London close: Stocks in late surge
18th Aug 2009 16:36
A late rally driven by early gains in the US had London back up at session highs, with gains among financial plays easily offsetting a weaker property sector. Investors overcame disappointing US housing starts data that had the blue chip index struggling at session lows mid-afternoon. The annual ra
Read moreLondon afternoon: Gains pegged after US housing data
18th Aug 2009 14:37
Disappointing US housing starts data took the wind out of London's sales over the lunchtime session, though the blue-chip FTSE 100 index remains in the blue. Housing starts are seen as one of the vital signs of the US economy and July's figures disappointed, with the annualised number of housing sta
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners lift blue chips
18th Aug 2009 12:51
Once again mining stocks are in the driving seat but today they are driving the Footsie north, with many stocks recovering some of yesterday's heavy losses. Xstrata, ENRC, Kazakhmys and Antofagasta are the picks of the mining sector, along with cash strapped Rio Tinto, which has received a $2.025b
Read moreLondon midday: Properties left behind in market rally
18th Aug 2009 12:00
Once again mining stocks are in the driving seat but today they are driving the market north, with many stocks recovering some of yesterday's heavy losses. Xstrata, ENRC, Kazakhmys and Lonmin are the picks of the mining sector, along with cash strapped Rio Tinto, which has received a $2.025bn offe
Read moreLondon open: Footsie fights back
18th Aug 2009 08:11
London's top stocks are winning back some of the heavy losses it posted yesterday, with miners among the main risers. Xstrata is the best blue chip performer in early dealings, closely followed by Rio Tinto, Randgold Resources and Kazakhmys. Cash strapped miner Rio Tinto has received a $2.025bn of
Read moreLondon pre-open: Footsie to recoup losses
18th Aug 2009 07:44
Footsie is expected to win back some of the heavy losses it posted yesterday. British Land saw the value of its property portfolio fall to £8.18bn in the first quarter but said the pace of decline has slowed markedly. The group, which has been the subject of intense bid speculation, said £3.2bn (39
Read moreRio Tinto finds buyer for Alcan Packaging
18th Aug 2009 07:03
Cash strapped miner Rio Tinto has received a $2.025bn offer for the majority of its Alcan Packaging business. The binding offer has been received from Amcor and covers the Alcan Packaging global pharmaceuticals, global tobacco, food Europe and food Asia divisions. The deal does not include the rem
Read moreSector movers: Miners fall as markets plunge
17th Aug 2009 12:38
Mining stocks are in the firing line as markets plummet around the world and commodity prices slide. Among the heaviest fallers in the large-cap index are Xstrata, Anglo American and Rio Tinto. Copper prices fell back after stockpiles monitored by the London Metal Exchange rose again. Precious me
Read moreLondon close: US confidence sours sentiment
14th Aug 2009 16:28
Weaker than expected US consumer sentiment data upset the apple cart Friday, giving investors an excuse to bank profits ahead of the weekend. Stockmarkets on both sides of the Atlantic have risen 15% in the past month, so no wonder investors were keen to trim their portfolios. Wall Street headed s
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Bank bonuses, British Land, Enterprise Inns
14th Aug 2009 06:21
Senior cabinet ministers are so disappointed with the Financial Services Authority's new pay rules, released this week, they are considering whether legislation may be needed to crack down on bankers' bonuses. A number of ministers, including Lord Mandelson, the business secretary, are understood t
Read moreLondon close: US optimism lifts blue chips
13th Aug 2009 16:32
Optimism over the state of the US economy, fuelled by yesterday's statement from the Federal Reserve helped Footsie post good gains. Miners were in demand. Kazakhmys led the mining sector higher, with Xstrata, Lonmin, ENRC, Rio Tinto, Vedanta, and Antofagasta also going well. Anglo American is
Read moreLondon afternoon: Advance slowed by US retail sales data
13th Aug 2009 14:15
Optimism over the state of the US economy, fuelled by yesterday's statement from the Federal Reserve that the US economy may have seen the worse of the recession, took a knock from the release of US retail sales figures which unexpectedly showed a fall in July. The news took the shine off some of th
Read moreLondon midday: Shares hold on to early gains
13th Aug 2009 12:17
The Footsie has been trading sideways since around 10:00am after a bright start that was inspired by yesterday's statement from the Federal Reserve that the US economy may have seen the worse of the recession. The news has spurred demand for commodities stocks on expectations that a recovery in the
Read moreRio's Cloud Peak makes new IPO application
13th Aug 2009 09:30
Rio Tinto's US coal business Cloud Peak Energy has filed an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an IPO worth as much as $500m. The move follows a previous application for a $1bn float about a year ago, then one for a less ambitious $250m fundraising last autumn. Cloud
Read moreLondon open: Miners help early rise
13th Aug 2009 08:17
London's top stocks have made a positive start to the day after upbeat economic data from the Continent and a strong performance on Wall Street last night. Figures out this morning showed that Germany and France staged an unexpected return to economic growth in the second quarter of the year, rais
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