30th Jan 2012 13:18
The banks were in the red as the euro crisis drags on, with Lloyds, Standard Chartered and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) among the worst performers. Lloyds is rumoured to be shaking up its management structure, according to the Financial Times. Sources quoted by Reuters indicate that an announcement
Read more24th Jan 2012 13:04
Banks are leading the way lower as investors feel the waves of worry over the ongoing Greek talks and the impact of the downgrades on three French banks. Lloyds became the biggest faller after losing more than 5%, closely followed by RBS and Barclays. Shares in the latter have taken a hit from a n
Read more24th Jan 2012 08:32
UK stocks fell in early trading on Tuesday, giving up some gains made yesterday, as talks in Greece continue to drag on. Despite banks and other private institutions represented by the Institute of International Finance (IIF) having presented yesterday what they considered to be their "maximum offe
Read more22nd Dec 2011 08:21
Kingfisher: Credit Suisse reiterates outperform rating and 310p target. Next: Credit Suisse maintains outperform rating and 3,000p target. Marks & Spencer: Credit Suisse cuts target from 345p to 334p, neutral rating unchanged. Home Retail: Credit Suisse cuts target from 85p to 70p, keeps underper
Read more6th Dec 2011 16:53
The Footsie finished flat on Tuesday, as some worrying comments on the Eurozone by ratings agency Standard & Poor's continued to weigh on sentiment. The index traded within a narrow range of just 51 points today, with investors likely to stay cautious ahead of a pivotal EU summit scheduled at the e
Read more6th Dec 2011 13:57
Wolseley, a distributor of plumbing and heating products, hit the top spot after reporting that it has seen like-for-like revenue growth of 5% in the three months to the end of October, compared to the same period of 2010. Total revenues were £3,641m. On a like-for-like basis Wolseley's biggest mar
Read more6th Dec 2011 12:01
UK equities pushed into positive territory (albeit only slightly) by midday but trade was choppy in the morning session, as a Standard & Poor's warning over Eurozone ratings rattled markets' nerves. Nevertheless, US futures were pointing to a positive start on Wall Street, providing a lift here in
Read more24th Nov 2011 15:44
Pharmaceutical companies, typically defensive stocks, were the worst performers of the day on Thursday. With an increase in risk appetite benefiting the banking and mining sectors today - after some well-received growth data from Britain and Germany - stocks such as Shire, AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmit
Read more24th Nov 2011 06:26
In May 2010 QinetiQ started a two-year turnaround programme that would see the UK workforce cut by 10-15%, but contract delays in the British and US defence markets have continued since then, writes the Tempus column in the Times. "Yesterday's halfway figures, though sharply ahead of market expectat
Read more23rd Nov 2011 17:05
After an uneventful morning session that came as a relief after the turbulent events of recent days, shares turtned sharply lower in the afternoon session, as US markets took a bath. The results of this morning's German bond auction set nerves a-jangling. Germany issued €3.644bn in 10-year bonds
Read more23rd Nov 2011 12:01
It has been a comfortingly dull morning session in London after all the excitement of recent weeks, though there is no sign of Footsie bringing an end to its losing streak, though its cause is not helped by the index constituents Man, Next and Standard Life trading in ex-dividend form. MINERS HEAD
Read more23rd Nov 2011 09:22
Compass: Seymour Pierce reiterates buy rating and 650p target. Compass: Investec maintains buy and 630p target. Compass: Evolution Securities keeps buy rating and 640p target. Meggitt: UBS downgrades from neutral to sell, target cut from 340p to 330p. SABMiller: Investec upgrades from hold to bu
Read more23rd Nov 2011 08:31
The Footsie fell below the 5,200 level early on, as some gloomy data from China dampened the mood. Weighing on sentiment today is the poor data out from China, which showed factory activity levels dropping to their lowest in 32 months. The HSBC flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI),
Read more23rd Nov 2011 07:16
Water group United Utilities said customer complaints were down by one-fifth in the first half of this year, which it put down to a stronger focus on operational performance. The utility company declared an underlying profit before tax of £184.9m in the six months to September 30th, down from £195.
Read more9th Nov 2011 16:30
The top share index in London finished at its lowest levels of the day on Wednesday afternoon, as worries over the dire financial situation in Italy caused a mass sell-off across all European markets. The same worries also dampened sentiment in the US, with the three Wall Street benchmarks dropping
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