London afternoon: Equities drift down in quiet trading
10th Jul 2009 14:06
London equities are sleepwalking to a dull end to a dull week. Life assurance stocks feature among the weakest performers as global markets continue to drift lower. Aviva, Prudential and Standard Life suffer the biggest falls in the sector. In the mining sector Rio Tinto is still under a cloud aft
Read moreLondon midday: Downward drift continues
10th Jul 2009 12:23
Equities continue to drift lower with blue-chips faring worse than second-liners. Better than expected Producer Prices data has limited the falls in London but expectations of a weak opening on Wall Street has not helped matters. UK producer output prices in June fell 0.2%, after rising 0.4% in May
Read moreLondon open: Crude dip drags Footsie down
10th Jul 2009 08:44
London's blue chips have given back some of yesterday's gains though trading is light after a dull day on Wall St yesterday. Oil-related stocks are the main movers, with light crude futures dipping below $60 per barrel for the first time in weeks. Royal Dutch Shell and BP are weak in sympathy. Oil
Read moreLondon pre-open: Footsie points lower
10th Jul 2009 07:41
London's top stocks look set to give back some of yesterday's gains. Traders expects Footsie to open around 15 points lower. Bovis has scrapped its interim dividend but said the housing market has shown signs of stabilisation during the first half. The housebuilder said it has decided not to pay
Read moreParkmead men buy 10m shares each
22nd Jun 2009 16:57
There's been heavy buying of investment company Parkmead recently, with bosses keen to snap up stock near historic lows. Non-executive chairman Colin Goodall and non-executive director Thomas Cross both bought 10m shares at 1p each. The £100,000 purchases take former BP man Goodall's stake to 12m
Read moreLondon close: Footsie closes flat
18th Jun 2009 16:34
A late afternoon rally fizzled out to leave Footsie little changed after a volatile day. Economic stories dominated the news with mixed data in the UK offset by better than expected intial jobless figures in the US. UK mortgage lending eased in May from the month before and was 58% lower than the
Read moreLondon afternoon: US rally lifts Footsie
18th Jun 2009 15:03
Better than expected US dole queue figures have lifted Footsie in the afternoon session, despite very mixed economic data here at home. Mortgage lending eased in May from the month before and was 58% lower than the same time last year, figures showed today. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) s
Read moreLondon midday: Economic data knocks retailers
18th Jun 2009 12:02
Leading shares drift lower after disappointing retail sales and weaker mortgage lending in May. The economic data proved to be a double-whammy for DIY retailers Home Retail and Kingfisher, which feature prominently among the main fallers. Elsewhere in the retail sector fashion chain Next and Currys
Read moreLondon open: Miners and banks on the rise
18th Jun 2009 08:17
Miners and banking shares are leading London's top stocks higher in early dealings following recent heavy falls. In the mining sector, Xstrata is the strongest performer, closely followed by Kazakhmys, Fresnillo and Antofagasta. Banks are also in demand, with both Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds
Read moreSIG expects lower underlying profit
18th Jun 2009 07:36
SIG, supplier of construction products, said due to the continuing difficult market conditions, it now expects underlying pre-tax profit for the year to be around the bottom end of the current range of market expectations. The group said since its last trading update in May, trading conditions have
Read moreSIG to cut jobs as sales fall
13th May 2009 12:20
Shares in SIG fell back after the building products group said it would cut jobs and take other cost-cutting measures to cope with falling sales. The firm said sales so far this year are down by 7.2% compared with the same period last year. In the UK and Ireland, which accounts for half of sales,
Read more