London close: Market unmoved by Budget
24th Mar 2010 16:49
The blue-chip index finished marginally higher after a Budget that was light on bells and whistles While there was little in the Budget to excite anyone other than first-time buyers, cider drinkers and British occupants of Dominica, Grenada and Belize, the corporate news scene was busy, with half
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks bounce after Budget
24th Mar 2010 14:42
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has delivered his Budget speech and the net effect has been to leave the Footsie barely changed on the day. Banks seem to have been the major beneficiaries of the Chancellor's speech, with the absence of any bank bashing leading to firmer prices for part-nationalised
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie dips ahead of Budget
24th Mar 2010 11:49
Footsie has turned down ahead of the Budget as investors wait to see what new initiatives, if anything, chancellor Alistair Darling has to offer. While investors wait, there are plenty of company announcements to digest. Travel companies are doing well. TUI Travel noted a 'significant recovery in
Read moreLondon open: Early gains for blue chips
24th Mar 2010 08:39
Footsie has pushed on strongly after another day of big gains in the US yesterday. The Budget will dominate the headlines from lunchtime and banks are making progress in expectation that something will be said the government's stakes in the state-controlled banks, RBS and Lloyds. Foreign exchange
Read moreLondon pre-open: Bright start expected
24th Mar 2010 07:38
Footsie is expected to inch higher following strength on Wall Street late yesterday. Growth in sales of non-food items such as clothes and household items helped supermarket operator J Sainsbury post a healthy rise in like-for-like sales in the 11 weeks to March 20. Like-for-like sales - a measure
Read moreNon-food sales drive J Sainsbury growth
24th Mar 2010 07:05
Growth in sales of non-food items such as clothes and household items helped supermarket operator J Sainsbury post a healthy rise in like-for-like sales in the 11 weeks to March 20. Like-for-like sales - a measure that excludes the impact of new openings - rose by 4.8% compared with the same period
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Budget, RBS, Sainsbury
21st Mar 2010 11:03
Alistair Darling will next week endorse plans for a global tax on investment banks and other institutions that pose a "systemic risk", but will rule out using the proceeds to create an insurance fund against future bank failures. The chancellor will use his Budget to give detailed backing to a glob
Read moreMonday paper round-up: Barclays/Lehman, British Airways, Rio Tinto
15th Mar 2010 06:38
Further damaging revelations about the collapse of Lehman Brothers are being held up in the US courts by Barclays. A 2,200-page examiner's report into the collapse of the 158-year old institution, published last week, uncovered in forensic detail evidence that Lehman used "balance sheet manipulatio
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Lloyds, EMI, Vedanta
14th Mar 2010 11:01
Lloyds Banking is believed to be considering plans to hive off a portion of its giant commercial property portfolio into a separate, tax-efficient company. Senior figures within the bank are thought to have put forward the idea, which would see some of the £50bn to £75bn worth of assets and loans in
Read moreNew Lloyds non-exec David Roberts spends £200,000
3rd Mar 2010 15:27
David Roberts, recently appointed as a non-executive director at the bank, has wasted no time in signalling his faith in his new employers, buying nearly £200,000 of shares. Roberts bought 378,670 shares at 52.55p a time. Roberts' appointment was announced on 11 February, following an interview wi
Read moreBroker snap: JPM sees value in Morrisons
2nd Feb 2010 09:52
Morrisons has come a long way since it bought rival supermarket Safeway, said the broker JP Morgan as it lifted its rating on the stock to 'overweight' from 'neutral', upping the target price to 340p from 320p. It is now three times the size and its food sales density, a measure of how much is sold
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: HMV, Cadbury, Tesco
14th Jan 2010 06:12
HMV, the music and book retailer, is in advanced talks with Luminar over a partnership deal that analysts believe could lead ultimately to a takeover of the embattled nightclub operator. The Times understands that the two companies are discussing the possibility of setting up a small number of pilot
Read moreSector movers: Tesco lifts food retail sector
12th Jan 2010 14:37
A strong Christmas trading update from Tesco has given the food retail sector a lift. The supermarket giant said it enjoyed its best Christmas in three years as shoppers braved the winter weather to stock up on festive treats. In the six weeks to January 9, the firm posted a 5.1% year-on-year ris
Read moreNext property director sells
11th Jan 2010 16:10
Group property director Andrew Varley has reduced his shareholding in fashion retailer Next. Varley raised nearly £183,000 from the sale of 8,879 shares. That leaves him with 61,008 shares in Next. Varley is 58 years old and he joined Next in 1985 - three years after the first Next shop was open
Read moreLondon close: Footsie flatlines
7th Jan 2010 16:46
A late afternoon rally fizzled out to leave London's blue chip index little changed on the day. Banks emerged from a sticky start as the day's best performers led by Barclays and Lloyds Bank, which both received decent write-ups in an otherwise cautious broker note from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. It
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