Thursday tips round-up: Tullow, Antofagasta, Costain
27th Aug 2009 05:55
Tullow Oil claims 741 million barrels in proven and probable reserves. Adding a very conservative 200 million for the extra potential in Ghana and Uganda gives one billion barrels, which the stock market is currently valuing at $14.5 per barrel. About right, given the Africa risk, but if Tullow does
Read moreLondon close: Footsie runs out of steam
26th Aug 2009 16:27
Wall Street's inability to hold onto new home sale-inspired gains was the final nail in the coffin for London, bringing to an end a six-day winning streak. Much of the blame lay with the UK-listed miners who hogged the list of largest losers on weaker metal prices. Antofagasta was among the worst
Read moreLondon afternoon: RBS buoyed by pension moves
26th Aug 2009 14:32
Equity prices are mixed with a lower bias. The Footsie continues to drift lower, weighed down by underperforming resource stocks. Pre-tax profits plunged at Tullow in the first half of the year as the firm felt the pinch of the slide in oil prices. The oil company posted a pre-tax profit of £34.
Read moreLondon midday: Resource stocks a drag
26th Aug 2009 12:09
Given that resource stocks are in the dog-house the Footsie is doing well to be only moderately in the red on a day of mixed results for blue chips. Pre-tax profits plunged at Tullow in the first half of the year as the firm felt the pinch of the slide in oil prices. The oil company posted a pre-t
Read moreLondon open: Lower start for FTSE 100
26th Aug 2009 08:20
Footsie is slightly lower in early dealings, with the advertising group WPP the leading share index's heaviest faller after reporting interim results. WPP said half-year results continue to reflect the impact of the global economic contraction, which continued to intensify in the second quarter, th
Read moreLondon pre-open: Equities held in check by US budget fears
26th Aug 2009 07:45
London seems unsure which way to turn on Wednesday morning despite a strong showing by the US market yesterday and Asian markets overnight. Enthusiasm for equities has been dampened by a White House report predicting a federal budget deficit of $9 trillion over the next decade, $2 trillion more tha
Read moreTullow oil profits plunge
26th Aug 2009 07:03
Pre-tax profits plunged at oil group Tullow in the first half of the year from the same period the previous year as the firm felt the pinch of the slide in oil prices between the two periods. The firm posted a pre-tax profit of £34.8m in the six months to June 30, down by 83% from the £126m report
Read moreWednesday preview: Serco, WPP, Tullow Oil
25th Aug 2009 16:54
Outsourcing specialist Serco releases half-year results on Wednesday that are expected to show a substantial improvement in pre-tax profit on the back of some chunky contract wins. Broker Charles Stanley is forecasting a pre-tax profit of £85m, versus £67.3m in the first half of last year, and is t
Read moreLondon close: Footsie finishes just down
4th Aug 2009 16:33
London staged a late rally but still finished just in the red as financials weighed and the US started in tepid fashion. Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered was the biggest faller of the day after saying it is to raise £1bn through a placing. It posted solid first half figures with profits up by 1
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie has rare down day
4th Aug 2009 15:02
Footsie is having a poor day with financial and miners weak and a flat start to trading on Wall Street. Insurer Legal & General set the downbeat tone by slashing its interim dividend by 45% after posting a loss of £1bn on a European embedded value (EEV) basis. The half-year dividend has been cut t
Read moreLondon midday: Dull morning for Footsie
4th Aug 2009 12:03
Stocks remain stuck in the red after a poor morning session with shares undermined by miners slipping back and financials under pressure. Insurer Legal & General set the tone, by slashing its interim dividend by 45% after posting a loss of £1bn on a European embedded value (EEV) basis. The half-yea
Read moreLondon opening: FTSE 100 opens lower
4th Aug 2009 08:46
Blue chips have opened lower despite good performances overnight in the US and Asia. Insurer Legal & General has set the tone, by slashing the interim dividend by 45% after posting a loss of £1bn on a European embedded value (EEV) basis. The half-year dividend has been cut to 1.11p a share from 2.0
Read moreLondon pre-open: Footsie to open unchanged
4th Aug 2009 07:46
A flat start is predicted from FTSE 100 despite the continuing stream of results RBS has confirmed that it will sell its banking operations in seven Asian countries to Australia's ANZ Group for $418m. It will sell its retail and commercial banking operations in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indo
Read moreTullow Oil strikes again in Uganda
4th Aug 2009 07:22
Tullow Oil has made its tenth discovery in the Victoria Nile Delta play after striking oil at the Ngara-1 exploration well in Uganda. It encountered over 8 metres of net oil pay in a 17 metre gross reservoir interval after drilling a total depth of 741 metres. The well is now being suspended as a
Read moreLondon close: Eighth day of gains
22nd Jul 2009 16:27
Footsie finished with gains for the eighth day in a row to sit just shy of 4,500 points after flitting between the red and the blue for much of the day. Mining stocks weighed down the market. BHP Billiton set the tone for the sector with its annual production report this morning. Quarterly (Apr-Jun
Read more