London open: Air travel woe dominates
19th Apr 2010 08:46
Travel problems continue to dominate the market with the UK flight ban extended to tomorrow at the earliest. More than 100,000 customers of TUI Travel due to return home yesterday were left stranded by the ongoing flight ban imposed after the eruption of the volcano in Iceland last week. Currently,
Read moreThomas Cook bond issues raises £650m
16th Apr 2010 09:17
Travel firm Thomas Cook Group raised around £650m through the issue of new sterling and euro bond issues to use for general corporate purposes. It launched and priced a €400m, 5-year Euro bond with an annual coupon of 6.75% maturing in June 2015 and a £300m, 7-year Sterling bond with an annual coup
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks keep Footsie up
15th Apr 2010 11:45
London's leading shares are just above flat as good gains from banks are being offset by weak defensives. Investors are keen on the likes of Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC Holdings but defensives are proving a drag. Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever are lower while G4S, Centrica and Thomas Coo
Read moreLondon close: Footsie breaks 5,700
25th Mar 2010 16:14
Shares kept moving north through the afternoon session as Wall Street's march towards 11,000 helped propel the Footsie past 5,700 to a fresh 21-month high. London's leading index, which hasn't closed this high since 18 June, was headed by Thomas Cook as investors booked into the travel company foll
Read moreSector movers: Leisure stocks wanted
25th Mar 2010 15:04
Thomas Cook is among the stocks lifting the travel and leisure sector higher. The tour operator has echoed bullish comments from rival TUI and reports a steady increase in bookings for the Summer as consumer confidence recovers. Elsewhere in the sector, investors have an appetite for Gourmet Burg
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Consumer businesses dominate
25th Mar 2010 15:01
Trading statements and results from retail and consumer businesses dominate the movers in the Footsie. Tour operator Thomas Cook reported a steady increase in bookings for the summer. "As the Winter 09/10 season draws to a close, trading has continued to show steady progress and Summer 10 bookin
Read moreLondon afternoon: Sunny outlook for Thomas Cook
25th Mar 2010 14:31
Footsie continued its upward trajectory over the lunchtime session, receiving a boost from the firm start on Wall Street. Tour operator Thomas Cook has moved to the top of the Footsie leaderboard after it echoed bullish comments from rival TUI about holiday bookings. The travel giant has reported
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie above 5,700
25th Mar 2010 12:06
Footsie has climbed above 5,700 for the first time since June 2008 as a string of updates from the retail sector are mostly well-received. Next leads the risers in the FTSE 100. Pre-tax profits soared in 2009 after the desperate consumer environment the fashion retailer feared at the beginning of t
Read moreLondon open: Footsie higher as retailers reassure
25th Mar 2010 08:44
Footsie has opened steadily as investors mull the implications of the Budget and a series of updates from the retail sector. Pre-tax profits soared at Next in 2009 after the desperate consumer environment the fashion retailer feared at the beginning of the year failed to materialise. Pre-tax profi
Read moreThomas Cook's bookings pick up
25th Mar 2010 07:27
Tour operator Thomas Cook has echoed bullish comments from rival TUI and reports a steady increase in bookings for the Summer as consumer confidence recovers. "As the Winter 09/10 season draws to a close, trading has continued to show steady progress and Summer 10 bookings have continued to pick up
Read moreLondon close: Market unmoved by Budget
24th Mar 2010 16:49
The blue-chip index finished marginally higher after a Budget that was light on bells and whistles While there was little in the Budget to excite anyone other than first-time buyers, cider drinkers and British occupants of Dominica, Grenada and Belize, the corporate news scene was busy, with half
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks bounce after Budget
24th Mar 2010 14:42
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has delivered his Budget speech and the net effect has been to leave the Footsie barely changed on the day. Banks seem to have been the major beneficiaries of the Chancellor's speech, with the absence of any bank bashing leading to firmer prices for part-nationalised
Read moreBroker tips: TUI travel, Thomas Cook, M&B
24th Mar 2010 12:51
Holiday firms were in focus on Wednesday morning after TUI Travel issued an upbeat trading statement. Despite the positive noises emanating from TUI, broker Panmure Gordon has still cuts its rating for the firm from 'buy' to 'hold'. 'We leave our 2010 forecasts unchanged and retain our 325p price
Read moreBroker snap: Thomas Cook outshines TUI
24th Mar 2010 12:49
Holiday firms were in focus on Wednesday morning after TUI Travel issued an upbeat trading statement. Despite the positive noises emanating from TUI, broker Panmure Gordon has still cuts its rating for the firm from 'buy' to 'hold'. 'We leave our 2010 forecasts unchanged and retain our 325p price
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie dips ahead of Budget
24th Mar 2010 11:49
Footsie has turned down ahead of the Budget as investors wait to see what new initiatives, if anything, chancellor Alistair Darling has to offer. While investors wait, there are plenty of company announcements to digest. Travel companies are doing well. TUI Travel noted a 'significant recovery in
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