London open: Nervous wait for spending review
20th Oct 2010 08:54
An overnight slump on Wall Street has made for a muted start as investors wait for minutes from the Bank of England's last policy meeting and the government's spending review. The coalition's Comprehensive Spending Review is fully expected to be a bloodbath, but the City will want clear evidence th
Read moreLondon pre-open: Small retreat predicted
20th Oct 2010 07:27
An overnight slump on Wall Street looks like upsetting London in early deals, but all eyes will be on minutes from the Bank of England's last policy meeting and the government's spending review. The FTSE 100 is expected to open down just 12 points despite a 165-point dive in the US Tuesday. Trader
Read moreRio pumping extra $3.1bn into Pilbara
20th Oct 2010 07:03
Rio Tinto has earmarked another US$3.1bn (£2bn) for its Pilbara operations, doubling new investment there just days after the company scrapped its iron ore joint venture with BHP Billiton. The mining giant, which is chipping in $2.1bn (£1.3bn) of its own money, says the move will increase annual in
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: BAE Systems, Chemring, Rio Tinto...
20th Oct 2010 06:50
BAE, Europe's largest defence company, will update the City in a trading statement tomorrow on how it expects the defence spending review to affect its British operations. It would be reasonable to assume that its UK business will be broadly flat in the coming years as the upside from Typhoon, JSF
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Chinese interest rate rise hits miners
19th Oct 2010 14:00
Miners are leading the market down today following a surprise rise in Chinese interest rates. Xstrata says that trading has been strong since the end of the first half. Coal, copper and nickel volumes were all good. Even so, the miner tops the worst performers. Rio Tinto continues to fall after
Read moreSector movers: Miners under pressure
18th Oct 2010 15:40
Miners remain under a cloud as metal prices retreat. Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have confirmed that their proposed $116bn Pilbara iron ore joint venture is dead in the water. The companies had agreed in December of last year to establish a production joint venture covering the entire
Read moreLondon afternoon: Equities push on
18th Oct 2010 14:54
Leading shares added to the morning's gains over the lunch time session though miners remain under a cloud as metal prices retreat. Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have confirmed that their proposed $116bn Pilbara iron ore joint venture is dead in the water. The companies had agreed in D
Read moreLondon pre-open: Heading south
18th Oct 2010 07:35
It's looking like a downbeat start to the week following Friday's losses on Wall Street and a far from certain performance in Asia. Investors - facing a 20-point drop for the FTSE 100 first thing - also have a crop of UK news to consider. Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have confirmed th
Read moreBHP and Rio give up on iron ore collaboration
18th Oct 2010 07:07
Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have confirmed that their proposed iron ore joint venture is dead in the water. The companies had agreed in December of last year to establish a production joint venture covering the entirety of both companies' Western Australian iron ore assets, but the hoo
Read moreMonday newspaper paper round-up: Spending review, BHP/RIO, Betfair
18th Oct 2010 06:38
George Osborne is planning further big cuts in welfare spending this week, as part of an audacious drive to prove that the coalition can match Labour's pre-election pledge to protect key frontline services. The chancellor wants to squeeze the welfare budget, releasing cash for spending on those are
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Vedanta, Immigration
17th Oct 2010 13:21
Two of the world's largest mining companies are set to abandon a £70 billion merger of their iron-ore operations after Europe indicated it would block the deal. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto wanted to put their Australian operations into a joint venture that would have controlled about a third of the w
Read moreFriday tips round-up: Mothercare, WH Smith, Standard Chartered...
15th Oct 2010 06:40
Yesterday's second-quarter trading update from Mothercare was rather a mixed bag with the majority of the good news due to the babycare retailer's "rapid" international growth. The UK retail market was still "uncertain" and the City was taking a guarded view of the company's prospects. The retailer
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: HSBC, Dollar, Equitable Life...
15th Oct 2010 06:31
HSBC is close to walking away from a £5bn ($8bn) plan to buy Nedbank in South Africa, after a two-month period of exclusive talks with majority owner Old Mutual expires this weekend. The bank is not in a position to make an offer for Nedbank before the period of exclusivity finishes, according to p
Read moreGermans block Rio/BHP deal
14th Oct 2010 16:55
German competition authorities are set to block Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton's attempt to merge their Western Australian iron ore operations. The German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) says that its current intention is to prohibit the proposed iron ore joint venture. This makes it difficult to envisage
Read moreLondon close: Weak end to dull day
14th Oct 2010 16:35
Leading shares closed lower on a poor day for the banks and a tumble for African Barrick. Fears that Standard Chartered's rights issue yesterday could be the start of a flood of cash calls unsettled Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays. Metal prices are back on the rise as the dollar heads
Read more