London open: Footsie posts early gains

6th Oct 2009 08:53

Footsie's bright start is fizzling out a little after disappointment over Tesco's half-year profits, despite the surge by the Dow overnight. Australia's decision to raise interest rates has also sparked some caution, It is the first G20 member to do so since the credit curnch really started to bite

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Rio signs Oyu Tolgoi investment deal

6th Oct 2009 08:08

Mining giant Rio Tinto has signed an investment agreement with the government of Mongolia for the development of the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold complex in the countries' South Gobi region. Rio Tinto and Ivanhoe Mines, the development partners for the project, will now move forward with the government

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London close: Footsie puts on late spurt

5th Oct 2009 17:16

Having been lethargic all day leading shares put on a late spurt in London, after receiving a transatlantic boost in the form of better than expected data from the US services sector. Miners featured prominently among the top performers, helped by bullish comment from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

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London afternoon: Footsie eases into the red

5th Oct 2009 13:45

The Footsie dipped into the red over the lunch-time session but it was a very shallow dip, with leading shares mixed and mostly sticking close to overnight levels. Life insurer Aviva is the heaviest faller in the FTSE 100 after it confirmed it is to sell a minority stake in its Dutch insurance bus

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Broker tips: Compass, Autonomy, miners

5th Oct 2009 11:04

Charles Stanley has gone into more detail about its reasons for its ratings downgrade of contract caterer Compass Group last week following the company's September 29 trading update. The broker shifted from 'strong buy' to 'buy' as the stock approached the 400p price target, and still thinks the s

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Broker snap: Sovereign wealth funds eyeing miners

5th Oct 2009 10:41

Miners feature prominently among the top performers Monday morning, helped by bullish comment from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). RBS has adjusted its view of many of the sector's major players after rising upwards its expectations of metals prices. The bank also foresees sovereign wealth funds tur

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London open: Quiet start for Footsie

5th Oct 2009 08:43

London has made a cautious start with markets still seemingly unsettled by last week's US jobs data. Over here, Aviva has confirmed it is to sell a minority stake in its Dutch insurance business Delta Lloyd through a float on Euronext in Amsterdam. No more details were released, but weekend reports

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London close: Footsie slides with Wall Street

1st Oct 2009 16:28

Footsie closed sharply lower after the US reacted badly to worse than expected dole claims. The Dow is now down more than 100 points with investors nervous ahead of the big monthly non-farm payrolls figure tomorrow. BAE struggled after the Serious Fraud Office asked the Attorney General if it can p

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London afternoon: Blue chips drifting along

1st Oct 2009 14:05

Footsie has recovered a little ahead of the US open, but the index is still in the red with weapons group BAE Systems especially under the cosh. Early indications are for the Dow to drop between 15-18 points, with intital jobless claims a bit higher than expected. The big jobs figure comes tomorro

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London midday: Footsie slips after record quarter

1st Oct 2009 12:08

Footsie has paused for breath after its record-breaking quarter with weapons group BAE Systems especially under the cosh. The Serious Fraud Office has asked the Attorney General if it can prosecute the defence contractor over alleged bribery in a number of countries. The SFO is deciding if it shou

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London open: Healthy start to Q4

1st Oct 2009 08:40

London set off higher Thursday as buyers snapped up miners and Legal & General (L&G) continued to attract speculative interest. Persistent talk that Resolution is circling L&G had the insurer higher again in early deals, while yesterday's upgrade by Deutsche Bank helped. The broker also thinks Av

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Sector movers: Takeover talk shakes up insurers

29th Sep 2009 14:44

Rumours that serial insurance company raider Clive Cowdery is preparing a takeover bid for Legal & General(L&G) through his investment vehicle Resolution has lifted the sector higher. L&G leads the way, with sector peer Aviva not far behind. Mining stocks are lower as metals prices slip back. Plati

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Sector movers: Drug groups given a boost

28th Sep 2009 12:23

Drug group AstraZeneca is going well on news that it has won another round in its long-running fight against generic competition to bipolar treatment Seroquel. A US appeal court upheld its infringement claim against Sandoz and Teva Pharmaceutical over Seroquel tablets. The other big drug company,

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London close: Shares end up but down from highs

22nd Sep 2009 16:39

London's leading shares finished with slight gains but were well below earlier highs as miners eased back slightly. Eurasian Natural Resources, Lonmin, Xstrata and Vedanta Resources still posted healthy gains, while precious metals miners Fresnillo and Randgold Resources were also on the climb. R

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FTSE 100 movers: Carnival climbs on upgrade

22nd Sep 2009 14:31

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has added Carnival to its 'Europe 1' list of preferred stocks ahead of the cruise ship operator's third quarter results due out Tuesday afternoon. The cruise company has been hard hit by various issues such as the credit crunch and swine flu in the last couple of year

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