London close: US tax cut extension boosts shares
7th Dec 2010 16:52
Shares closed with decent gains Tuesday, though off earlier highs that came after an extension of George W Bush's tax cuts in the US lifted sentiment. US president Barack Obama has said that he will agree to a two-year extension on tax-cuts from the Bush era in a compromise arrangement that bodes w
Read moreLondon afternoon: Shares extend gains
7th Dec 2010 14:23
With US stocks set to open high on the back of the tax-cuts deal between president Obama and the Republican party, London's blue-chips added to the morning's gains over the lunch time session. US president Barack Obama has said that he will agree to a two-year extension on tax-cuts from the Bush er
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners head higher
7th Dec 2010 13:24
Miners lead the risers with commodity prices heading north. Antofagasta and ENRC are the best of the risers in the mining sector. Xstrata also rose even though it is taking a post-tax impairment charge of about $440m after reviewing the value of its Araguaia nickel project in Brazil. Xstrata has a
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Ireland, United Utilities, Tesco
21st Nov 2010 11:51
The Irish government has been given a stark warning from some of the biggest American companies in Ireland on the risk of a mass exodus if the country's low corporation tax rate is raised. The warning - from executives at Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Intel - spo
Read moreLondon close: Late recovery not quite enough
19th Nov 2010 16:57
Shares recovered heading into the weekend but not enough to haul the leading share index into the blue. Outsourcing giant Capita, which yesterday said revenue growth in the second half of 2010 had been subdued due to government cuts in public spending, suffered more falls today. Miners continue to
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks still struggling
19th Nov 2010 15:31
A poor start on Wall Street has done nothing to help a recovery in London where the leading index is stuck near 5,700. Outsourcing giant Capita, which yesterday said revenue growth in the second half of 2010 had been subdued due to government cuts in public spending, is suffering more falls today.
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Ireland, General Motors, GlaxoSmithKline
18th Nov 2010 06:31
The Irish Government finally signalled yesterday that it may bow to international pressure and accept a multibillion-pound bailout, amid divisions in the Commons over whether Britain should contribute. While the details of any package may be several days away, there were growing signs that Britain c
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Ex-dividend declines
17th Nov 2010 13:38
Footsie's fallers are dominated by shares that are going ex-dividend. Marks & Spencer, Carnival, Sainsbury and Vodafone have all gone ex-dividend today. Retailer Marks & Spencer is paying an interim dividend of 6.2p a share but the share price has fallen by nearly double the amount of the dividen
Read moreLondon open: Slow start after mixed results
10th Nov 2010 08:54
London has made a slow start with miners running into profit taking after their good run and a mixed response to the latest slug of trading updates. Sainsbury's made enough money to keep analysts happy during the first half though and sales were pretty much as expected given the supermarket giant u
Read moreLondon pre-open: Footsie to fall
10th Nov 2010 07:34
It's looking like another dreary start Wednesday, with last night's surrender on Wall Street dampening the mood in the City. Futures prices point to an early 15-point drop for London's leading index. Sainsbury's made enough money to keep analysts happy during the first half though and sales were p
Read moreSainsbury's profit meets City forecasts
10th Nov 2010 07:05
Sainsbury's made enough money during the first half to keep the analysts happy and sales were pretty much as expected given the supermarket giant issued an update just a month ago. Profit before tax, the benefit of any property deals and other one-offs was £332m for the 28 weeks to 2 October, up 8.
Read moreWednesday preview: Sainsbury, SSE, Aveva, BoE inflation report
9th Nov 2010 16:19
It's just over a month since supermarket firm J. Sainsbury updated the market, so Wednesday's interim numbers should not contain too many surprises. The company said last month that total sales for the 16 weeks to 2 October jumped 6.6% (5.2% without fuel) and were up 7% for the six months (4.8% ex
Read moreMBL wins Sainsbury's website contract
8th Nov 2010 17:50
Entertainment products distributor MBL Group jumped 20% after signing a two-year agreement with supermarket Sainsbury's to provide an entertainment products website. Sainsbury's is the first major customer to launch on MBL's new Ecommerce platform, carrying a catalogue of music, video, games and bo
Read moreSector movers: Mixed day for food stocks
4th Nov 2010 14:30
Food-related stocks are mixed today. Tate & Lyle is giving the food producer sector a lift after the sweetener group more than doubled profits on sales that were boosted by higher corn prices. Meatpacker Hilton Food is also higher after saying that trading continues to be in line with expectations.
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Vedanta, Immigration
17th Oct 2010 13:21
Two of the world's largest mining companies are set to abandon a £70 billion merger of their iron-ore operations after Europe indicated it would block the deal. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto wanted to put their Australian operations into a joint venture that would have controlled about a third of the w
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