London close: Footsie edges higher
16th Jun 2010 16:47
Footsie closed slightly higher on a fairly lacklustre day for the leading share index. Part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland went well on a day which saw it shed two parts of its sprawling empire. It has reached agreement for the sale of its 99.37% holding in RBS Pakistan to Faysal Bank L
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Ex-dividends' knock index
16th Jun 2010 15:46
It is a mixed day for Footsie with utilities heading down due to the fact that Severn Trent and United Utilities have gone ex-dividend. Water company Severn Trent is 56p lower even though the final dividend is more than 10p lower than that at 45.61p a share. In contrast, Unitied Utilities is payin
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie flat
16th Jun 2010 14:41
Footsie dropped into the red over the lunchtime session before crawling back into positive territory. Little seems capable of getting investors excited, with even the highly volatile BP having a relatively quiet day. Part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland is the best performing blue chip.
Read moreLondon midday: RBS leads sedate advance
16th Jun 2010 12:18
Leading equities sleepwalked their way through the morning session, with little in the way of corporate news to perk interest. Economic news has been mixed today with the number of people claiming unemployment benefit falling more than expected in May, but the wider unemployment rate continuing to
Read moreCornish departs United Utilities to run Manchester Airport
16th Jun 2010 08:21
Charlie Cornish is leaving the United Utilities board after more than six years to run Manchester Airport for a rumoured £500,000-a-year. The 49-year-old Managing Director Utility Solutions, who joined the utility giant's board at the start of 2004, will leave later this year. His departure follow
Read moreUnited Utilities: Utility Solutions Head Charlie Cornish To Leave
16th Jun 2010 08:12
LONDON (Dow Jones)--United Utilities Group PLC (UU.LN) said Wednesday Charlie Cornish, Managing Director Utility Solutions, will be leaving the group later in the year, after over six years on the Board. -Shares at 0710 GMT up 4.13 pence, or 0.8%, at 540.5 pence valuing the company at GBP3.68 bi
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Weir, Mothercare, United Utilities
15th Jun 2010 06:53
Engineering group Weir issued a surprise update yesterday, revealing that trading over the nine weeks to the 4 June had been stronger than expected. Particularly encouraging was the disclosure that original equipment orders had begun to increase. In terms of enterprise value to earnings before inte
Read moreLondon close: Mining stocks boost Footsie
14th Jun 2010 16:49
Footsie finished with good gains as mining stocks enjoyed a boost from higher metals prices. Mining companies Kazakhmys, Vedanta and BHP Billiton went well but it was silver and gold miner Fresnillo that led the way on rumours that the company is under the bid microscope. BP's slide continues. Th
Read moreLondon afternoon: Fresnillo adds lustre to Footsie
14th Jun 2010 14:12
Expectations of a firm start on Wall Street and a paring of the morning's losses suffered by BP enabled the Footsie to extend its rise over the lunchtime session. Mining companies are enjoying a lift from stronger metals prices. Kazakhmys, Vedanta and BHP Billiton are all going well but it is silve
Read moreLondon midday: BP slows Footsie's climb
14th Jun 2010 12:07
Barely a dozen of the FTSE 100's constituents finished the morning in the red but the blue-chip index's advance was less than convincing, largely due BP being on the end of another battering. The oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has now cost BP £1.1bn ($1.6bn) and the pressure on the oil giant is
Read moreMARKET TALK: Veolia Assets Buy Surprising -Cheuvreux
14th Jun 2010 10:09
0909 GMT [Dow Jones] Veolia Environnement (VE) acquiring some United Utilities (UU.LN) assets is "a surprising move," as the French company has latterly been focused rather on asset disposals, says Cheuvreux. Nevertheless, the brokerage says even though the size of the transaction is small, it is no
Read moreLondon open: Miners move higher
14th Jun 2010 08:57
London has opened higher lifted by a late rally on Wall Street on Friday and a good showing by the miners this morning. BP is the worst performer this morning. The oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has now cost BP £1.1bn ($1.6bn) and the pressure on the oil giant is likely to intensify over the ne
Read moreUnited Utilities Sells Non-Regulated Water Interests To Veolia
14th Jun 2010 07:14
LONDON (Dow Jones)--United Utilities Group PLC (UU.LN) said Monday it has agreed to sell its principal non-regulated water interests in the U.K. and Europe to Veolia Water U.K. PLC for GBP174.2 million, comprising GBP108.6 million in cash on completion and GBP65.6 million in net debt assumed by the
Read moreUU sells non-regulated water interests
14th Jun 2010 07:12
UK utility company United Utilities (UU) is to offload its principal non-regulated water interests in the United Kingdom and Europe to Veolia Water UK. Veolia is paying £174.2m for the assets, of which £108.6m is cash with the remainder accounted for by £65.6m in net debt assumed by the purchaser.
Read moreMARKET TALK: Goldman Raises United Utilities Price Target
11th Jun 2010 09:57
0857 GMT [Dow Jones] Goldman Sachs raises United Utilities (UU.LN) price target to 557p from 549p, following the company's FY results. The results are marginally ahead of Goldman's expectations. However, still thinks the stock is unattractive relative to the wider utility sector and therefore, the b
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