London open: Struggle in early trade
19th Nov 2010 08:31
An early retreat follows losses for the mining heavyweights, though it's Capita that leads the fallers Friday. Outsourcing giant Capita yesterday said revenue growth in the second half of 2010 had been subdued due to government cuts in public spending. Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Kazakhmys and Anglo
Read moreBHP ups spending at Pilbara
17th Nov 2010 07:31
BHP Billiton is to increase its spending on its iron ore mine operation at Pilbara, Western Australia by $635m. The investment comes a month after BHP and Rio Tinto abandoned plans to merge their Pilbara operations in the face of regulatory, customer and shareholder objections. Rio Tinto has alrea
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners fall back
16th Nov 2010 14:02
Miners and financials are falling because of concerns about the European economy. Antofagasta, Kazakhymys, Fresnillo, Rio Tinto and Xstrata are the big fallers in the mining sector as metals prices decline. Hedge fund manager Man Group is the worst performing financial. Packaging group Rexam
Read moreLondon close: Footsie little changed
11th Nov 2010 16:44
Footsie closed little changed, which wasn't a bad result given a triple-digit loss for the Dow when it opened. Ireland was the story breaking as the trading day closed. Yields on benchmark Irish bonds rose to over 9% on reports that the EU might have step in and bail the country out. José Manuel
Read moreLondon afternoon: Financials drag index lower
11th Nov 2010 14:24
An early three-digit loss on Wall Street has the Footsie near its worst levels of the day, with financials the biggest fallers. Insurers Aviva, L&G and Standard Life are deep in the red, as are and RBS and Barclays on fears about Irish debt. Metal heavyweights are limiting the deficit though. Most
Read moreLondon midday: Mining advance fails to lift Footsie
11th Nov 2010 12:14
Big gains from mining companies have failed to haul Footsie into positive territory. The metals groups have marched higher from the off. Antofagasta, Kazakhmys, Xstrata, Fresnillo and Rio Tinto are in demand, as is oil major BP. Iron specialist Ferrexpo is the best performer. Cash is pouring in, o
Read moreLondon open: Small improvement for Footsie
11th Nov 2010 08:16
Blue chips started pretty much as expected, posting reasonable gains in response to yesterday's steady recovery on Wall Street, with commodity plays leading the pack. The Dow Jones was trading deep in the red when London shut up shop Wednesday, but shed nerves ahead of today's G20 meeting in Seoul
Read moreLondon close: US breathes life back into Footsie
1st Nov 2010 16:42
A good early performance from Wall Street helped Footsie snap out of a weak spell to close in positive territory. US shares were boosted by a bigger than expected rise in factory output in October. The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index rose to 56.9 last month. Analysts thought
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks and miners lead advance
1st Nov 2010 15:14
Footsie pulled out of its late morning slump over the lunch time session to move firmly back into positive territory, though investors are still reluctant to commit too heavily ahead of tomorrow's mid-term US elections, and the quantitative easing decisions expected this week from the Bank of Englan
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie subdued after buoyant start
1st Nov 2010 12:02
Footsie has failed to rediscover its early-morning buoyancy and sits in the blue by a few points. Among the laggards is Serco. The company, which carries out work for the government such as operating prisons and London's Docklands Light Railway, has taken a knock after it was forced to make a grove
Read moreLondon open: Footsie charges higher
1st Nov 2010 08:32
High demand for banks and miners got the week off to a good start, offsetting weakness in the outsourcing sector. Banks are going well as trading updates loom. Lloyds Banking Group is getting ready for tomorrow's statement with a 2% jump, while Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC are also making up gr
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Profit swing not enough to prevent BA fall
29th Oct 2010 14:01
British Airways is the biggest faller even though it swung back into profit in the six months to September 2010. The airline improved yields and cut costs. It made a pre-tax profit of £158m compared to a loss of £292m in the same period last year. Revenue jumped 8% to £4.45bn. Xstrata is the sect
Read moreLondon close: Blue chips can't sustain early gains
28th Oct 2010 16:30
After going into a slump just ahead of midday, Footsie picked up over the lunch time session, helped by expectations of a firm start on Wall Street. The Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell grew earnings by 18% in the third quarter compared with a year ago, while the underlying figure rocketed
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stuck in consolidation mode
28th Oct 2010 14:53
After going into a slump just ahead of midday, Footsie picked up over the lunch time session, helped by expectations of a firm start on Wall Street. The Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell grew earnings by 18% in the third quarter compared with a year ago, while the underlying figure rocketed
Read moreLondon midday: Good morning for blue chips
28th Oct 2010 12:06
London has enjoyed a strong morning with gains widespread following Shell's reassuring figures. The Anglo-Dutch grew earnings by 18% in the third quarter compared with a year ago, while the underlyng figure rocketed 88% to $4.93bn, well ahead of market forecasts. Earnings, on a current cost of sup
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