Betfair boss spends £1m
15th Jul 2011 17:27
Betfair's chairman and co-founder Edward Wray has opened his account at the online gambling group in a big way, splashing out £1m on shares. He took 152,578 at 655.4p a pop. The purchase comes amid a spell of weakness for Betfair's stock price after the mixed full-year results it reported at the en
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: BSkyB drops over takeover worries
8th Jul 2011 14:38
Satellite broadcaster BSkyB is unsurprisingly at the bottom of the pile. The recent turmoil at Rupert Murdoch's News International, which has closed down its Sunday tabloid the News of the World, has sparked fears concerning a delay, or worse, of its proposed takeover of the satellite broadcaster.
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: Greece, C&W Worldwide, Tesco windows,
5th Jul 2011 06:03
Efforts to rescue Greece hit a new roadblock after Standard & Poor's declared that a French plan to involve the private sector would constitute a default by Athens. S&P said that proposals from the Fédération Bancaire Française to participate in a rollover of Greek debt would lead to a downgrade in
Read moreThursday tips round-up: Imagination, AstraZeneca, Sepura
23rd Jun 2011 06:50
Imagination Technologies takes licensing payments when a chipmaker adopts its technology and then royalties when the completed chips are used in their end product, a mobile phone, tablet or whatever. The problem for the market is twofold. One, the shares are on a multiple that, even for the sector,
Read moreLondon close: Miners dominate fallers as global worries continue
16th Jun 2011 16:45
Global growth worries dampened the markets on Thursday as all but a few constituents on the FTSE 100 finished in the red. While the Footsie edged higher in the late afternoon, it still closed under the 5,700 level, a level not seen since mid-March. FTSE 100 closed down 44 at 5,699. A lack of clarit
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Autonomy leads the decline
16th Jun 2011 14:12
Just three stocks are making gains, with WPP, Capita and Vodafone edging slightly higher. Meanwhile, Autonomy is the worst performer on the blue chip index, losing over 4%. Engineering peers GKN, IMI and Weir are also lower. The miners are lower today, as global growth fears dampen the markets. Lo
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks bounce back
15th Jun 2011 12:10
The top share index headed back towards positive territory late in the morning after an earlier weak spell. Among the stocks moving higher is the property group British Land which is celebrating the government's decision not to list the Broadgate office development in the City of London. The compan
Read moreLondon open: FTSE 100 lower despite Sainsbury's rise
15th Jun 2011 08:22
Shares have edged slightly lower in a continuation of the uncertain trading seen in recent days. But supermarket group Sainsbury is going well after it saw like-for-like (LFL) sales growth in line with management's expectations in the 12 weeks to 11 June, though the growth rate was below some brok
Read moreLondon close: Footsie finishes close to daily highs
14th Jun 2011 16:29
London was given an extra lift in the afternoon as markets on Wall Street opened strongly. Also helping sentiment was some reassuring economic figures from China. Chinese industrial production rose by 13.3% in May, assuaging some observers' fears that economic expansion in the fast-growing country c
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: RBS rises on disposal speculation
14th Jun 2011 15:15
Royal Bank of Scotland is among the best performers after reports suggest that it is in talks to sell its vehicle-leasing business to General Electric, the American super-conglomerate. Heading the other way is commodity trading house Glencore after the group reported its first quarter results this
Read moreBroker tips: Tesco, Carnival, Aveva
14th Jun 2011 12:24
Matrix has kept its 'reduce' rating on supermarket titan Tesco, saying that it expects the shares to underperform, given that the first quarter figures missed estimates. He says that non-food is a big underlying drag - down 5% on a like-for-like basis - given that it accounts for around a fifth of
Read moreLondon midday: China reassurance boosts FTSE 100
14th Jun 2011 12:06
Stocks have moved higher, helped by some reassuring economic figures from China. Chinese industrial production rose by 13.3% in May, assuaging some observers' fears that economic expansion in the fast-growing country could slow. The excitement is in the FTSE 250 today, with Avis Europe soaring on
Read moreBroker snap: Tesco to underperform from here, says Matrix
14th Jun 2011 09:45
Matrix has kept its 'reduce' rating on supermarket titan Tesco, saying that it expects the shares to underperform, given that the first quarter figures missed estimates. The broker highlights that results from the UK and International were a touch light, and while Tesco claims to be outperforming t
Read moreLondon open: Shares rise as Avis takeover stokes M&A excitement
14th Jun 2011 08:32
London's leading share index is posting strong decent growth this morning in contrast to recent sluggishness, but the excitement is in the FTSE 250 with Avis Europe soaring on news the Avis car hire brand is set to return to single ownership after US operator Avis Budget launched an agreed bid. Avi
Read moreLondon pre-open: Shares shrug off Greek woes
14th Jun 2011 07:33
The downgrade yesterday of Greek sovereign debt by ratings agency Standard & Poor's to a level barely above junk status seems unlikely to prevent shares adding to yesterday's modest gains at the outset, with City traders predicting the top-share index will open around 30 points firmer. Supermarket
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