London open: Miners lead Footsie higher
11th Dec 2009 08:45
London's leading shares have opened higher with miners boosted by industrial growth figures coming out of China. Industrial production growth in China rose again in November to hit 19.1% year-on-year. It is fastest pace of growth in industrial production since June 2007. Kazakhmys, Rio Tinto and Xs
Read moreLondon midday: Banks lead rally
10th Dec 2009 12:34
Financial stocks are driving the market higher, with banks and insurers featuring prominently among the best performers. In the banking sector RBS, Lloyds and Barclays rack up the best gains while among insurers Standard Life, Legal & General and RSA are to the fore. Property stocks, however, are
Read moreSector movers: Construction and materials move higher
10th Dec 2009 10:46
Industrial fabric maker Low & Bonar is leading the construction and materials sector higher after it said second half profit is expected to be materially better than the first half and in line with company expectations. Trading since the interim statement of 19 October has remained at anticipated l
Read moreLondon open: Shares start down
10th Dec 2009 08:15
London's top stocks are slightly lower in early dealings Thursday morning despite progress from US blue chips last night. United Utilities is leading the fallers following news that its chief financial officer Tim Weller is to jump ship to take over the CFO role at the Cable & Wireless division, Ca
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Shanks
8th Dec 2009 06:36
The fundamentals for both BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto look good now their iron ore tie-up in Australia has finally happened. Spot iron ore prices are currently around one-third higher than contract prices, indicating the latter will move in line, and Chinese steel production continues at high level
Read moreLondon close: Lower finish for FTSE 100
7th Dec 2009 16:59
Footsie staged a recovery after a poor start early on and edged into positive territory in the afternoon but closed slightly lower. Rumours of a windfall tax in Wednesday's pre-Budget report rattled the banks. Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking, Barclays and HSBC fell on suggestions that the Ch
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks slide on tax fears
7th Dec 2009 14:39
Leading shares recouped some of their losses over the lunchtime trading session but the Footsie remains in negative territory, largely due to the weakness of banks and miners. Rumours of a windfall tax in Wednesday's pre-Budget report has rattled the banks. Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking, B
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks to start lower
7th Dec 2009 07:34
UK shares look set to give up a little ground first thing Monday in reaction to a dip in form on Wall Street after London closed on Friday. The Dow Jones had traded a three-figure gain for much of its morning session following a sparkling set of jobs numbers, but saw its lead trimmed later as the d
Read moreBHP and Rio tie up Pilbara deal
7th Dec 2009 07:09
BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have signed a binding joint venture agreement covering the entirety of both companies' Western Australian iron ore assets at Pilbara. The deal, which was flagged in June, still has to be approved by the European Commission and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commi
Read moreLondon close: Rate rise fears fuel late slide
4th Dec 2009 17:17
Euphoria over the better than expected US jobless figures proved short-lived as week-end profit taking took hold and miners headed underground. Metal prices weakened in the afternoon session, taking mining stocks with them, as some pundits suggested that with the better than expected jobless figure
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks bounce into the blue after US jobs
4th Dec 2009 14:20
Share prices have surged higher as the keenly watched US monthly jobs figures showed a big drop in the number losing their jobs and an unexpected drop in the level of US unemployment. Miners are leading the rally with Rio Tinto the best performer. Other gainers include ENRC and oil explorer Cairn E
Read moreSector movers: US jobs data boosts miners
4th Dec 2009 13:37
Mining stocks have stormed ahead after some surprisingly upbeat jobs data from the US. Just 11,000 Americans lost their jobs last month, the smallest decline since the start of the recession Traders were amazed at the figure, having thought non-farm payrolls would fall by 100,000 or more in Novemb
Read moreBroker tips: Lloyds Banking, Miners, Kingfisher
4th Dec 2009 12:47
Societe Generale (SocGen) reckons the faster than expected stabilisation of the net interest margin at part-nationalised lender Lloyds Banking has been overlooked, and sees further scope for margin improvement as the company reduces its reliance on government funding. 'Looking ahead, while Lloyds c
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks treading water
4th Dec 2009 12:17
Share prices are stabilising at lower levels as investors wait on the big US jobless announcement due at 1:30pm. Banks are on the back foot after a lukewarm note on the sector from JP Morgan. The US bank is particularly down on part-nationalised bank Royal Bank of Scotland, which it advises its cli
Read moreBroker snap: Copper bulls too abundant, says Nomura
4th Dec 2009 11:00
Nomura Securities remains bullish on the prospects for mining shares in 2010 but for those short-term investors who like to buy on a dip, now is not a good time to dive in, the broker reckons. 'In 2010, we continue to expect mining equities to benefit from a weaker US$, accelerating Chinese investm
Read more