London open: Early gains for Footsie
14th Jul 2009 08:41
London's blue chips have made early gains after the hundred-point plus surge on Wall St overnight. Miners are leading the way with Fresnillo, Lonmin, Xstrata and Rio Tinto all going well. Defensive stalwarts are the weak spots with Diageo, Imperial Tobacco and Reckitt Benckiser all lower. Enginee
Read moreChina widens Rio bribery probe
14th Jul 2009 07:56
China's probe into alleged bribery and spying by employees working for Rio Tinto has now been widened to include executives at five steel groups based in the country. Baosteel, Anshan Iron & Steel, Laigang and Jigang are the latest steel producers to be investigated into possible rigging of iron or
Read moreLondon close: Footsie falls for fourth week
10th Jul 2009 17:04
London's blue-chip index fell for the fourth week in succession, with insurance and resource stocks the major fallers today. Aviva was the biggest casualty as fears resurfaced about the future of the company's dividend but its fellow life assurance stocks Prudential, Standard Life, Legal & General
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Life stocks head lower
10th Jul 2009 15:38
Life assurance stocks feature among the weakest performers as global markets continue to drift lower. Aviva, Prudential and Standard Life suffer the biggest falls in the sector. In the mining sector Rio Tinto is still under a cloud after four of its employees were arrested in China. Home Retail G
Read moreLondon afternoon: Equities drift down in quiet trading
10th Jul 2009 14:06
London equities are sleepwalking to a dull end to a dull week. Life assurance stocks feature among the weakest performers as global markets continue to drift lower. Aviva, Prudential and Standard Life suffer the biggest falls in the sector. In the mining sector Rio Tinto is still under a cloud aft
Read moreLondon midday: Downward drift continues
10th Jul 2009 12:23
Equities continue to drift lower with blue-chips faring worse than second-liners. Better than expected Producer Prices data has limited the falls in London but expectations of a weak opening on Wall Street has not helped matters. UK producer output prices in June fell 0.2%, after rising 0.4% in May
Read moreLondon afternoon: Downward drift continues
8th Jul 2009 15:36
The majority of blue-chip stocks remain lower on the day, though heavily weighted miners are limiting the extent of the fall on Footsie after positive broker comment this morning. Investec has upgraded Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, advising its clients to take advantage of recent share price weakne
Read moreTechnical Analysis: Commodity prices extend losses
8th Jul 2009 12:52
The rally in commodity prices over the last 4 months appears to have run its course with a number of important commodity indices starting to exhibit increased weakness. This weakness has translated across to equity markets on both sides of the Atlantic as both the FTSE100 and S&P500 have either br
Read moreBroker tips: Astra, Tullow, Miners
8th Jul 2009 12:02
Producers of generic alternatives to AstraZeneca's prostate cancer drug Casodex have been slow off the mark and this has created an unexpected windfall for the UK drugs giant. US drugs firms Mylan and Caraco received approval from the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) yesterday to start shippi
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie still flat
8th Jul 2009 12:02
On another directionless day with little in the way of company news to guide sentiment, Footsie sits just in the blue. Heavily weighted miners are limiting the extent of the fall on Footsie after positive broker comment this morning. Investec has upgraded Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, advising its c
Read moreBroker snap: Bargains to be had in mining sector
8th Jul 2009 11:12
Mining stocks have fallen out of favour over the last month, with the sector down by one-seventh, and this has encouraged brokers Investec and Citigroup to advise clients to look at the sector for bargains. Investec has upgraded BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto from "hold" to "buy" in the wake of share p
Read moreLondon open: Down as banks await fate
8th Jul 2009 09:00
Footsie has slipped in early dealings after a three-digit fall on Wall Street last night. Miners are going well despite the fall on Wall St overnight led by Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Antofagasta. Banks will be in focus later on when Chancellor Alistair Darling unveils the government's White Pape
Read moreRio Tinto staff accused of spying by China
8th Jul 2009 08:13
Four Shanghai-based employees of Rio Tinto have been detained by China on spying charges, a move that threatens to spark a diplomatic row with Australia. The Australian government has called for urgent talks with the Chinese after it confirmed that Stern Hu, Rio Tinto's iron ore marketing chief in
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Bank regulation, Rio Tinto, Marks & Spencer
8th Jul 2009 06:17
Banking executives will have their pay linked to long term profitability under new rules designed to prevent a repeat of last year's financial meltdown. Alistair Darling will tell MPs today that salaries will be aligned to the earnings and overall financial health of institutions when he presents h
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners rally aids Footsie
7th Jul 2009 14:47
Miners have rallied with the pick-up in the Dow yesterday. Rio Tinto, Kazakhmys and Vedanta are leading the sector higher. AB Foods is lower after a Bank of America downgrade. It has cut its rating to "underperform" from "hold" after its strong performance over the past three months. Reports that
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