London midday: GDP figures no comfort
26th Jan 2010 12:03
News that the UK economy limped out of recession in the fourth quarter has failed to cheer equities, which remain more concerned about China and the possibility its government will slam the economic brakes on. The UK economy grew just 0.1% in the fourth quarter, far less than expected. Economists h
Read moreSector movers: Banks bounce back
25th Jan 2010 11:07
Banks are one of the strongest sectors after recovering from a shaky start. Continuing fears over the potential impact of President Obama's new bank controls weighed on the UK sector in early dealings, with additional fears that a new chunk of fund raising could be on the cards to meet tougher new
Read moreLondon open: Mixed start for blue chips
25th Jan 2010 08:45
London has opened lower with banks and miners mixed and buyers largely sitting on the sidelines. The potential impact of President Obama's new bank controls continues to weigh heavily on the UK sector, with additional fears that a new chunk of fund raising could be on the cards to meet tougher new
Read moreLondon close: Banks and miners drag Footsie lower
21st Jan 2010 16:30
Leading UK shares lurched lower in the afternoon as US shares weakened and investors waited nervously for President Obama's new bank reforms. The US President's proposals prohibit commercial banks from owning or investing in hedge funds or owning, investing or advising private equity funds, while a
Read moreSector movers: Utilities gush higher
21st Jan 2010 14:49
United Utilities has taken off today after the water company cut its dividend by less than expected to meet the requirements of the industry regulator's price review. It will rebase the dividend to 30p a share for fiscal 2010/11 from 34.3p this year. Experts had thought it might fall by 20-25%. Se
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks face 'tsunami' of pressure
21st Jan 2010 14:44
Leading shares traded sideways over the lunchtime session, albeit with a small dip at 1:30pm when the US market opened a tad lower. Banks and miners are impeding Footsie's progress, with the latter still friendless on concerns about demand from China. Pundits are predicting that the Chinese authori
Read moreLondon close: Footsie turns positive
19th Jan 2010 17:22
London's top stocks finished the day above the 5,500 mark after turning positive in afternoon trading. Luxury fashion label Burberry was the best performer of the day after saying it expects profits for the full year to be at the top end of expectations after seeing strong sales in the last three m
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Cadbury, International Power, US banks
17th Jan 2010 11:25
Cadbury's future hangs in the balance this weekend as Kraft, the American food giant, puts the finishing touches to raising its £10.5 billion bid for the chocolate maker. The new offer, which is expected to improve Kraft's bid from 771p per share to at least 820p, will test the resolve of Cadbury's
Read moreLondon close: Dull day for blue chips
30th Dec 2009 16:44
Footsie closed near its low for the day after banks and miners turned down on very low volumes ahead of a short day's trading tomorrow. A flat start on Wall Street didn't help, but it was Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Standard Chartered that led the the banks down while miners Fresnillo, Rio
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks slip lower
30th Dec 2009 11:43
Tops stocks are lower with two of the bigger sectors of the market weighing. Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Standard Chartered are down amongst the banks while miners Fresnillo, Rio Tinto, Lonmin and Anglo American also fall. Petrofac, the oil services firm, is outperforming after news of
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners on the march
23rd Dec 2009 12:27
Miners are among the top risers, including Rio Tinto, which has accepted a $2.025bn offer for its Alcan Packaging pharmaceutical, tobacco and food divisions from the packaging group Amcor as it continues its programme of asset sales to ease its debt pile. Kazakh pair ENRC and Kazakhmys are the top
Read moreStill no debt deal for Dubai World
21st Dec 2009 17:58
Dubai World still hasn't agreed the suspension of repayments on its $22bn debt pile despite putting forward restructuring plans today. The troubled state-owned firm held talks with dozens of banks and said it would reach a deal 'in an orderly way' as Dubai's leaders promised financial support if a
Read moreLondon close: Late decline wipes out gains
18th Dec 2009 16:43
Footsie ended lower having spent most of the day in positive territory. Financials led the market down and cruise operator Carnival's lower quarterly profit did not help. Most of the miners ended the day higher but they lost some of their earlier gains. Having been hit hard yesterday following the
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks in consolidation mode
18th Dec 2009 14:21
Blue-chips moved sideways over the lunch-time session, consolidating the morning's gains. Goldman Sachs has given a lift to the oil sector, tipping BP as the 'clear winner' among oil companies next year, though it also rates UK operators BG and Royal Dutch Shell over their continental European coun
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks amble higher
18th Dec 2009 12:10
Leading shares are mixed with a slightly firmer bias, helped by the strength of resource stocks. Gold miner Randgold Resources leads the mining sector higher as the gold price stabilises after falling heavily overnight. Elsewhere in the sector BHP Billiton, Kazakhmys and Antofagasta catch the eye.
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