London afternoon: Sleepwalking lower
26th Mar 2010 14:05
It's been a good week for the Footsie but it looks set to end with a whimper rather than a bang. With corporate news thin on the ground broker commentary is driving much of the action. Unilever is downgraded to neutral from 'overweight' by HSBC on sales volumes concerns. Hi-tech weapons group Qi
Read moreSector movers: Songbird weighs on real estate
26th Mar 2010 14:00
The real estate sector is higher despite weakness in the share price of Songbird Estates. Docklands office complex Canary Wharf's value increased in the second half of 2009, owner Songbird Estates said today, as it recovered from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, a key tenant. Songbird, which had t
Read moreSector movers: Lloyds buoys banking sector
19th Mar 2010 10:52
Lloyds leads the banking sector after giving an impromptu and upbeat trading update ahead of a presentation at the Morgan Stanley european financials conference today. Lloyds will be profitable on a combined businesses basis in 2010, chief executive Eric Daniels claimed Friday. Daniels said trading
Read moreSector movers: Yule sale sparks positive chemical reaction
12th Mar 2010 13:50
Some well received news from raw materials company Yule Catto has proved a catalyst for good gains in the chemicals sector. Yule Catto's joint venture subsidiary, Revertex (Malaysia) has exchanged conditional contracts with HB Fuller Company for the sale of adhesives business Revertex Finewaters.
Read moreFriday paper round-up: HSBC, Scottish & Southern, ITV
5th Mar 2010 06:33
The supertax on bank bonuses will reap more than £2.5bn for the Treasury, giving the UK government an unexpectedly large windfall to spend ahead of the general election, a Financial Times survey of 16 global banks has found. Government insiders predict that the receipts of £2.5bn would exceed by ab
Read moreSSE cuts gas bills by 4%
4th Mar 2010 17:54
Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) is dropping its gas prices by 4% from 29 March, saving the average family £30 a year. "SSE will introduce a package of changes in prices for household gas supply from 29 March 2010 under which it will cut unit prices, adjust the 'fixed' charge element in bills and
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie falls as miners switch sides
3rd Feb 2010 14:32
Mining stocks headed south over the lunch time session, taking the blue-chip index with them. Antofagasta is the worst performer in the mining sector. The copper miner produced 442,500 tonnes of the red metal in 2009, ahead of its original forecast of 433,000 tonnes but lower than the 477,700 tonne
Read moreLondon midday: Merrills takes a shine to banks
3rd Feb 2010 12:08
Footsie ended the morning at an intra-day high, driven by a strong performance from financial stocks and miners. Standard Life is the top riser after it announced a 'significant increase' in flows and sales in the fourth quarter. Life and pensions net inflows more than tripled to £1.3bn from £0.4bn
Read moreLondon open: Quiet start despite Wall St rally
3rd Feb 2010 08:50
Hopes of a strong start have been dashed with Footsie limping along at present even though Wall Street posted its second triple-digit gain in two gains overnight. Data search software Autonomy reported fourth quarter and full year figures that were in line with expectations and gave a confident out
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks set to follow US higher
3rd Feb 2010 07:36
A triple digit rise overnight by the Dow Jones has encouraged an optimistic frame of mind in London, with traders expecting the blue-chip index to make an assault on the 5300 level at the opening, which would imply a rise of around 17 points from last night's close. Data search software Autonomy re
Read moreScottish & Southern expects 'moderate profit' increase
3rd Feb 2010 07:07
Power supplier Scottish & Southern Energy is on course for a 'moderate increase' in underlying profits this year, while the dividend for the year will be at least 70p, a 6% hike. Over the nine months to December the number of electricity and gas supply customer accounts in the Great Britain market
Read moreLondon close: Downward drift continues
25th Jan 2010 16:33
Nervousness returned to the markets after an indecisive start, sending Footsie to another day of losses on top of last week's slump. British American Tobacco, National Grid, GlaxoSmithKline and Scottish & Southern Energy were among the fallers. Miners were also hit, with ENRC, Anglo American and R
Read moreLondon afternoon: Shares drift lower
25th Jan 2010 16:04
Nervousness has returned to the markets following an indecisive start to the day. The UK's leading index has suffered further losses after last week's 200 point slump as investors discussed the potential impact of President Obama's new bank controls. US shares fell heavily last week on the shock
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie holding on
25th Jan 2010 12:22
London continues to trade just above 5,300 thanks to financials and mining plays, although defensive issues are proving a drag. The UK's leading index slumped 200 points last week as investors discussed the potential impact of President Obama's new bank controls. But it appears there's a feeling t
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Centrica, Recession, Royal Dutch Shell
25th Jan 2010 06:35
The cold winter weather this year will deliver a £100m boost to the profits of Britain's Big Six energy companies, according to forecasts by City analysts. Centrica, the owner of British Gas and Britain's largest gas and electricity supplier, with 16m customers, is likely to be the biggest single
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