London afternoon: Footsie eases back from day's highs

6th Aug 2009 14:35

Footsie fallen back in the wake of the £50bn increase to £175bn in the Bank of England's quantitative easing programme. Interest rates, as expected, remained on hold at 0.5%. Banks continue to rise with Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking and Barclays all up. RBS reports its interim figures tomo

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London midday: QE increase boosts Footsie

6th Aug 2009 12:13

Footsie has reacted calmly to a surprise £50bn increase to £175bn in the Bank of England's quantitative easing programme. Interest rates, as expected, remained on hold at 0.5%. Insurer Aviva is the best performer and leads a life sector rally despite a 31% cut in the interim dividend. A plan for a

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London open: Stocks surge ahead

6th Aug 2009 08:53

London's top stocks charge off the blocks as financials set a fast pace in early deals. Insurer Aviva is the main riser after it cut interim dividend by 31% and announced plans for a partial IPO of its Dutch business. IFRS operating profit fell to £1.05bn for the six months ended 30 June 2009 from

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Profit dives at Schroders

6th Aug 2009 07:51

Profit plunged by 56% during the first half at fund manager Schroders and by 73% after exceptional items, but news of net inflows sent the shares higher. The UK blue chip reported a drop in profit before tax and exceptional items for the six months ended 30 June to £76.9m from £173.3m in 2008. Prof

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London close: Upward march recommences

29th Jul 2009 16:47

Footsie was back to winning ways Wednesday as investors digested a stream of company updates. Fund manager Schroders led the way after Morgan Stanley upgraded the firm to "overweight" from "underweight" and raised its price target to 1,045p from 710p. Rexam was the major faller after it launched

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London afternoon: Financials lift Footsie

29th Jul 2009 14:33

Risers outnumber fallers by around three to one among FTSE 100 constituents, as the blue-chip index resumes its upward climb following yesterday's pause for breath. Financial stocks lead the advance, with insurers Aviva, RSA and Standard Life to the fore, as is part-nationalised bank Royal Bank of

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Broker tips: Schroders, Dignity, Inchcape

29th Jul 2009 13:35

Fund manager Schroders is seeing strong demand for its European corporate bond product, prompting Morgan Stanley to upgrade the stock. Morgan Stanley (MS) has changed its stance on Schroders from "underweight" to "overweight" and ramped up its price target from 710p to 1045p, arguing that the marke

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Broker snap: Corporate bond demand to boost Schroders

29th Jul 2009 12:28

Fund manager Schroders is seeing strong demand for its European corporate bond product, prompting Morgan Stanley to upgrade the stock. Morgan Stanley (MS) has changed its stance on Schroders from "underweight" to "overweight" and ramped up its price target from 710p to 1045p, arguing that the marke

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London midday: Blue-chips advance on broad front

29th Jul 2009 11:50

Having seen its winning streak come to an end yesterday Footsie is back on the rise today despite some mixed corporate news. Rexam is the major faller after it launched its well-flagged rights issue to raise £351m at a big discount to the current share price. The interim dividend has also been scra

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London close: Footsie continues winning week

16th Jul 2009 16:36

London made it four positive sessions in a row Thursday as some better banks and strength at Petrofac offset largely weaker miners and a big drop at Autonomy. There was little help from Wall Street though, which was trading flat when the City shut up shop. The FTSE 100 has made up about 260 points

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London afternoon: Advance gains momentum

16th Jul 2009 15:08

Footsie looks set to make it four days of rises in a row, with a firmer start on Wall Street giving an additional boost in the afternoon session. Risers outnumber fallers by three to one but among the fallers is data search software firm Autonomy, despite registering its 25th consecutive quarter of

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London midday: Market rises but Autonomy disappoints

16th Jul 2009 11:53

London's blue-chip index has limped back into positive territory, despite weakness from the heavily weighted mining sector. Data search software firm Autonomy has registered its 25th consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth. Citigroup thought the results were "solid" and took "most of the bear a

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London close: Blue chips close lower

28th May 2009 16:51

UK blue chips closed lower despite a bright start on Wall Street with sentiment knocked by poorly received updates from Wolseley and Man Group. Hedge fund manager Man Group was weighed down by disappointing results. "The past financial year saw extraordinary turmoil in financial markets globally wh

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London afternoon: Leading shares trim losses

28th May 2009 14:12

Shares staged a fight back over the lunch-time session but Footsie remains in the red ahead of the opening on Wall Street, which is expected to see shares open moderately firmer. Shares in hedge fund manager Man Group would be expected to plunge on a day when optimism about the economic recovery of

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London midday: Bears bite Man

28th May 2009 11:56

Stock market bears were out in force again this morning in London after thee overnight shake-out on Wall Street. Shares in hedge fund manager Man Group would be expected to plunge on a day when optimism about the economic recovery of the US is in short supply but the stock is also weighed down by

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