London midday: Stocks flat as global services PMIs point to slowdown

6th Jan 2014 11:21

- UK, Eurozone, China services PMIs ease - Markets rangebound, little changed by midday - Takeover and break-up of RSA possible, says UBS - Retailers in focus ahead of sales updates techMARK 2,795.09 +0.23% FTSE 100 6,731.24 +0.01% FTSE 250 16,063.40 +0.27% The FTSE 100 was little changed on Monda

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Asda reports strong Christmas trading

6th Jan 2014 10:15

Asda reported strong Christmas trading in both store and online, hailing its strategy for boosting sales during the season. Ahead of its fourth-quarter results in February, the British arm of US grocer Wal-Mart Stores on Monday revealed that it enjoyed a good performance last month. "Our strategy

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London open: Markets flat ahead of busy week, PMIs in focus

6th Jan 2014 08:15

- Services PMIs on tap, Chinese data weakens - RSA leads financials higher - Retailers in focus ahead of trading update, M&S falls techMARK 2,787.71 -0.03% FTSE 100 6,727.98 -0.04% FTSE 250 16,028.46 +0.05% UK markets opened broadly flat on Monday morning with gains in the financial sector offset

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London pre-open: Flat start ahead of busy week for FTSE

6th Jan 2014 07:26

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down one point from Friday's close of 6,730.67 as investors gear up for a busy week, with trading set to pick up following the quiet festive period. Over in the US, stocks ended mixed on Friday on a low-volume day as investors digested comments from out-

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London close: FTSE 100 gains as Next lifts retailers higher

3rd Jan 2014 16:57

- UK construction, mortgage data beats forecasts - UK house prices continue to rise, business lending falters - China service-sector data disappoints - Retailers rise as Next lifts guidance after Christmas techMARK 2,788.64 +0.59% FTSE 100 6,730.67 +0.19% FTSE 250 16,020.47 +0.64% UK markets push

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Sector movers: Retailers rise as Next spreads the Christmas cheer

3rd Jan 2014 16:03

Retail stocks had another strong showing on Friday after a bullish update from High Street bellwether Next, which ensured that investors put the negative readacross from the Debenhams profit warning firmly behind them. Fashion and homewares retailer Next raised its full-year profit guidance today f

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Week ahead: Economic data, central banks and retailers in focus

3rd Jan 2014 12:00

Activity on financial markets is expected to ramp up significantly next week as trading returns to normal following a relatively quiet festive season in terms of corporate news and economic data. "The first week of each month is typically the busiest", according to Market Analyst Craig Erlam from

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Tesco completes sale and leaseback agreement in South Korea

3rd Jan 2014 11:56

Supermarket chain Tesco on Friday reported that it had completed the sale and leaseback of a portfolio of four Homeplus stores and accompanying mall space in South Korea. Homeplus, one of Tesco's wholly-owned subsidiaries, made with transaction with Samsung SRA, a real estate fund manager focused o

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Friday newspaper round-up: House of Fraser, Natwest/RBS, Facebook...

3rd Jan 2014 07:13

Record Christmas trading at House of Fraser has laid the ground for its flotation before the end of the year, according to its Chief Executive. [...] John King, the department store's Chief Executive, said it had showed investors that there was "robust" consumer demand for its products, with sales i

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London open: Stocks slip after China manufacturing data

2nd Jan 2014 08:19

- FTSE 100 pulls back as data schedule ramps up - Chinese manufacturing growth slowed in December - Debenhams CFO leaves after profit warning techMARK 2,782.24 +0.03% FTSE 100 6,733.20 -0.24% FTSE 250 15,910.82 -0.15% UK markets started the first session of 2014 trading in the red after data showe

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Tuesday newspaper round-up: Barclays, Tesco, Greece...

31st Dec 2013 06:45

Antony Jenkins, Chief Executive of Barclays, has admitted it could take as long as a decade for the bank, which has been implicated in a number of banking scandals, to regain customer trust. Barclays was the first bank to be implicated in the Libor scandal in which traders rigged a key interbank len

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London close: Santa rally ends as retailers drag FTSE lower

30th Dec 2013 16:30

- FTSE closes down 20 points as Santa rally ends - House prices register 4.4 per cent rise - Retailers sink of competition and discount concerns techMARK 2,781.91 -0.18% FTSE 100 6,731.27 -0.29% FTSE 250 15,900.74 +0.14% The FTSE 100 ended its final full session of the year down 20 points, as supe

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Sector movers: Supermarkets and other retails weigh heavily

30th Dec 2013 16:05

Supermarkets have dragged the FTSE down today, with Sainsbury and Morrison weighing particularly heavily, on the back of competition fears. According to Alex Conroy at Spreadex, the declines are due to "growing fear that German competitor's such as Aldi and Lidl and their discount prices are cutti

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FTSE 100 movers: Supermarkets drag index lower despite buoyancy of miners

30th Dec 2013 15:11

With many traders still on their holidays until after the New Year, both trading and company news have been light. Supermarkets have dragged the FTSE down today, with Sainsbury and Morrison weighing particularly heavily, on the back of competition fears. According to Alex Conroy at Spreadex, the

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London close: Second week of gains for FTSE as confidence grows

27th Dec 2013 16:35

- Sixth day of gains for FTSE - Retailers and miners drive gains - US stocks ease after recent rally techMARK 2,786.92 +0.65% FTSE 100 6,750.87 +0.85% FTSE 250 15,878.10 +0.60% Stocks have registered a sixth day of gains as confident investors took riskier moves in a day of light trading following

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