Monday newspaper round-up: Smith & Nephew, BP, Portugal...
10th Jan 2011 06:42
The healthcare group Smith & Nephew has rejected an offer from its American rival Johnson & Johnson, it emerged last night. The offer is reported to have been pitched at exactly £1 more than the 650p S&N shares closed at on Friday and would have valued the group at almost £6.7bn. A company spokesma
Read moreLondon close: Footsie back below 6,000
29th Dec 2010 17:01
Footsie did not stay above 6,000 for long and it ended the day down 13 at 5,996. A strong performance from mining companies, particularly those involved in gold, was not enough to offset a decline in banks, which are weak on worries over the debt issues facing the eurozone. Royal Bank of Scotland
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Gold miners move ahead
29th Dec 2010 12:56
Gold miners are heading higher on the back of concerns about the bond markets. African Barrick Gold is the best of the risers today alongside Randgold Resources. The US FDA says that testing and validation methods at Smith & Nephew's Tuttlingen plant in Germany violate rules. Banks are weak on
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie falls below 6,000
29th Dec 2010 12:18
Footsie has failed to stay above 6,000 today and it has been heading downwards since just after 9am. Blizzards in the US are driving oil prices to a 26-month high above $91 a barrel. Heating oil prices in particular are rising. Royal Dutch Shell was one of the best performers this morning but it
Read moreTechMARK movers: S&N hit by FDA letter
29th Dec 2010 12:17
There is little news from TechMARK companies today with many rises based on a handful of shares traded. Telecoms firm KCOM is higher after eight trades, all of which are purchases. The US FDA says that testing and validation methods at Smith & Nephew's Tuttlingen plant in Germany violate rules.
Read moreLondon open: Mild gains for blue chips
29th Dec 2010 09:17
It's a quiet start to the shortened trading week with investors seeming content to wait until the real action picks up again next week. Weather continues to make headlines with this time the blizzards in the US driving up oil prices to a 26-month high above $91 a barrel. Heating oil prices in parti
Read moreSunday tips round-up: BG, IMI, Smith & Nephew...
12th Dec 2010 15:33
Shares in energy giant BG Group hit a two-and-a-half year high at the end of last week after it gave an update on operations at its Tupi and Guara fields in Brazil. Based on the new resources estimates for these fields, the three floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels that are
Read moreTechMARK movers: Innovation recovers
9th Dec 2010 13:08
Shares in The Innovation Group are recovering following Tuesday's results. The software and services supplier to the insurance sector has almost completed its restructuring. Loss before tax narrowed to £1.7m for the year ended 30 September 2010 from a loss of £19.8m previously. Revenues during t
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Financials lead market higher
9th Dec 2010 13:07
Financials dominate the risers on the Footsie as the Bank of England keeps the base rate unchanged and confidence recovers in the global economy. Man Group and RBS are both more than 3% ahead on the day. Cobham is the best performer even though the defence group will be dropped from the index on 2
Read moreLondon close: Footsie slips back on sluggish day
8th Dec 2010 16:56
Shares struggled to snap out of their earlier sluggishness all day, closing just a few points in the red. Bid-related activity was the main source of excitement. Medical devices group Smith & Nephew was swept more than 9% higher by talk of a possible acquisition. US private equity firms are though
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Smith & Nephew bid rumours
8th Dec 2010 15:21
Smith & Nephew is higher on rumours that it could be the subject of a bid. US private equity firms are thought to be considering an offer at 800p a share. There are also rumours that Gucci owner PPR many bid for Burberry. News from the British Retail Council showing shop price inflation fell f
Read moreLondon open: Blue chips head lower
8th Dec 2010 08:57
London has opened lower as a bullish mood in the US following a two-year extension to tax cuts faded by the close last night. Smith & Nephew is the best performer by some distance, while Royal Dutch Shell is also higher after an upgrade to equal-weight from underweight from Morgan Stanley. The dea
Read moreLondon close: Footsie boosted by US jobs
5th Nov 2010 16:52
Footsie rallied in the afternoon session on the back of better than expected US monthly jobs numbers to register its highest close since June 2008. Non-farm payrolls climbed by 151,000 in October, in spite of an 8,000 reduction in government payrolls, as private employers embarked on a recruiting s
Read moreLondon afternoon: Blue chips perk up
5th Nov 2010 15:00
Footsie has rallied as the afternoon session has progressed with miners making good gains on the back of better than expected US monthly jobs numbers. Vedanta is now the best performer, with silver miner Fresnillo, ENRC and Antofagasta all making good gains. Part-nationalised bank Royal Bank of S
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks head lower
5th Nov 2010 13:21
There was a negative reaction to the bank figures today. Royal Bank of Scotland fell into the red in the third quarter. It recorded a loss before tax of £1,379 million, compared with a profit of £1,157m in the second quarter and a loss of £2,077m in the third quarter of 2009. HSBC warned that the
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