London open: Aggreko in demand in wake of earthquake
14th Mar 2011 08:47
Mining stocks are shoring up the Footsie but the blue-chip index is still in the red, despite the price of oil ebbing. Miners Rio Tinto, Xstrata, African Barrick and ENRC are the pick of the mining sector. Also going well is temporary power solutions provider Aggreko, which may find its services c
Read moreRio Tinto half way to Riversdale success
14th Mar 2011 07:54
Rio Tinto's improved $3.9bn (£2.4bn) offer for coal miner Riversdale is a step nearer reality as the sector heavyweight increased its stake in the Mozambique-focused to more than a quarter. It told the Australian Securities Exchange the number of shares it either owned or had received acceptances i
Read moreLondon close: Footsie in full retreat
10th Mar 2011 16:57
Blue chips took a beating as investors focused on weak economic data from China and a downgrade for Spanish debt, rather than the Bank of England decision to keep its key lending rate at 0.5%. China posted a trade deficit of $7.3bn in February compared with the usual surplus, due mainly to the shut
Read moreLondon afternoon: Drugs firms provide some cheer
10th Mar 2011 14:47
Investors are finding plenty of reasons to be fearful but at least the Bank of England has stuck to the script and held its key lending rate at 0.5%. Otherwise, weak economic data from China and a downgrade for Spanish debt has put the situation in Libya into the shade today. China posted a trad
Read moreRio sweetens Riversdale bid
10th Mar 2011 08:15
Rio Tinto has enhanced its bid for Riversdale after losing patience with dawdling shareholders, which means it could end up paying A$3.9bn (£2.4bn) for the coal miner. The mining heavyweight, which first offered just $15 a share for Mozambique-focused Riversdale, had raised that to $16. Now it's pr
Read moreLondon close: Lower finish as Libya turmoil persists
4th Mar 2011 16:56
The top share index closed in the red going into the weekend as the spectre of high oil prices remerged amid continuing turmoil in Libya. Brent crude rose above $116 a barrel as the conflict in Libya continues. Government forces have been cracking down on protesters in Tripoli and there have been c
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie turns red
4th Mar 2011 15:19
A weak start on Wall Street has sent London to an intra-day low, with miners turning tail. US monthly non-farm payrolls were better than expected, but not by much. Investors don't look keen to open up any new positions ahead of the weekend. Mining heavyweights Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Kazakh
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 back above 6,000 as oil retreats
25th Feb 2011 16:47
Shares surged past 6,000 heading into the weekend as a Saudi pledge to pump more oil if needed reassured markets following the turmoil in Libya. The London Stock Exchange, which recently switched over to a new computer system, suffered an embarrassing glitch which resulted in the exchange shutting
Read moreLondon afternoon: Lloyds left behind
25th Feb 2011 14:15
Share prices moved sideways over the lunch time session, but at least they were moving; the London Stock Exchange, which recently switched over to a new computer system, suffered an embarrassing glitch which resulted in the exchange shutting down for most of the morning. Shares have been lifted by
Read moreRio Tinto selling talc unit for $340m
23rd Feb 2011 07:33
Miner Rio Tinto has agreed to sell its talc business to Imerys for an enterprise value of US$340m (£210m), a year after it put the unit back on the market. French industrial minerals company Imerys has put forward a binding agreement and a period of exclusivity has been agreed. Rio, which has sold
Read moreSector movers: BHP leads the miners
22nd Feb 2011 15:23
The miners are providing a lift to the market today, with sector giant BHP Billiton among the blue chips rising higher. The company bolstered its oil and gas operations after the $4.75bn acquisition of Chesapeake Energy's Fayetteville shale assets. Mining peers Rio Tinto, African Barrick Gold, Ang
Read moreRio Tinto hit by cyclones at Pilbara
21st Feb 2011 07:59
Rio Tinto has warned its iron ore operations at Pilbara, Western Australia continue to be hampered by Tropical Cyclones Dianne and Carlos and this will affect shipped tonnage for the first quarter of this year. Carlos is currently 100 kilometres north-west of Broome, moving in a west-southwest di
Read moreSector movers: Anglo American leads miners lower
18th Feb 2011 15:01
The mining sector is being weighed lower by blue chip Anglo American which is losing nearly 3%. The group is in the red despite reporting that underlying earnings leapt to $4.98bn last year from $2.57bn in 2009 on revenue up 34% to $32.93bn. It's also agreed a 50:50 joint venture with Lafarge to
Read moreLondon close: Late rally not enough
15th Feb 2011 16:44
Weakness in the US sent shares into the red and a slight rally in late trading failed to lift the FTSE 100 into positive territory. US retail sales were up 0.3% in January, according to the Commerce Department, though they'd risen 0.5% the month before and were expected to do the same this time. Ex
Read moreSector movers: Miners down on inflation concerns
15th Feb 2011 16:24
The mining sector has taken a hit as an increase in the Chinese inflation rate raised the prospect of further increases in Chinese interest rates in the near future. Consumer prices rose at an annual rate 4.9% in China in January. The rise compares with a 4.6% increase in December, which was still
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