London open: Footsie fights back
21st Jan 2010 08:17
United Utilities, Tullow Oil and a bunch of miners are leading London's blue chips higher in early dealings following yesterday's sharp losses. Water company United Utilities is to cut its dividend to 30p in fiscal 2010/11 from 34.3p as it seeks to conserve cash to meet the requirements of the indu
Read moreTullow cheers 'significant' oil & gas find
21st Jan 2010 07:23
Tullow Oil said its Tweneboa-2 exploratory appraisal well, some 6 km southeast of the Tweneboa-1 discovery, has intersected a significant combined hydrocarbon column. Results of drilling, wireline logs and samples of reservoir fluids establish that Tweneboa is a major oil and gas-condensate field.
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks set to bounce back
21st Jan 2010 07:16
Despite the shake out on Wall Street overnight, leading shares in London look set to open firmer, with the Footsie tipped to open 20 points or so to the good. Supermarket giant Morrisons reported a 6.5% rise in like-for-like sales over the Christmas period, beating comparable figures from rivals Te
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: Cadbury agrees Kraft takeover
19th Jan 2010 06:20
The iconic British chocolate manufacturer Cadbury fell last night to an £11.7bn takeover by the US food conglomerate Kraft, the Times reports. The deal, struck after hours of negotiations, brings to a conclusion one of the most fiercely contested takeover battles the City has seen in recent years.
Read moreLondon close: Good gains for FTSE 100
18th Jan 2010 16:33
Footsie finished the day in the blue despite a sharp reversal in the fortunes of International Power, which earlier had soared on speculation of a takeover by French power giant GDF Suez. Shares in the energy company slid from their earlier highs after it admitted it held talks with GDF Suez about
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks keep climbing
18th Jan 2010 14:49
Ongoing bid speculation, stronger retailers and buoyant miners have pushed London above 5,500. International Power is top of the pile on press reports that French power giant GDF Suez has made a takeover approach to the group, but there has been no statement from either side over the truth of the s
Read moreLondon midday: Good morning for blue chips
18th Jan 2010 12:20
London's leading share index has enjoyed a good morning on hopes of a bid for International Power and a higher offer for Cadbury. IP is up nearly 5% after press reports that French power giant GDF Suez has made a takeover approach to the group, but there has been no statement from either side over
Read moreLondon open: M&A rumours in focus
18th Jan 2010 08:19
London's blue chips have made a good start to the new week, with International Power leading the way on takeover rumours. International Power is up more than 5% after press reports that French power giant GDF Suez has made a takeover approach to the group. Cadbury is also among this morning's rise
Read moreTullow gatecrashes Heritage's $1.5bn asset sale
18th Jan 2010 08:12
Tullow Oil has exercised a pre-emption right to snap up the Ugandan oil fields half-owned by partner Heritage Oil for $1.5bn. Italian state oil company Eni had agreed in November to buy Heritage's 50% stake in Blocks 1 and 3A for $1.35bn in cash and a deferred consideration of $150m. But Tullow ha
Read moreLondon midday: Ferrero pulls out of Cadbury chase
13th Jan 2010 11:56
Oils and banks are dragging the Footsie down, with sentiment also soured by disappointing manufacturing output figures. While industrial production showed a 0.4% rise in November, better than the 0.3% rise economists had been predicting, manufacturing output remained unchanged from October's level
Read moreLondon afternoon: Chinese banking move sparks selling
12th Jan 2010 14:47
News that China has raised the reserve requirements for its banks in an attempt to choke growth in the economy has spooked global markets, including London. The prospect of China slowing down economic expansion does not sit well with miners such as Fresnillo, Lonmin, Kazakhmys, Vedanta and Xstrata,
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners head lower
12th Jan 2010 12:18
Footsie is well down on the day as world economic concerns take the spotlight. The fallers are dominated by mining companies. News that China is trying to dampen down the growth in its economy hit commodities. Disappointing results from aluminium producer Alcoa didn't help, either. Fresnillo, Lo
Read moreREO raises Dublin rents
12th Jan 2010 10:44
UK and Ireland focused property investment and development group Real Estate Opportunities has received a boost from a rent hike for its largest tenant, Vodafone. Following a rent review, the rent paid by Vodafone on its Central Park offices in Dublin will rise by 12% to €7.2m per annum. Two other
Read moreLondon close: Footsie gives up gains
11th Jan 2010 16:41
The leading share index gave up early gains to finish only slightly higher as euphoria over strong trade figures from China in December gave way to renewed fears over recovery prospects. China's December imports jumped by 55.9% from the same month the previous year, while exports were 17.7% higher
Read moreSector movers: Oils stocks gush higher
11th Jan 2010 15:26
Cairn Energy is lifting the oil sector higher after being upgraded to 'buy' from 'hold' by the broker Citigroup. The broker sees strong potential in the oil explorer's accelerated activities in Greenland. Among smaller companies, shares in oil and gas firm Aminex jumped after it announced the spudd
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