London midday: Markets on short fuse
19th May 2010 12:20
Water utility company Severn Trent was the only FTSE 100 constituent to advance during the morning session, as all of the others ended the morning underwater. If the move by Germany's financial regulator to impose an immediate ban on "naked short selling" of corporate debt last night was intended t
Read moreLondon open: Footsie lower on German moves
19th May 2010 08:56
Footsie is lower, but predictions of a bloodbath as investors react to last night's decision by German authorities to act against short-sellers have proved too dramatic. US markets fell heavily on the news, but the reaction from traders last night was more of bewilderment at how German authorities
Read moreSpeedy Hire posts FY loss
19th May 2010 07:07
Shares in plant hire specialist Speedy Hire fell as it reported a full year adjusted pre-tax loss and said while it was encouraged by stable levels of recent trading, there remained many difficult months ahead. For the year ended 31 March 2010 the group reported an adjusted loss before tax of £6.2
Read moreWednesday preview: Mitchells & Butlers, Speedy Hire, ICAP
18th May 2010 16:14
Pub group Mitchells & Butlers recently decided to concentrate on its core food brands after a strategic review. Broker KBC upgraded its FY2010E pre-tax to £155m and EPS to 27p, and FY2011E to £180m/31p on the back of the review. Plant hire specialist Speedy Hire's will report its year-end figures o
Read moreWeek ahead: British Airways, Vodafone, BoE minutes
14th May 2010 12:27
British Airways cannot have had many worst years than 2009/10 and the pain is not over yet with another 20 days of strike action threatened by cabin crew from May. Add in the volcanic ash cloud, a major global recession and a recurring pension fund headache and it's been a punishing 12 months for t
Read moreSpeedy signs £20m contract with Connaught
29th Mar 2010 07:37
Plant hire specialist Speedy Hire said it has entered into a five year agreement with Connaught worth over £20m. Speedy Hire said it will provide Connaught with tools and equipment hire across the UK. It will also operate a hire desk and acquire, under an outsourcing arrangement, equipment currentl
Read moreSpeedy Hire signs 5-year deal with Carillion
5th Jan 2010 08:22
Speedy Hire today confirmed that it has signed a five year services agreement with Carillion's joint venture in the Middle East and North Africa with the Al-Futtaim. Under the deal Speedy will provide light plant and equipment and asset management and logistical services using its new IT and busine
Read moreLondon Close: Dubai worries knock market
26th Nov 2009 17:25
The London market wasn't helped by a technical glitch at the London Stock Exchange but it was never going to be a good day due to worries about the debt problems of Dubai. The fact that there was no trading for more than three hours just made investors even more nervous. The FTSE 100 fell by more
Read moreLondon close: Footsie at one-week high
25th Nov 2009 16:06
Welcome results from Compass and investors' insatiable appetite for mining stocks helped London's blue chip index finish the session near the top of the day's range. A small improvement to the third quarter gross domestic product figure brought some relief. The Office of National Statistics said th
Read moreLondon afternoon: Compass leads London north
25th Nov 2009 14:01
A marginal improvement to the third quarter gross domestic product figures has lifted spirits in London, overshadowing some mixed corporate updates. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) said the UK economy shrank less than previously estimated in the third quarter, contracting by 0.3% between J
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie maintains lead
25th Nov 2009 12:09
Stocks are steady at lunchtime Wednesday as miners remain firmly on the front foot, while bid speculation is behind big gains at International Power. The hot money is on International Power at the moment, with investors betting that French utility GDF Suez will bid £6bn, or 400p-a-share, for the el
Read moreLondon open: Good gains as miners rally
25th Nov 2009 08:43
Footsie has posted good gains in early dealings, despite a lower finish on Wall Street last night. Miners are again behind the rise, with an end to the brief rally by the dollar sending buyers in search of alternatives. Second liners Randgold and Kazakhmys are leading the way, but the gains are pre
Read moreSpeedy Hire swings to loss
25th Nov 2009 07:55
Plant hire firm Speedy Hire swung to a half year loss and said it expects to broadly break-even at an adjusted profit before tax level for the second half. Losses before taxation, amortisation and exceptional items came to £4.8m in the six month ended 30 September compared with a profit of £23.8m l
Read moreWednesday preview: Compass, UU, Johnson Matthey, GDP
24th Nov 2009 17:35
Contract caterer Compass Group is expected to show little or no like for like growth in revenue when it declares full year results on Wednesday, but pre-tax profit is still expected to show a healthy rise on the back of a strong improvement in margins and currency gains. Market consensus is for pr
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: JP Morgan India, GlaxoSmithKline, YouGov
13th Oct 2009 06:41
Some economists have suggested that India's growth may outstrip that in China over the next few years, as major exporting countries are still hampered by the slowdown in global trade. JP Morgan India Investment Trust's latest net asset value per share, on a fully-diluted basis, is 387.17p a share a
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