London midday: Smith & Nephew leads rally
31st Aug 2011 12:01
Shares have built on their earlier gains, though the rally is unlikely to be enough to prevent the biggest monthly fall since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008. Among today's big gainers is bid rumour-mongers' favourite Smith & Nephew. Latest talk has it that peer Stryker could be inter
Read moreLondon open: Bwin, 888 lead the rise
31st Aug 2011 08:48
The Footsie edged higher in early trading on the back of a rally in New York last night after minutes from the last meeting of the Federal Reserve showed policymakers considered stimulus measures to kickstart the world's biggest economy. In London, online gaming firm bwin.party surged higher on the
Read moreLondon pre-open: Equities spin their wheels
31st Aug 2011 07:24
US equities may have rallied after the release yesterday of the minutes from the last meeting of the Federal Reserve's rate setting committee, but London's traders seem disinclined to get too excited, with spread betting sites indicating the top-share index will nudge up 8 or 9 points at the opening
Read moreTesco sells Japan interests
31st Aug 2011 07:10
Tesco is to sell its Japanese interests having concluded that it "cannot build a sufficiently scalable business" there. The decision will mean the disposal of 129 small stores in the Greater Tokyo area which operate under the Tsurakame, Tesco and Tesco Express brands. Tesco entered Japan in 2003 w
Read moreAdmiral directors rally round
26th Aug 2011 17:09
Shares in Admiral won back some recent losses after the car insurance company announced some big director purchases. Chief operating officer David Stevens and his wife Heather bought 75,450 shares at 1,324p and now have 10.3m. Non-executive director John Sussens's wife Cheryl bought 22,000 at 1,320
Read moreTesco launches bond to raise money for China
25th Aug 2011 14:00
Tesco announced it has raised around £70m through the launch of a Chinese Renminbi denominated bond issue in Hong Kong. The supermarket giant claimed the issue was the first of its kind by an international retailer and would be used to grow Tesco's retail operations in China. The maturity is three
Read moreLondon close: Results drive stocks higher, Man up after upgrade
24th Aug 2011 16:38
Stocks finished with good gains after an uncertain start, with strong economic data from the US overriding the earlier mixed reception to today's raft of company updates. US orders for goods made to last more than three years, such as planes, cars and washing machines, rose by 4% in July, having fa
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks mixed after stream of updates
24th Aug 2011 12:10
The leading share index is flitting between red and blue amid differing receptions for today's stream of updates. Investors in Admiral are feeling mutinous despite pre-tax profits growing by 27%. However, according to a Thomson Reuters poll, the result was a slight miss. Miner BHP Billiton is hig
Read moreLondon open: Admiral drags Footsie into the red
24th Aug 2011 08:29
Early gains proved short-lived as the blue chip index in London fell into the red by 08.32, dragged lower by Admiral and the miners, who were registering losses on the back of falling metals prices. Admiral was the worst performer on the FTSE 100, losing over 5% after despite pre-tax profits growi
Read moreTesco bank boss signals intention to quit
24th Aug 2011 06:59
Andrew Higginson, chief executive of Retailing Services at supermarket giant Tesco, is heading for the check-out counter next year. The 54-year-old Higginson intends to retire from the Tesco board and executive committee on 1 September, 2012, after 14 years with the company, including a 12-year sti
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: United Biscuits, riot fallout, petrol price cuts
14th Aug 2011 19:09
United Biscuits could be broken up as its owners plan to revive attempts to sell the company. The move could see its biscuits business, including the McVitie's brand, separated from its crisps and nuts division, which includes the KP label. The private equity groups Blackstone and PAI Partners have
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Tesco share price knocked by OFT fine
10th Aug 2011 12:25
Tesco saw a dip in its share price following a fine from the Office for Fair Trading (OFT) for fixing cheese and milk prices alongside all the other big supermarkets and a number of dairy groups. The OFT has imposed fines totalling £49.51m on Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda and Safeway (which was bought by
Read moreTesco cheesed off at price fixing fines
10th Aug 2011 11:52
The Office for Fair Trading (OFT) has fined supermarkets and dairy groups a total of nearly £50m for fixing cheese and milk prices in 2002 and 2003. It has imposed fines totalling £49.51m on all of the big four supermarkets, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Safeway (which was bought by Morrisons) and f
Read moreTesco finance director adds more to his basket
9th Aug 2011 12:54
Laurie McIlwee, finance director at Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, has bought 13,617 ordinary shares at 364.8p. The £49,675 purchase brings McIlwee's total number of shares to 340,215. McIlwee joined the board at Tesco at the start of 2009, having undertaken previous roles within the comp
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Tax cuts, Lloyds, insolvencies
25th Jul 2011 06:52
George Osborne has promised to cut "very high" tax rates this autumn to try to head off a row over poor growth figures and warnings from cabinet colleagues that the economy faces the biggest challenges for decades. Kenneth Clarke, the Justice Secretary, warned yesterday that "the [economic] icebergs
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