London open: Footsie plummets in early trading
3rd Aug 2011 08:31
The Footsie plummeted in early trading and stood firmly below the 5,700 level, losing more than 1.5%. Disappointing US economic data has more than offset relief that the US debt ceiling law has been passed, and is overshadowing a busy morning for company announcements. Meanwhile, renewed fears o
Read moreLondon pre-open: London participates in global sell-off
3rd Aug 2011 07:46
Equity markets are in retreat worldwide, and London is no exception, with City traders tipping that the Footsie will open around 87 points lower. Disappointing US economic data has more than offset relief that the US debt ceiling law has been passed, and is overshadowing a busy morning for company
Read moreUK market drives Rightmove's growth
3rd Aug 2011 07:10
The general increase in home hunting activity and the rapid increase in the use of mobile devices is proving a boon for property listings web site Rightmove. Revenue in the first half of 2011 was up 20% to £47.0m from £39.2m the year before. Underlying operating profit over the same period was up
Read moreWednesday preview: Standard Chartered, GKN, L&G ...
2nd Aug 2011 17:17
Banks results season continues with emerging markets-focused Standard Chartered shuffling into the spotlight on Wednesday at the unholy time of 5:30am (London time). Japanese broker Nomura - quite possibly the only broker likely to be awake when the figures come out - predicts first half profit bef
Read moreThursday tips round-up: Sage, Rightmove, BBA
5th May 2011 06:28
Sage makes software for small and medium-sized enterprises, allowing them to keep track of the books. Revenues fell by 5% the year before last and were pretty well flat last year, although they began to pick up in the second half. The shares are on almost 15 times' this year's earnings, hard to just
Read moreSlow down in page views growth at Rightmove
4th May 2011 12:58
Property web site operator Rightmove found the market hard to please on Wednesday, as the growth in page views on the site slowed down in the first quarter of 2011. Page views on the Rightmove.co.uk website during the first three months were up by around 15% on the same period a year ago, and on ma
Read moreHousing stuck in doldrums says Rightmove
21st Mar 2011 07:52
Asking prices for houses in England and Wales rose last month according to online estate agent Rightmove, though most of the activity is centred on the top end of the market Rightmove's survey showed prices in March were 0.9% higher than a year earlier, compared with 0.3% in February, with the ave
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 back above 6,000 as oil retreats
25th Feb 2011 16:47
Shares surged past 6,000 heading into the weekend as a Saudi pledge to pump more oil if needed reassured markets following the turmoil in Libya. The London Stock Exchange, which recently switched over to a new computer system, suffered an embarrassing glitch which resulted in the exchange shutting
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Spectris surges ahead
25th Feb 2011 16:01
There are some big risers on the FTSE 250 today, led by instruments group Spectris which is up 13% after doubling profits in 2010. Following suit with strong full-year figures is textile rental group Berendsen and bingo hall and casino operator Rank. Rightmove was also among the risers despite rev
Read moreLondon afternoon: Lloyds left behind
25th Feb 2011 14:15
Share prices moved sideways over the lunch time session, but at least they were moving; the London Stock Exchange, which recently switched over to a new computer system, suffered an embarrassing glitch which resulted in the exchange shutting down for most of the morning. Shares have been lifted by
Read moreRecord year for Rightmove
25th Feb 2011 07:39
Revenue and profits at property web site Rightmove came in a shade shy of market expectations, though the results still set new records for the group despite a tough year for the UK housing market. Revenue in 2010 rose from £64.5m in 2009 to £81.6m in 2010, a bit lower than the £82.2m the market ha
Read moreHouse asking prices fall steeply
15th Nov 2010 11:42
House sellers cut asking prices by the largest amount for nearly three years in October, the fourth fall in the last five months, according to online property group Rightmove. Asking prices were down by 3.2% during the four weeks to 6 November, or the equivalent of £7,500 a house on average. The
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Aviva, Reckitt Benckiser, Stagecoach...
3rd Nov 2010 06:40
Having spurned the unwanted attentions of Royal & Sun Alliance, Aviva has produced a moderately positive set of third-quarter numbers which suggest that Aviva was right to resist its rival's rather ill-judged attempt to push it into selling its general insurance business. On valuation grounds, Avi
Read moreLondon close: More gains for Footsie after well-received results
2nd Nov 2010 16:36
A strong performance on Wall Street ahead of the US Federal Reserve's decision on whether to increase monetary stimulus measures - not to mention the mid-term election - helped sustain good gains in London. Sentiment here was buoyed by well-received results from some big names. Beleaguered oil gia
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie consolidates gains
2nd Nov 2010 14:26
Footsie moved sideways over the lunch time session, as investors digested a busy morning of big company announcements. Beleaguered oil giant BP comfortably beat third quarter profit forecasts though it has had to take an additional $7.7bn charge in respect of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The marke
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