London close: Miners, banks finish strongly
28th Jun 2011 16:33
The Footsie was bolstered by a decent start on Wall Street, as US house prices rose for the first time in eight months. Furthermore, global market sentiment was buoyed ahead of a critical vote in Greece to approve austerity measures, vital for the country to receive financial aid. French president
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks wanted as Greek fears ease
28th Jun 2011 14:35
The banking sector was lifting the FTSE 100 on Tuesday, as fears over the Greek situation eased. French president Nicolas Sarkozy announced an agreement with French banks to refinance holdings of Greek sovereign debt. "We concluded that by stretching out the loans over 30 years, putting (interest r
Read more3i boss spends £275,000
10th Jun 2011 16:09
The chief executive of 3i, Michael Queen, has spent £275,000 on shares in the private equity group. He took 100,000 shares at just over 275p a time. Finance director Julia Wilson, meanwhile, took 10,000 shares at 272.6p a time. 3i last month upped its dividend by 20% after reporting a sharp rise
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 slumps after US jobs shock
1st Jun 2011 16:38
After a directionless start, the top share index fell deep into the red ahead of the close, with some unfavourable US economic data denting sentiment. Rio Tinto held out to finish with gains. The mining giant announced today that it is to establish a large-scale presence in commodity hungry China
Read moreSector movers: Tate & Lyle sweetens food sector
1st Jun 2011 14:38
The food producing sector is sweeter, helped by gains from sugar producer and food ingredients firm Tate & Lyle. Yesterday, the group had its target price raised by 8% by UBS. Tate & Lyle announced last week that it managed to offset reduced selling prices for its SPLENDA Sucralose brand to grow
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Tate tops the table
1st Jun 2011 14:25
Tate & Lyle is the best performer on the FTSE 250. Yesterday, the food ingredients group had its target price raised by 8% by UBS. The share price of property regeneration specialist St. Modwen Properties has been boosted after it revealed that half-year results should come in at the top end of man
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: JD tops the risers
31st May 2011 15:15
Retailers JD Sports Fashion and Supergroup are also in demand. Tate & Lyle, the food ingredients group, has been given a lift by UBS after the broker raised its target price for the stock by 8%, from 550p to 595p. Stockbroker and investment manager Brewin Dolphin is edging higher after announcing
Read moreBroker tips: Standard Chartered, Serco, Tate & Lyle
31st May 2011 12:31
Standard Chartered has been upgraded to a 'buy', from 'neutral', by Nomura, which says that the Asia-focused bank is delivering growth in a challenging environment. "For investors looking for top-line growth within a UK & European banks sector where growth is often a scarce commodity, we believe th
Read moreBroker snap: Target raised by 8% at Tate & Lyle
31st May 2011 12:18
UBS raises its target price for Tate & Lyle and fine-tunes its year-ended-2012 estimates following the food and ingredients group's full-year results, which were broadly in-line with expectations. For the 12 months ended 31 March, adjusted pre-tax profit grew by 24% to £267m, while earnings per sha
Read moreLondon close: Stocks hold on to gains
27th May 2011 16:46
Stocks held on to gains going into a long weekend, as Wall Street opened up higher. After a sharp rise in early trading, the Footsie maintained its level around the 5,930-40 mark for the rest of the day, helped by strong showings from the miners and the banks. Just seven stocks finished in the red.
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Miners track metals prices higher
27th May 2011 14:37
Russia-focused gold miner Petropavlovsk and Finland-focused nickel and zinc miner Talvivaara Mining Company are tracking metals prices higher. They are among the best performing stocks on the FTSE 250 on Friday afternoon. The consumer confidence index for the UK unexpectedly jumped in May, accordin
Read moreLondon midday: Banks provide a boost
27th May 2011 12:05
The Footsie is around 1% higher at the midday point, holding on to early gains. The banking sector is performing well today after positive comments from Citigroup. The US bank upped its rating on European banks to 'overweight', saying that the recent decline in the share prices provides a good entr
Read moreLondon open: Miners and banks head a strong start
27th May 2011 08:28
The Footsie has started strongly, rising over 1% as the index climbs above the 5,900 level. The miners are in demand, with Lonmin, Rio Tinto, Xstrata and Kazakhmys heading higher. The latter announced this morning that it's proposed listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange will not involve the issu
Read moreSweet profits at Tate & Lyle
27th May 2011 07:44
Food ingredients group Tate & Lyle managed to offset reduced selling prices for its SPLENDA Sucralose brand to grow sales by 7% in the year ended 31 March, while profits surged. Group revenue grew from £2.53bn to £2.72bn, beating broker estimates of around £2.6bn. Bulk Ingredients grew by 10%, whil
Read moreFriday preview: Tate and Lyle, Electrocomponents
26th May 2011 17:57
We have become used to companies grumbling about rising raw material prices, but those grumbles are often music to the ears of food ingredients firm Tate & Lyle. In a trading update at the end of March the company said that operating performance over the company's full year had been in line with
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