London afternoon: Gains trimmed
23rd Dec 2009 14:16
London saw its gains pared over the lunch time session in predictably quiet trading. Around one-third of Footsie constituents are now in the red, compared to around one-fifth at midday. Included among the laggards is Cairn Energy, which gives back some of the chunky gains racked up over the first t
Read moreLondon midday: M&A activity keeps shares bubbling
23rd Dec 2009 12:14
The FTSE 100 index hit a 52-week high in the morning session as the pre-Christmas advance continued. Bank of England policymakers voted unanimously to keep interest rates at 0.5% and their programme of quantitative easing (QE) at £200bn when they met earlier this month, it emerged today. Mining gi
Read moreLondon open: Good run continues
23rd Dec 2009 08:49
Footsie has continued its strong run ahead of the Christmas break, though trading is light with news slowing to a trickle. The release of the minutes from the most recent meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee will have the usual suspects poring over the statement searching for
Read moreLondon pre-open: More gains expected
23rd Dec 2009 07:35
Footsie is expect to notch up more gains as it continues its strong run ahead of the Christmas break. The release of the minutes from the most recent meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will have the usual suspects poring over the statement searching for clues to future
Read moreTullow upbeat after latest drilling
23rd Dec 2009 07:10
Tullow Oil has firmed its view on the potential of the West Cape Three Points block, offshore Ghana, after it latest test drill. The Mahogany Deep-2 well, drilled 3 km from Mahogany-3, was the furthest down-dip Jubilee well in the West Cape Three Points licence, Tullow said. Results of drilling, wi
Read moreLondon Close: Footsie posts strong gain
21st Dec 2009 16:54
Footsie ended the day almost 2% higher after a strong performance throughout the day. The positive opening of Wall Street gave a further boost later in the afternoon. The Dow has jumped over 100 points helped by optimism that the $800bn plus Health Care Bill could get approved sooner rather than l
Read moreLondon afternoon: Dow gains lift Footsie
21st Dec 2009 14:47
Footsie is pushing forward following a strong start on Wall St fuelled by weakness in the dollar and related gains for the miners. The Dow has jumped over 80 points helped by optimism that the $800bn plus Health Care Bill could get approved sooner rather than later. Over here, Cairn Energy is sti
Read moreLondon midday: Oil fired Footsie
21st Dec 2009 12:00
Oil is fuelling the Footsie's rise today, with support from back-in-favour banks. Cairn Energy has secured a drill ship to get an early start on its exploration activities in Greenland. The oil company said drilling in Greenland will start a year ahead of schedule after it came to a deal with Hess
Read moreLondon open: Blue chips move higher
21st Dec 2009 08:46
Footsie has moved higher following a positive finish for US shares on Friday. Second line oil groups Cairn and Tullow Oil are the best performers following the spike in the crude price on Friday on renewed tension between Iran and Iraq. Banks have also rallied a little after heavy falls last week
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: UK economy, Sports Direct, Tullow Oil
21st Dec 2009 06:35
Workers face further job cuts and wage freezes next year, the UK's biggest employers' organisation has warned, saying that the economy will not return to pre-recession growth levels for at least two years. The CBI said that although the recession had ended in the final three months of 2009, growth
Read moreLondon close: Losses narrow
15th Dec 2009 16:33
Top shares fought back late afternoon to halve losses, but most financial issues stayed lower, while oil plays also ended friendless. Turmoil in the Greek banking sector since credit ratings agency Fitch downgraded the country's sovereign debt last week continued to hurt. Barclays and HSBC were am
Read moreLondon close: Glum faces as stocks slide
8th Dec 2009 16:40
A weak start on Wall Street and serious concerns about Greece's public finances and Dubai's debt restructuring ensured London ended deep in the red Tuesday. Fears over the solvency of Greece reached new levels after Fitch downgraded its outlook on the country by one rating to 'negative'. Fellow rat
Read moreLondon afternoon: US slump adds to Footsie woes
8th Dec 2009 15:04
Footsie's losses have widened further after a poor start on Wall Street. The leading share index had already fallen sharply, with Royal Bank of Scotland in focus. Trading in the state-controlled bank briefly stopped trading and it went into 'auction' as the price tumbled below 30p, though it has s
Read moreLondon midday: RBS dominates as rumours fly
8th Dec 2009 12:16
Footsie has turned down sharply with Royal Bank of Scotland dominating the morning. Trading in the state-controlled bank briefly stopped trading and it went into 'auction' as the price tumbled below 30p, though it has since recovered a little. The auction process is used when a company's share p
Read moreLondon open: Retailers lead fallers
8th Dec 2009 08:19
London's blue chips are slightly lower after the open on Tuesday with Tesco and Game among the main fallers after the retailers updated the market. Supermarket giant Tesco is leading the FTSE 100 fallers despite reporting strong sales in the third quarter as its Clubcard reward scheme helped it dr
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