London pre-open: Modest falls expected
30th Sep 2011 07:55
There is little sign of London pulling out of its slide, with City sources predicting the FTSE 100 will open down 38 points from yesterday's close of 5,197. Drugs giant AstraZeneca has entered into a settlement agreement in its US SEROQUEL XR patent infringement litigation against Handa Pharmaceuti
Read moreScottish and Southern presses nuclear button
26th Sep 2011 10:52
Scottish and Southern Energy, one of the UK's biggest power companies has withdrawn from its nuclear joint venture NuGen. The announcement comes after signals the company's interest in nuclear was waning at the end of last year when it said in its six month statement: 'The cost, development issues,
Read moreSSE pulls out of nuclear venture to go green
23rd Sep 2011 11:29
Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has dropped out of a joint venture with fellow power companies GDF Suez and Iberdrola to develop a nuclear power station to focus on renewable energy. SSE has confirmed that it will sell its 25% stake in NuGeneration, which was set up to develop proposals for a po
Read moreFriday tips round-up: TUI, United Utilities, Micro Focus
23rd Sep 2011 06:33
Travel group TUI is on course for pre-tax profits of about £360 million for the year to the end of September, putting the shares, off 4% at 148½p, on a little more than six times earnings, which looks cheap. They have lost about 40% of their value this year, not helped by the upheavals at rival Thom
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: IMF, Europe banks, business buddies
23rd Sep 2011 06:06
The head of the International Monetary Fund yesterday warned world leaders that they are running out of time to prevent another global slump and urged them to rediscover a "collective momentum" in order to head off disaster. Speaking in advance of the opening of the IMF's annual conference in Washin
Read moreSunday tips round-up: G4S, Gem Diamonds, Amec ...
21st Aug 2011 16:25
Security firm G4S has a good record of performing in tough times. In the last downturn, its top line growth never fell below 2%, and it has typically expanded at two percentage points above gross domestic product, notes James Ashton in the Sunday Times. Half-year results this week are expected to sh
Read moreSunday tips round-up: Surgical Innovations, National Grid, Utilities
7th Aug 2011 14:51
Investors, "have a genuine appetite for risk and are looking for low-priced shares that may not pay out dividends but are expected to deliver good growth over the next few years," the Midas column at the Financial Mail on Sunday writes, and Surgical Innovations neatly fits the bill. The Leeds based
Read moreLondon close: Stocks slump after giving up rally
27th Jul 2011 16:49
Stocks finished deep in the red, giving up an earlier rally, after a poor showing on Wall Street. Energy supplier Scottish & Southern Energy suffered after going ex-dividend. Meanwhile, sector peer Centrica also fell, albeit by a lesser extent, after utilities firm British Gas (owned by Centrica)
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks still stuck lower
27th Jul 2011 12:03
The top share index nestles slightly in negative territory, perhaps waiting for US trading to start before striking into the blue. Energy supplier Scottish & Southern Energy is suffering after going ex-dividend. Meanwhile, sector peer Centrica also fell, albeit by a lesser extent, after utilities
Read moreOfgem fines British Gas £2.5m
27th Jul 2011 10:32
Ofgem slapped a £2.5m fine on Centrica's British Gas after the UK energy regulator found that the company had failed to deal with customer complaints properly. An investigation led by Ofgem found that UK's largest household energy supplier failed to re-open unresolved customer complaints and did n
Read moreLondon open: SSE leads the fallers in early trading
27th Jul 2011 08:31
The top share index saw a sharp decline in early trading, as the debt crisis in the US continues to weigh on market sentiment. Energy supplier Scottish & Southern Energy was the heavy faller, tumbling 4.85% after going ex dividend. Meanwhile, sector peer Centrica also fell lower, albeit by a les
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Eurozone, Scottish Power, Olympic McDonalds
22nd Jul 2011 06:03
Eurozone leaders pulled the single currency back from the brink of disaster last night as they agreed a second plan to bail out Greece and ambitious proposals to overhaul the embattled euro area. Markets rallied as the 17 leaders hammered out an agreement that economists said marked a step forward i
Read moreSector movers: Big gains for banks
21st Jul 2011 15:43
Financials were leading the way on Thursday on hopes of a solution to the sovereign debt crisis in Europe. European leaders agreed a new aid package for Greece and an overhaul of the Eurozone sovereign rescue fund. Among the proposals are a reduction in debt burdens on Greece, Portugal and Ireland
Read moreLondon pre-open: Steady start in store
21st Jul 2011 07:42
The top-share index is expected to nudge up a couple of points or so at the outset after yesterday's mixed performance on Wall Street. With a busy day in store for company announcements, however, there are likely to be lots of special situations for investors to mull over. Half-year turnover and p
Read moreScottish & Southern lifts gas and electricity tariffs
21st Jul 2011 07:05
Scottish & Southern Energy has become the latest of the "big six" utility groups to warn of higher tariffs, saying it will increase household electricity prices by an average of 11% and household gas prices by 18% from 14 September. The company, which has more than 10m customers in Scotland and cen
Read more