London open: Bright start as Dubai fears ease
14th Dec 2009 08:49
London's top stocks have opened more than 50 points higher with sentiment buoyed by the decision of Abu Dhabi to bail-out Dubai, its financially embarrassed neighbour. LSE, Standard Chartered and Royal Bank of Scotland are up on the Dubai news, which should lift the cloud of possible huge bad debts
Read moreSpice hit by gas implosion
14th Dec 2009 08:09
Shares in support services group Spice tumbled again as it revealed a huge loss a write-off of its social housing gas business. A £42.9m write-down sent the billings group into a loss of £31.5m in the half year to October. Revenue was broadly unchanged at £193.4m and underlying operating profits ro
Read moreFiberweb chief exec trims stake
7th Sep 2009 16:21
Daniel Dayan, chief executive of Fiberweb, has sold £455,000 worth of shares in the fabrics group. Dayan sold 700,000 ordinary shares at a price of 65p each. He now owns 900,394 shares, or 0.74%, in the company. Last month, Fiberweb announced it slipped into losses of £13m in the half year to June
Read moreGreen legislation boosts Spice
3rd Sep 2009 07:31
Utility support services provider Spice said it is continuing to benefit from environmental legislation and expects trading for the half year to October 31 to be in line with expectations. Spice, whose services include helping clients make buildings more energy efficient, said its supply division
Read moreLondon close: Bright finish for FTSE 100
13th Jul 2009 16:26
Footsie put a sluggish start behind it to finish with good gains, helped by a strong showing on Wall Street. Friends Provident was the best performer after Clive Cowdery's new vehicle, Resolution , said it has received "constructive feedback" from the board of Friends over its merger approach and i
Read moreLondon afternoon: Friends leads London higher
13th Jul 2009 14:32
Mergers and acquisition activity is keeping share prices bubbling as London makes a solid start to the week. Friends Provident is the best performer after Clive Cowdery's new vehicle, Resolution , said it has received "constructive feedback" from the board of Friends over its merger approach and i
Read moreLondon midday: M&A activity perks up shares
13th Jul 2009 11:56
The blue-chip index edged higher in the morning sessions despite the weakness of miners and banks, with increased merger and acquisition activity encouraging buyers back to the market. Friends Provident is the best performer after Clive Cowdery's new vehicle, Resolution , said it has received "con
Read moreLondon open: Dull start to the week
13th Jul 2009 08:43
London's blue chips have made a slow start to the week despite a small burst of takeover activity. A deal could be on the cards between insurance group Resolution and Friends Provident after Clive Cowdery's new vehicle said it has received "constructive feedback" from the board of Friends over its
Read moreLondon pre-open: Losses on the cards
13th Jul 2009 07:37
Investors remain nervous following further losses on Wall Street Friday and as the US earnings season starts to hot up. Futures prices indicate an early deficit of about 14 points for the FTSE 100. Oil and gas firm Venture Production today rejected last Friday's 845p-a-share hostile cash bid from
Read moreSpice buys Simoco system developer
13th Jul 2009 07:03
Utility support services provider Spice has bought ComGroup Australia, a company which designs and distributes Simoco branded mobile radio handsets and systems to utilities and government. Spice is initially paying £6.9m for the acquisition, representing a multiple of 3.1 times the operating profit
Read moreSpice says full-year on track
12th May 2009 13:40
Utility support services provider Spice said trading for the year ended May is in line with expectations. Cash conversion has remained strong in the second half of the year. Year end net debt is less than £100m. "I am pleased with the group's performance in the second half of the financial year an
Read more