London open: Bid speculation enlivens dull market
6th Dec 2010 08:47
The prospect of mergers and acquisitions activity is livening up an otherwise sedate opening session for London. De La Rue has received a bid, the banknote printer confirmed Monday, thought to be from French rival Oberthur Technologies. Talk is the all-cash deal valued the UK company, also responsi
Read moreDesire flattened by new Falklands failure
6th Dec 2010 07:35
The drilling programme of North Falklands oil explorer Desire Petroleum continues to frustrate, as the company has plugged and abandoned the 14/15-2 Rachel North well. Hopes, raised last week when the company said it had found oil at the prospect, have been dashed as subsequent sampling from the ma
Read moreBroker tips: Melrose, WH Smith, Desire
3rd Dec 2010 13:24
Shares in crisis-torn banknote printer De La Rue are down by a third over the year but up by one sixth in the last week, with the recent good run driven, in part, by rumours of a takeover. One company name in the frame to take over De La Rue is turnaround specialist Melrose, but Panmure Gordon thin
Read moreBroker snap: Desire worth accumulating
3rd Dec 2010 13:05
The share price of Falklands oil explorer Desire Petroleum has bounced around over the last two months between its 52-week high of 168.5p and a price about one pound below that, as drilling results proved patchy. Westhouse Securities advises clients to take advantage of dips to accumulate the share
Read moreDesire strikes oil in Falklands
2nd Dec 2010 07:44
Desire Petroleum has found oil in the treacherous waters off the Falkland Islands, according to preliminary data collected from Rachel North exploration well 14/15-2. The well in the North Falkland Basin reached a total depth of 3,052 metres, and drilling data and other tests indicate the well enco
Read moreRockhopper plans further exploration
16th Nov 2010 15:17
There was little in the way of surprises in Rockhopper Exploration's interim figures because of the regular drilling updates from the Falkland Islands oil and gas explorer but they show that Rockhopper still has plenty of cash to spend. There was a $35m cash outflow, mainly related to capitalised
Read moreSmall caps round-up: Umeco, Petroneft, Kewill...
9th Nov 2010 11:13
Aerospace supplies group Umeco says it remain on track to hit full-year expectations after increasing adjusted profit before tax by 12% in the first half. Pre-tax profit rose to £11.1m in the six months to 30 September, up from £9.9m last year on revenue up to £217.2m from £198.5m. Russia-focused
Read moreDesire shrugs off Rachel failure
2nd Nov 2010 08:25
North Falkland explorer Desire Petroleum has been unable to glean any extra information from the 14/15-1Z sidetrack well on the Rachel prospect after failing to fix a broken wellbore. "Clean out of the sidetrack has not proved possible due to mechanical failure of the wellbore and it will therefore
Read moreLondon close: Bad day ends badly
27th Oct 2010 16:12
London ended the day heavily in the red as a triple-digit fall on Wall Street knocked an attempted rally by Footsie firmly on the head. Reports suggesting that any new stimulus in the US will be smaller than expected hit the miners with Kazakhmys, Xstrata and Rio Tinto the worst performers. Britis
Read moreLondon afternoon: Rally fizzles out
27th Oct 2010 14:23
Expectations of a weak opening on Wall Street put an end to London's attempt to move into positive territory, and losses lengthened again over the lunch time session. Reports suggesting that any new stimulus in the US will be smaller than expected have knocked the miners with Kazakhmys, Xstrata and
Read moreLondon midday: Miners keep Footsie subdued
27th Oct 2010 11:58
Footsie has dragged itself off the lows seen earlier in the morning but with weak metal prices hitting mining shares, the index is not making much headway. Reports suggesting that any new stimulus in the US will be smaller than expected have also knocked the miners with Kazakhmys, Xstrata and Rio T
Read moreBroker tips: ARM, CSR, Desire, Rockhopper
27th Oct 2010 10:40
Chip designer ARM Holdings has been short of friends this week, with both KBC Peel Hunt and Panmure Gordon suggesting the share price is a bit toppy, and now Nomura Securities has weighed in with a downgrade to its fourth quarter earnings forecast. CSR's third quarter results "were in line with exp
Read moreBroker snap: Westhouse still has Desire for Rockhopper
27th Oct 2010 10:39
Westhouse Securities has reminded investors that oil explorers tend to have more failures than successes, and believes that despite some disappointing results from drilling in the Falklands recently, local operators Desire Petroleum and Rockhopper Exploration are still worth a punt. The two compani
Read moreDesire runs hot on oil find rumours
27th Oct 2010 08:22
The share price of Falkland Islands oil explorer Desire Petroleum soared on Wednesday morning as rumours swirled around the market that the company had struck oil. The share price, which closed last night at 66.75p, raced ahead to 150p in the middle of the morning, though dealers were at a loss to
Read moreSmall caps: Argos/Rockhopper, Kedco, STV...
21st Oct 2010 16:08
Argos Resources and Rockhopper Exploration have both signed contracts for a seismic survey of their prospect in the Falklands Basin with Polarcus, the marine geophysical company. The oil and gas exploration groups will acquire a 3D seismic survey over their respective locations, as well as adjacent
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