London pre-open: US shadow over London
14th Dec 2011 07:33
With the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, deciding yesterday not to pump more funds into its quantitative easing programme London is set to follow Wall Street lower this morning. Although the Fed's decision was not a total surprise, US stocks still shifted sharply into reverse yesterday after
Read moreThomas Cook set for another challenging year - UPDATE
14th Dec 2011 07:19
The delayed full-year results from struggling package tour operator Thomas Cook are out and reveal the company fell into the red as a result of a reappraisal of the value of its UK and Canadian businesses, while the new trading year has got off to a slow start. The company made an underlying profit
Read moreWednesday preview: Thomas Cook, Supergroup, Unemployment
13th Dec 2011 17:27
Results from cash-strapped package tour firm Thomas Cook were initially due to be announced on November 24th but had to be delayed because, not to put too fine a point on it, the company was up a well-known creek and was looking for a paddle at the time. Having sorted out its cash-flow difficulties
Read moreLondon open: Whitbread loses its froth
13th Dec 2011 08:47
London has opened on the front foot, which comes as a relief after yesterday's bashing, but the top-share index's modest advance is largely due to the strength of miners, which more than outweighs the weakness of banks. Results from Costa Coffee show owner Whitbread have left a sour taste, with evi
Read moreThomas Cook sells Spanish chain for €72m
13th Dec 2011 08:27
Struggling travel firm Thomas Cook has sold Hotels Y Clubs De Vacaciones (HCV) to Grupo Iberostar for €72.2m. HCV is a holding company that, together with another shareholder, owns five Spanish hotels and one golf club as well as operating a second golf club in Spain. It is being sold with net de
Read moreFTSE 250 Movers: CSR soars into first place
12th Dec 2011 16:03
Wireless technology and computer chip company CSR roared higher after announcing that it will be discontinuing investment in the areas of digital television systems-on-a-chip and silicon tuners. CSR expects to realise, on an annualised basis, $60m of operating cost reductions as a result of these
Read moreFTSE 250 Movers: Thomas Cook in pole position
9th Dec 2011 15:11
Thomas Cook occupied the top spot once again, one week before being unceromoniously booted off the footsie 250. Recovering from the blow, shares rose 6%, boosted by news that Thomas Cook India, the country's largest integrated travel financial services company, was selected as the 'Favourite Speci
Read moreLondon close: Stocks plummet after ECB
8th Dec 2011 16:43
The Footsie took a tumble in the afternoon as initial optimism following the European Central Bank (ECB) decision to cut rates quickly faded after a press conference with its president Mario Draghi. In the last two-or-so hours of trade, London's blue chip index dropped more than 100 points from its
Read moreFTSE 250 Movers: PZ Cussons share price down the drain
8th Dec 2011 15:53
'Imperial Leather' soap maker PZ Cussons was the biggest faller after it warned that overall profit in the six months to the end of November will come in below expectations. The firm said high raw material costs and adverse exchange rate movement had continued to impact margins in the first half of
Read moreNew listings on FTSE 100, none of them London-based
8th Dec 2011 14:43
London's benchmark index, the FTSE 100, is starting to look distinctly foreign after three more firms from abroad get promoted to the top rank. Irish construction firm CRH, along with two Russian miners, namely Evraz and Polymetal, will be replacing bank Investec, satellite group Inmarsat and mini
Read moreIATA downgrades 2012 industry estimates
7th Dec 2011 13:19
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced revisions to its industry outlook, downgrading its predictions for 2012. The association now estimates that airline profits for next year will be $3.5bn, compared to previous estimations of $4.9bn, with a net margin of 0.6%. The 2011
Read moreFTSE 250 Movers: Electra soars on NAV rise
6th Dec 2011 14:23
Electra Private Equity, the investment trust that invests in private equity ventures, was the biggest riser after it saw an 8.5% rise in net asset value (NAV) per share after a strong portfolio performance during the year ended 30 September. Vehicle hire firm Northgate was also on the rise after it
Read moreLondon open: Stocks up on euro hopes, Michael Page tanks
5th Dec 2011 08:17
London's blue chip index has opened higher, building on last week's gains of 7.5%, as a pivotal week in the Eurozone crisis kicks off. KEY WEEK FOR EURO French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are due to meet in Paris today to discuss the centralised control of Eurozon
Read moreWeek Ahead: Ticket to Schadenfreude for TUI
2nd Dec 2011 08:47
Massive attention has been focused on the cash-flow problems of package tour operator Thomas Cook recently, so the full-year results of rival holiday firm TUI Travel on Monday are certain to attract a lot of attention. TUI has been at pains to emphasise it has not been suffering the same sort of tr
Read moreFTSE 250 Movers: Thomas Cook leads the way down... again
1st Dec 2011 15:36
Thomas Cook continued to worry investors although there didn't appear to be a new reason for it hitting the bottom spot. Earlier in the week Credit Suisse describe the terms of a new financing arrangement which Thomas Cook has put in place with its creditor banks as "positive", but cautioned that, "
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