Thursday tips round-up: Hampson, Johnson Matthey, Sportingbet
25th Nov 2010 06:41
For investors in Hampson Industries, take-off has been a long time coming. A year ago the maker of tools and composite structures for the aerospace industry agreed new terms with lenders on its £141 million debt, but this was not enough to head off a £59.5 million rights issue in February. The share
Read moreLondon close: US jobs data lifts sentiment
24th Nov 2010 16:44
Footsie put its early uncertainty behind it to close with good gains, helped by strong jobs figures from the US which cheered global markets following the jitteriness of the last couple of days. First-time jobless claims fell by a bigger than expected 34,000 to 407,000 in the week ended 20 November
Read moreLondon afternoon: Rolls celebrates another big order
24th Nov 2010 14:36
Barely a dozen or so FTSE 100 constituents are in the red today as the blue-chip index sets about clawing back some of the losses of the last two days, despite continued concerns about the Irish debt crisis and the military tensions in Korea. Better than expected jobs data from the US put investors
Read moreLondon midday: Shares holding on
24th Nov 2010 12:24
Shares remain in the blue after some well-received company updates this morning, although the euro crisis is still looming in the background. Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has cut its debt rating for Ireland as the Irish government puts the finishing touches to a four-year plan to
Read moreLondon open: Footsie opens higher
24th Nov 2010 08:46
London has opened better than expected thanks to a rebound by the miners and a smattering of good trading updates. There has also been some easing of tension in Korea, though not in Europe where the EU is heaping pressure on Ireland to agree to its bail-out. UK banks are weak again becasue of the
Read moreLondon pre-open: Bad news for Footsie
24th Nov 2010 07:35
A three-figure retreat on Wall Street overnight looks like turning City dealing screens red in opening deals, with tensions in Korea and debt fears in Europe casting a cloud. The Dow Jones fell more than 140 points Tuesday and London is expected to lose 40 points in no time at all, according to fut
Read moreUnited Utilities slightly ahead
24th Nov 2010 07:21
Interim results from water supplier United Utilities were slightly ahead of management expectations. In the six months to 30 September the company made an underlying profit before tax of £196.2m, down from £258.2m the year before. Reported profit before tax tumbled to £122.2m from £189.9m the year
Read moreWednesday preview: UU, Compass, Johnson Matthey
23rd Nov 2010 18:30
Like Severn Trent, which posted interim results on Tuesday, United Utilities' interims will be the first set of results under the new price control regime that runs until 2015. Charles Stanley expects profits of £163m and EPS of 17.5p. The dividend is expected to be 12% lower at 9.8p. "UU has head
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Ireland, United Utilities, Tesco
21st Nov 2010 11:51
The Irish government has been given a stark warning from some of the biggest American companies in Ireland on the risk of a mass exodus if the country's low corporation tax rate is raised. The warning - from executives at Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Intel - spo
Read moreWeek ahead: US GDP, Mitchells & Butlers, Severn Trent...
19th Nov 2010 15:22
Pubs group Mitchells & Butlers' recent nine week trading update highlighted a 3.6% like-for-like sales improvement on last year. Food sales were, as usual, the driver of growth but even the "wet" side of the business saw a pick-up. Brokers now expect the All Bar One and Harvester owner to post pro
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Gold price fall pushes miners lower
27th Oct 2010 14:14
Miners are leading the Footsie lower. Gold is falling in price because of fears that the US Federal Reserve's much anticipated monetary easing programme will be less substantial than expected. That is also pushing the dollar higher. Kazakhmys, Xstrata and Vedanta Resources are the biggest faller
Read moreShanks snaps up Utd Utilities' PFI waste business
5th Oct 2010 13:19
Waste management firm Shanks has bought the UK waste PFI interests of United Utilities, taking the blue chip firm's place on all of its existing bids. These include preferred bidder for a PPP municipal solid waste treatment contract for both Derbyshire County and Derby City Councils and short-list
Read moreFriday tips round-up: United Utilities, Group NBT, Dignity...
24th Sep 2010 06:46
Investors do not look to water companies for short-term thrills, and the sector does not disappoint. Yesterday's half-year trading update from United Utilities is a case in point. It confirmed that the company is trading in line with forecasts. For investors moving into utilities from elsewhere, t
Read moreLondon close: Late rally trims losses
23rd Sep 2010 16:40
London staged a last hour rally but didn't rise by enough to eliminate losses sparked by a weak start on Wall Street. News that Brazilian oil company Petrobas will launch a world record $78bn rights issue helped other oil companies. BP, Shell and Cairn all picked up near the close. Expectation t
Read moreLondon afternoon: US shadow increases London gloom
23rd Sep 2010 14:24
Expectations of a weak start on Wall Street, after poor US jobless data, sent London lower still over the lunch time session, with banks and miners continuing to feature prominently among the blue-chip fallers. Lloyds and Standard Chartered are the worst performing banking stocks as worries resur
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