London close: UK equities rise to two-week high despite weak commodity stocks
22nd Dec 2014 16:26
Weakness in the resource sectors limited gains in London on Monday, though equity markets still managed to register their fifth straight day of gains as investors readied themselves for the Christmas break. The FTSE 100 finished 0.5% higher at 6,577, but pulled back after reaching a high of 6,620.95
Read moreSector movers: Grocers fall as Tesco faces fresh inquiry
22nd Dec 2014 15:44
Tesco dampened the food and drug retail sector on Monday as news of a fresh investigation into the struggling supermarket chain weighed on investor confidence. Accounting watchdog, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), said that it has launched an inquiry into the "preparation, approval and audit"
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Kingfisher and Centrica boosted by disposals as miners dip
22nd Dec 2014 14:32
Home improvement retailer Kingfisher edged higher after agreeing to sell a controlling 70% stake in its B&Q China business to Wumei Holdings for £140m. "I am delighted to have found a strong retail partner who will help us to release the financial value of our business in China," said new boss Véron
Read moreTesco's suppliers to be involved in SFO investigation
21st Dec 2014 11:09
Some of Tesco's suppliers are to be involved in the Serious Fraud Office's investigation over the stricken retail giant's accounting practices. The likes of Unilever and Diaegeo are set to be dragged into the investigation, with the SFO expected to interview staff of Tesco's providers as well as exa
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Retail sector boosted by data report while BT slides
18th Dec 2014 16:27
Retail firms received a boost on Thursday after data showed higher-than-expected UK retail sales. Sales rose 1.7% month-on-month in December, much better than the 0.3% consensus expectation. Drinks group SABMiller and supermarket giant Tesco were both advancing. Financial stocks were also rising in
Read moreSector movers: Tesco leads grocers higher on customer-service push, strong data
18th Dec 2014 16:06
A surge in the share price of supermarket giant Tesco gave the UK food and drug retail sector a big boost on Thursday, as investors reacted to upbeat economic data and showed optimism about the company's turnaround efforts. Figures released on Thursday showed that the annual rate of retail sales gro
Read moreBroker tips: Tesco, Friends Life, Imagination Technologies
18th Dec 2014 11:34
Shore Capital has welcomed new measures by Tesco to "crank up the customer service" ahead of Christmas, suggesting that competition from the rival discounters may be waning. Looking ahead of the all-important shopping week before Christmas, analyst Clive Black said that while the Big Four will likel
Read moreShore Capital welcomes festive customer-service push at Tesco
18th Dec 2014 09:18
Shore Capital has welcomed new measures by Tesco to "crank up the customer service" ahead of Christmas, suggesting that competition from the rival discounters may be waning. Looking ahead of the all-important shopping week before Christmas, analyst Clive Black said that while the Big Four will likel
Read moreLondon close: Shares soar on upbeat Eurozone and bank news
16th Dec 2014 16:26
London shares bounced back on Tuesday in the wake of some long-awaited upbeat economic data in the Eurozone and positive news for UK banks. The FTSE 100 Index climbed 149.11 points to 6331.83 as Markit's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for euro-area manufacturing rose to 50.8 in December from 50.1
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: BT, RBS, Tesco
14th Dec 2014 19:45
BT is expected to announce as soon as December 15th whether it plans to buy EE or O2 to reenter the mobile phone market, The Sunday Times reported. The FTSE 100 telecoms company was working on a deal at the weekend with a statement due early in the coming week. BT is thought to favour O2 but could s
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Water bills, Barclays, US spending bill...
12th Dec 2014 06:52
The Telegraph has said that household water bills across England and Wales are to fall by 5% in real terms by 2019-2020 following a decision by Ofwat. "The ruling will almost certainly hit the profits of the UK's water companies," the paper said. New York's financial regulator is looking at whether
Read moreSector movers: Grocery stocks tank after yet another profit warning from Tesco
9th Dec 2014 15:20
Another profit warning from Tesco shattered already-fragile sentiment in the supermarket sector on Tuesday with grocery stocks falling sharply. Tesco's shares were down 7.4% at 173.4p in afternoon trade, having dropped as much as 16% early on, after the retail giant surprised the market with an unsc
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Unscheduled trading update hits supermarkets
9th Dec 2014 14:37
Tesco surprised the market with another profit warning, causing shares to plummet. The company said trading profit for the financial year ending February 2015 is not expected to exceed £1.4bn, compared with £3.315bn previously and analysts' forecasts, which ranged from £1.8bn to £2.2bn. Supermarket
Read moreBroker tips: Tesco, Lloyds, ASOS
9th Dec 2014 12:19
A surprise profit warning from Tesco on Tuesday sent its share price plummeting, though analysts still see more downside to the stock which has already halved since the start of the year. "Unfortunately, there remains only one constant amidst the turbulence, which is the market consensus. This remai
Read moreLondon midday: UK stocks at one-month low on global concerns, Tesco plummets
9th Dec 2014 11:40
UK stocks were on track to settle at their lowest level in a month on Tuesday as a recent sell-off in oil hit energy shares and a profit warning from Tesco hammered retailers. Crude was trading at a fresh five-year low on the back of concerns about oversupply and slowing global growth. Political unc
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