London 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 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 moreBroker tips: Tullow, Morrisons, NCC
21st Jan 2010 12:44
Brokers are holding fire on updating their net asset valuations on Tullow Oil until they have more information on the Irish oil company's 'significant' oil and gas find at its Tweneboa-2 exploratory appraisal well in Ghana. 'Although further appraisal is needed, today's news is positive for Tullow
Read moreBroker snap: Tullow find underpins premium valuation
21st Jan 2010 12:31
Brokers are holding fire on updating their net asset valuations on Tullow Oil until they have more information on the Irish oil company's 'significant' oil and gas find at its Tweneboa-2 exploratory appraisal well in Ghana. 'Although further appraisal is needed, today's news is positive for Tullow
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie ahead after mixed morning
21st Jan 2010 12:01
Footsie can't make up its mind this morning and after dropping into the red after miners gave up early gains the index is making good progress again. Xstrata, Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Fresnillo, Kazakhmys and Vedanta Resources remain the main blue chip fallers on concerns about demand from China.
Read moreLondon 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
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