London midday: Ferrero pulls out of Cadbury chase
13th Jan 2010 11:56
Oils and banks are dragging the Footsie down, with sentiment also soured by disappointing manufacturing output figures. While industrial production showed a 0.4% rise in November, better than the 0.3% rise economists had been predicting, manufacturing output remained unchanged from October's level
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: SIG leads the way
13th Jan 2010 10:47
Building products group SIG leads the risers. The firm said it has seen exceptionally challenging conditions and disruption to trading caused by extreme weather conditions in a number of countries in the final weeks of the year, but does not expect full year underlying pre-tax profits to be less tha
Read moreLondon open: Footsie marks time
13th Jan 2010 08:50
Last night's decline on Wall Street, its first of 2010, has tipped Footsie lower a little in early deals though the fall so far is modest. US stocks were hurt by weaker than expected fourth quarter results from aluminium producer Alcoa after hours Monday, while Chinese moves to cool bank lending an
Read moreLondon pre-open: Losses likely
13th Jan 2010 07:34
Last night's decline on Wall Street, its first of 2010, is set to tip London lower in early deals. US stocks were hurt by weaker than expected fourth quarter results from aluminium producer Alcoa after hours Monday, while Chinese moves to cool bank lending and a profit warning from Chevron also hur
Read moreSIG expects profits of no less than £60m
13th Jan 2010 07:18
SIG said it has seen exceptionally challenging conditions and disruption to trading caused by extreme weather conditions in a number of countries in the final weeks of the year, but does not expect full year underlying pre-tax profits to be less than current analysts' consensus expectations of £60m.
Read moreJames Crosby buys Misys shares
27th Aug 2009 16:37
Sir James Crosby, the newly appointed non-executive director of Misys, has bought £99,144 worth of shares in the financial services and healthcare software provider. Crosby, who joined the board in January from HBOS where he was chief executive from 2001 to 2006, acquired 53,912 shares at 183.90p e
Read moreFriday tips round-up: Rio Tinto, ENRC, SIG
21st Aug 2009 06:13
Rio Tinto's earnings were hit in the first half with big losses in aluminium and diamonds while iron ore and copper profits were scythed. But Rio is cutting $1 billion in costs from its aluminium portfolio and the iron ore JV should deliver more cost savings. If you have a patient long-cycle view of
Read moreLondon close: Blue chips at 10½-month high
20th Aug 2009 16:28
A brace of better than expected US data reinvigorated markets early afternoon Thursday, helping London close at it highest since early October. The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index rose to +4.2 in August from -7.5 in July, while the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators rose 0
Read moreLondon afternoon: Prices bubble over
20th Aug 2009 14:14
Equity prices came off the top over the lunch-time session but remain firmly in the blue, albeit in thin trade, largely due to the strength of miners. Mining giant Rio Tinto is higher despite seeing profits falling by more than half in the six months to June 30 as it felt the impact of sharply lowe
Read moreLondon midday: Retail sales give a boost
20th Aug 2009 12:10
July's retail sales figures have given a lift to an already buoyant equity market. Figures revealed sales grew 0.4% from June, putting the annual increase to 3.3%, the highest since May 2008. Economists had predicted a rise of just 0.2% for July following June's 1.2% gain and a 2.7% year-on-year imp
Read moreLondon open: Decent gains posted
20th Aug 2009 08:23
Decent gains posted by Footsie after the open with the early pacesetters financials, especially banks, and miners. Mining giant Rio Tinto is higher despite seeing profits falling by more than half in the six months to June 30 as it felt the impact of sharply lower commodity prices amid tough econom
Read moreSIG profits slump as building weakness persists
20th Aug 2009 07:05
Building products group SIG posted a sharp fall in profits as weakness in the construction market persisted into the first half of 2009. Pre-tax profits in the six months to June 30 fell to £15.4m from £48.5m over the same period the previous year as revenue fell to £1.34bn from £1.44bn. Sales in
Read moreLondon pre-open: Rally to continue
20th Aug 2009 07:03
London is set to continue the firmer trend seen late in the afternoon session yesterday with sentiment boosted by Wall Street's strength yesterday and strong gains overnight in Japan and Hong Kong. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open 45 points up from the previous close of 4,690. Mining gi
Read moreThursday preview: SIG, TT Electronics
19th Aug 2009 17:05
The share price of SIG, the supplier of construction products, has been slowly picking itself up off the floor after the company's profit warning in June and tomorrow's interim results should show whether the recovery has been justified. The group said on 18 June that volumes had remained subdued a
Read moreLondon close: Footsie falls for fourth week
10th Jul 2009 17:04
London's blue-chip index fell for the fourth week in succession, with insurance and resource stocks the major fallers today. Aviva was the biggest casualty as fears resurfaced about the future of the company's dividend but its fellow life assurance stocks Prudential, Standard Life, Legal & General
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