London open: Tullow, BHP lead resource stocks lower
18th Jan 2012 08:21
Yesterday's optimism - on the back of positive macro data from China, Germany and the US - seems to have been short-lived, with the FTSE 100 falling in to the red in early trading on Wednesday. Eurozone concerns are now again in focus with meetings between the Greek government an private creditors s
Read moreLondon close: Macro data provides a boost, but Essar plunges
17th Jan 2012 16:38
The Footsie finished higher on Tuesday, close to the 5,700 level, but gains were steadily trimmed since the mid-morning. Providing a drag on the blue chip index in afternoon trading was oil and gas giant Essar Energy, which plunged nearly 30% after a negative tax ruling in India. MACRO DATA PROVID
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: RBS tops the list, Essar drops on court ruling
17th Jan 2012 14:59
Part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland was leading the FTSE 100 higher on Tuesday afternoon after striking a deal with a Japanese bank to sell its aircraft leasing division for $7.3bn (£4.7bn). The bank said the sale of RBS Aviation Capital to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation would str
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks drift higher after Chinese, German data
17th Jan 2012 11:43
Stocks were off their intraday highs by lunchtime but the Footsie was still some 26 points up from yesterday's close, helped by some cheery Chinese GDP data and a better-than-expected German confidence survey. Fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data from China was easing fears of a hard la
Read moreLondon open: Chinese GDP sparks rise, Footsie above 5,700
17th Jan 2012 08:26
The Footsie surged above the 5,700 level in early trading on Tuesday after the Chinese economy expanded at a faster-than-expected rate in the fourth quarter. It seems that investors have shrugged off last night's downgrade of the Eurozone's bailout fund, as just four stocks slipped into the red. Pr
Read moreRio Tinto iron ore production hits record level
17th Jan 2012 07:20
Rio Tinto, the Anglo-Australian mining firm, saw fourth quarter production continue to bounce back after output was hit by severe weather conditions in the first half of the year. Fourth quarter iron ore production hit a new quarterly high of 65m tonnes. On an attributable basis, production was 2%
Read moreTuesday preview: Time for a Burberry check
16th Jan 2012 15:26
Fashion chain Burberry has been one of the success stories of the British retail scene in recent years, thanks in no small part to its international cachet. On Tuesday, it releases an interim management statement covering the third quarter of its fiscal year, which will include the Christmas trading
Read moreLondon open: RBS rises after shake-up, Tesco plummets
12th Jan 2012 08:28
A sharp fall for the retailers was met with a strong showing by the banks this morning, equating to a flat start for the FTSE 100. It has been reasonably busy on the corporate front, with several firms providing trading statements, but RBS and Tesco dominated the headlines early on. MARKETS CELEBRA
Read moreRio Tinto finally gets 100% ownership of Hathor
12th Jan 2012 07:42
Mining giant Rio Tinto has, through an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, acquired the remaining 5.87%, or 7.9m Hathor shares not already owned by Rio. The firm now anticipates that the Hathor shares will be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange by the end of today, Thursday January 12th. It w
Read moreLondon open: Footsie helped higher by miners
10th Jan 2012 08:28
The FTSE 100 had a strong start on Tuesday morning with just two stocks in the red early on. In economic news, UK retail sales values were 2.2% higher on a like-for-like basis in December, helped by an easy comparison when last year was affected by the snow. Total sales rose 4.1%. "On both measures
Read moreLondon open: Footsie up early on, pharmas fall
9th Jan 2012 08:18
London's FTSE 100 opened slightly higher on Monday morning helped by banking titans Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC. Oil stocks Essar Energy, Tullow Oil and Royal Dutch Shell were tracking oil prices higher. Today's big event will be the meeting of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French Preside
Read morePersistence pays off for Rio Tinto
9th Jan 2012 07:48
Following the expiry of Rio Tinto's offer to buy up shares in Hathor on Friday, mining giant Rio has announced that it has now taken up 93.76% of the outstanding common shares of the Canadian uranium firm. Rio now intends to acquire all outstanding Hathor common shares not already purchased throug
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Miners send Footsie flying
3rd Jan 2012 14:49
Miners were charging higher with Kazakhmys leading the way, followed closely by BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. The rise came on the back of moderately encouraging manufacturing data from China. China's official purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 50.3 in December from 49 in November; a value above
Read moreCredit Suisse notes risks to Vedanta from new Indian legislation
3rd Jan 2012 13:11
Analysts at Credit Suisse are today reacting to news reports that Indian authorities have raised the export tax on all grades of iron ore from 20% to 30% putting further pressure on exports. Coupled with project delays in Brazil they now believe that iron ore prices may stay higher for longer. Howe
Read moreRio extends Hathor deadline again
23rd Dec 2011 07:04
Mining giant Rio Tinto is determined to hoover up as many shares of Canadian uranium firm Hathor as it can, as it has extended the deadline for acceptance of its $654m bid for the company yet again. As at 5pm yesterday, Toronto time, Rio had received acceptances in respect of its offer of 87.3% o
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