London midday: Banks shrug off downgrades, but resources stocks drag
22nd Jun 2012 11:48
- Banks rise in spite of Moody's downgrade - Spanish banks need up to 62bn euros, says private audit - German business confidence falls to two-year low Banks were making gains by midday as they shrugged off a sector-wide downgrade my Moody's, but the Footsie still remained in the red with oil and m
Read moreLondon open: Mass bank downgrade in the spotlight
22nd Jun 2012 08:32
- Moody's downgrades 15 global banks - Spain needs up to 62bn euros in bank aid - Oils and miners drops early on London's blue chips dropped sharply on Friday morning with the mass bank downgrade by Moody's weighing on sentiment across Europe. Credit ratings agency Moody's has downgraded 15 major
Read moreLondon close: Losses pared, but Sky falls in
14th Jun 2012 16:42
A late rally on the back of Wall Street strength saw Footsie erase most of the day's losses. Eurozone worries were on the market's mind for much of the day after credit ratings agency Moody's slashed Spain's sovereign debt rating by three notches to a level barely above junk status. Italy's bond
Read moreLondon midday: Markets calm as Italian yields rise
14th Jun 2012 11:50
Markets have reacted positively in the main to the outcome of the Italian bond auction on Thursday morning, which saw yields rise fairly steeply. Italy issued a total of €4.5bn of debt in three, seven, and eight-year bonds. It matched its issuance target but had to pay higher yields than on the pr
Read moreLondon open: Sweet FA deal batters Sky and BT
14th Jun 2012 08:45
You would have thought that the market had become used to sovereign debt downgrades by now, but the decision by Moody's to take Spain's rating down three notches to a level adjacent to 'junk' status has ratcheted up tension ahead of Italy's debt auction this morning. Italy is set to auction €4.75bn
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Tullow, easyJet, Eurozone
14th Jun 2012 06:55
Microsoft is in talks to buy a leading social network for companies for more than $1bn, according to reports. A deal for Yammer could be sealed as soon as today, Bloomberg reported, citing unidentified sources. Microsoft already owns a range of business products, and adding Yammer would step up the
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks weighed down by Spain, Bernanke
8th Jun 2012 11:40
- Spain downgraded by Fitch - Bernanke comments weigh on markets - Investors nervous ahead of Chinese data this weekend - Spain denies rumours of imminent bank bail-out petition Blue chips were off their intraday lows but still firmly in the red by Friday lunchtime as concerns over Spain continued
Read moreLondon close: Stocks gain with central banks in the spotlight
7th Jun 2012 16:53
- Gains trimmed after Bernanke comments - China surprises with rate cut - BoE maintains rates and QE The FTSE 100 made impressive gains on Thursday with all eyes on the central banks, though comments from Ben Bernanke knocked the blue-chip index off its intraday high in afternoon trade. The Bank o
Read moreLondon midday: China cuts interest rates, steals spotlight
7th Jun 2012 11:39
-PBoC cuts rates -BoE maintains rates and QE -Investors digest stimulus speculation -Stocks react positively to Spanish debt auction The FTSE 100 index was trading close to its intraday high by Thursday lunchtime despite weakness in the mining sector; the Bank of England revealed at noon that it ha
Read moreThursday broker round-up
7th Jun 2012 09:23
Barclays: Deutsche Bank retains buy rating and 295p target. Burberry: Credit Suisse upgrades to outperform, target lifted from 1,420p to 1,650p. Centamin: Nomrua upgrades from neutral to buy, target lifted from 100p to 130p. Circle Oil: Investec cuts target from 90p to 86p, buy rating maintained.
Read moreLondon open: Stocks rise on stimulus hopes
7th Jun 2012 08:35
- Eyes on Spanish auction - Central bank stimulus speculation boosts stocks - MPC to reveal rate decision at noon UK stocks headed higher on Thursday morning ahead of a crucial bond auction in Spain later on today; meanwhile speculation of central bank stimulus at home and abroad lifted sentiment e
Read moreLondon pre-open: FTSE to extend Wednesday's gains
7th Jun 2012 07:39
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 29 points from yesterday's close of 5,384, tracking both US and Asian stocks higher. Telecoms peers Vodafone and Telefonica are to create one national grid in the UK running each operator's independent spectrum by pooling the basic parts of their net
Read moreTullow encouraged after oil find in Africa
7th Jun 2012 07:07
Tullow Oil's Paon-1X exploration well offshore Côte d'Ivoire has found good quality light oil in a Turonian fan system, the oil and gas company announced on Thursday morning. The well is the first deepwater exploration well drilled in licence CI-103, in which Tullow operates and owns a 45% interest
Read moreLondon midday: Manufacturing figures pressure markets lower
1st Jun 2012 11:31
- Manufacturing PMIs in UK, Eurozone, China fall - Eyes on US payrolls - BP jumps on TNK-BP sale After a bright start early on, London's blue chip index had dropped into the red by Friday lunchtime after a barrage of disappointing manufacturing data dampened market sentiment. Manufacturing purchas
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: IHG firmly in top spot on speculation
31st May 2012 14:53
Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza owner InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) climbed to the top spot on the back of M&A speculation, with analyst at Numis earlier this week speculating about a possible tie-up with sector peer Marriott. More fuel was added to the rumours today after activist investor Nelso
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