Sector movers: SSE sparks electricity sector
20th May 2011 16:33
The best performing sector on Friday was electricity, bolstered by Scottish & Southern Energy. The legion of income investors holding Scottish & Southern Energy shares were kept happy as the utility company bumped up the dividend a bit more than anticipated on the back of better than expected resul
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: AMEC falls after investor day
20th May 2011 15:37
International engineering and project management company AMEC is the worst performer of the day after an investor event. There is speculation that the group is keen to keep on buying after its recent acquisition of US peer Mactec, limiting the chance of a special dividend, according to reports. BP
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 gives up gains
20th May 2011 12:07
The FTSE 100 has run out of puff and is now flat despite good gains for BP. BP - more specifically last year's disastrous oil spill - is in focus again, but the oil giant's shares are higher after it said MOEX, part of the Japanese trading house Mitsui and the 10% owner of the Macondo oil well that
Read moreLondon open: FTSE 100 in another assault on 6,000
20th May 2011 08:30
Stocks have opened higher on a quiet day on the company news front, consolidating recent gains and moving closer to the psychologically important 6,000 point mark. BP - more specifically last year's disastrous oil spill - is in focus again, but the oil giant's shares are higher after it said MOEX,
Read moreLondon pre-open: Modest progress expected
20th May 2011 07:49
Stocks are set to open modestly higher following a solid showing overnight on Wall Street. City traders expect the blue-chip index will open around 16 points firmer at 5,972. The legion of income investors holding Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) shares were kept happy as the utility company bump
Read moreSSE trumpets its dividend growth
20th May 2011 07:18
The legion of income investors holding Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) shares were kept happy as the utility company bumped up the dividend a bit more than anticipated on the back of better than expected results. The full year dividend has been hiked 7.1% to 75p from 70p last year, a shade above
Read moreFriday preview: SSE, Mitchells & Butlers
19th May 2011 17:49
Energy provider Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) releases full year results on Friday that should not contain too many surprises after the company issued profits guidance back in February. The company said back then that full year profits should be in line with City expectations which, at the time
Read moreSector movers: Land Securities boosts real estate trusts
18th May 2011 15:36
The real estate investment trust sector is the best performing sector after full-year results from Land Securities. Property giant Land Securities is towering above the rest of the FTSE 100 after it posted a sharp rise in profits and net asset value in the year to 31 March and predicted continued g
Read moreSector movers: Spectris helps electrical stocks higher
13th May 2011 16:01
Precision instruments and controls group Spectris has bolstered the electronic and electrical equipment sector today after hailing a strong start to the year. Trading during the year so far for the FTSE 250 firm has been good, assisted by a healthy order book. Like-for-like sales were up by 21% in
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Oil and metals stocks edge rise higher
13th May 2011 15:34
Commodity price-sensitive stocks were wanted today, as the prices of precious metals and oil recovered from the recent sell-off. Oil services group Petrofac is higher after saying it is "increasingly confident" that it will deliver profit growth in line with previous guidance after a strong perform
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners in full retreat
12th May 2011 14:39
The mining sector is out of favour Thursday as worries over global economic growth have caused continuing declines in commodity prices. Fresnillo, Antofagasta, Vedanta Resources, Eurasian Natural Resources Corp and Lonmin are among the worst performers. Meanwhile, the insurers are also on the dec
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: IAG tops the risers
26th Apr 2011 14:31
Airline IAG, luxury brand Burberry and chip giant ARM are the best performing blue chips. Rio Tinto is edging higher after coming to an agreement with the government of Guinea, paving the way for work to begin on the Simandou iron ore project in the southern part of the country. Meanwhile, sector
Read moreBroker snap: Upside risk at SSE
26th Apr 2011 10:47
Despite the recent strong run in Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) shares, Credit Suisse thinks that the lead indicators for profitability are still not priced-in, and sees a risk of upgrades. "We see power production volumes and spreads increasing, and think the recent electricity market reforms
Read moreSSE sells three wind farms for £173.6m
15th Apr 2011 11:50
Energy provider Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has offloaded its 100% interest in three UK wind farms for £173.6m. The three sites - Dalwinton and Minsca in Scotand, and Slieve Divena in Northern Ireland - have a total capacity of 96.8 megawatts and have been sold to renewable power generator I
Read moreLondon close: Miners drive FTSE 100 rally
8th Apr 2011 16:44
Stocks went into the weekend on the front foot as higher commodity prices drove miners forward. Shares in Fresnillo, which mines for silver in Mexico, went well as the precious metal hit $40 an ounce for the first time since 1980, but was leapfrogged by more mainstream miners such as Anglo American
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