investors awaited developments from Greece with leaders still grap
Read moreLondon open: Stocks rise with Greece in focus
8th Feb 2012 08:42
- Greek leaders scheduled to discuss draft deal. - Reckitt rises strongly after beating full-year targets. - Miners, financials provide a lift. Stocks opened higher on Wednesday following two days in the red, with banks and resource stocks providing a lift. Worth noting, the FTSE All-World equity i
Read moreLondon pre-open: FTSE 100 to take lead from US
8th Feb 2012 07:35
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 13 points from yesterday's close of 5,890, taking its cue from the Dow Jones industrial average, which last night closed at its highest level since May 2008, as hopes rose that Greece is close to agreeing austerity measures. Mining giant BHP Billiton's
Read moreRio Tinto approves $3.4bn Pilbara expansion
8th Feb 2012 07:03
Mining giant Rio Tinto has committed a further $3.4bn to the expansion of its Pilbara iron ore operations in western Australia. Some $2.2bn will be invested to extend the life of the Nammuldi iron ore mine, which is expected to increase production capacity in Pilbara to 283m tonnes a year (Mt/a) by
Read moreLondon close: Losses pared ahead of Greek meeting
7th Feb 2012 16:35
-Greek talks enter critical stage. -Shareholders raise questions over terms of Glencore/Xstrata merger. -Defensives in demand as investors flee from risk. Losses were trimmed by the end of trade on Tuesday with reports pointing to progress being made in Greece. Government leaders and international
Read moreSector movers: Miners fall as investors flee from risk
7th Feb 2012 16:01
With investors fleeing from risk on Tuesday as prolonged Greek talks took the spotlight, miners were widely sold off, with merger pals Xstrata and Glencore International being the worst performers on the FTSE 100 in late afternoon trade. Markets await this evening's meeting between the Greek Prime M
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Glenstrata deal hits shares in both firms
7th Feb 2012 15:48
Both Xstrata and Glencore both fell today as battle lines were drawn over the Glenstrata merger. The opening salvos have been fired in the battle for value over the proposed $90bn merger between the two commodity giants. On one side are the shareholders of Glencore and the managements of both compan
Read moreTuesday broker round-up - UPDATE
7th Feb 2012 10:14
Shire: Goldman Sachs reiterates 'conviction buy.' Misys: Berenberg Bank downgrades to hold from buy. BP: Nomura maintains neutral rating and 500p target. Cairn: UBS ups target from 291p to 370p, neutral rating kept; Credit Suisse ups target from 357p to 369p, neutral rating kept. Rio Tinto: Cred
Read moreLondon open: Miners tank in early trade
7th Feb 2012 08:35
A fall in the mining sector outweighed a strong showing by oil stocks as the Footsie slipped in early trading. Eyes will again be on Greece with as the meeting between Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and the country's three main political parties, originally scheduled for yesterday, is due to take p
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Admiral leads the way higher
3rd Feb 2012 13:17
Insurance group Admiral jumped into the top spot after extending its existing UK car insurance reinsurance partnerships with Hannover Re, Mapfre Re, New Re and Swiss Re until 2014. "Reinsurance has been at the core of Admiral's successful business model since 2000 and we look forward to continuing o
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