London close: Footsie breaks 5,700
25th Mar 2010 16:14
Shares kept moving north through the afternoon session as Wall Street's march towards 11,000 helped propel the Footsie past 5,700 to a fresh 21-month high. London's leading index, which hasn't closed this high since 18 June, was headed by Thomas Cook as investors booked into the travel company foll
Read moreLondon afternoon: Sunny outlook for Thomas Cook
25th Mar 2010 14:31
Footsie continued its upward trajectory over the lunchtime session, receiving a boost from the firm start on Wall Street. Tour operator Thomas Cook has moved to the top of the Footsie leaderboard after it echoed bullish comments from rival TUI about holiday bookings. The travel giant has reported
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie above 5,700
25th Mar 2010 12:06
Footsie has climbed above 5,700 for the first time since June 2008 as a string of updates from the retail sector are mostly well-received. Next leads the risers in the FTSE 100. Pre-tax profits soared in 2009 after the desperate consumer environment the fashion retailer feared at the beginning of t
Read moreLondon open: Footsie higher as retailers reassure
25th Mar 2010 08:44
Footsie has opened steadily as investors mull the implications of the Budget and a series of updates from the retail sector. Pre-tax profits soared at Next in 2009 after the desperate consumer environment the fashion retailer feared at the beginning of the year failed to materialise. Pre-tax profi
Read moreUU final divi to be hiked 5%
25th Mar 2010 07:20
Water company United Utilities said its regulated business is on track to deliver a modest increase in underlying operating profit in the current financial year. Capital expenditure for the year is expected to be more than £600m, in line with the company's investment profile for the 2005-10 period.
Read moreBroker tips: RBS, water companies, Wolseley
26th Feb 2010 13:47
Initial response to Thursday's results from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was generally positive, but the figures have not made a believer out of JP Morgan. The US investment house is advising its clients to remain underweight in the part-nationalised lender after loss before tax at £6.2bn came in a
Read moreBroker snap: Water companies ripe for takeover
26th Feb 2010 08:28
Now that the haggling with the regulator over price controls is out of the way Royal Bank of Scotland has been poring over the numbers for the water sector and concludes that there is value to be had. 'We conclude that the sector looks cheap. We estimate that UU [United Utilities] and Severn Trent
Read moreLondon close: Third day of gains
2nd Feb 2010 16:39
A strong start in the US helped London rise for the third day in a row and finish at its highest in over a week, with commodity plays the pick of the bunch. Investors piled into miners as metal prices took off and brokers backed a further recovery in share prices. Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC)
Read moreLondon pre-open: Slight slip expected
2nd Feb 2010 07:37
Footsie is expected to slip into the red slightly in early dealings. Oil giant BP capped what chief executive Tony Hayward termed a 'very good' year for the company with a sharp increase in fourth quarter profits. Underlying replacement cost profit in the fourth quarter was up 70% on a year earlier
Read moreLondon close: Water groups lift Footsie
1st Feb 2010 16:43
Bid speculation helped Footsie to a good start to the week, with water groups in focus. Northumbrian Water spurted higher on reports a Canadian pension fund is poised to bid. Sector peers United Utilities, Pennon Water and Severn Trent rise in sympathy. JP Morgan, which was named two weeks ago as
Read moreSector movers: Water stocks wanted
1st Feb 2010 15:52
Water companies are the stand-out sector. Northumbrian Water has spurted higher on reports a Canadian pension fund is poised to bid. Sector peers United Utilities, Pennon Water and Severn Trent rise in sympathy. With stocks broadly higher, defensively-oriented tobacco stocks miss out, with Imperi
Read moreLondon afternoon: Blue chips boosted by bid chatter
1st Feb 2010 14:19
US futures point to a good start on Wall Street, with the Dow tipped to add over 60 points in early trading. It's helped London's blue chips move ahead further with water companies the stand-out sector. Northumbrian Water has spurted higher on reports a Canadian pension fund is poised to bid. Secto
Read moreLondon midday: Water companies float higher
1st Feb 2010 11:57
The FTSE 100 ended a quiet morning session marginally in positive territory, helped by some speculative attention focused on utility companies. Northumbrian Water has spurted higher on reports a Canadian pension fund is poised to bid. Sector peers United Utilities, Pennon Water and Severn Trent ris
Read moreLondon open: Footsie starts flat
1st Feb 2010 09:07
London's blue chips have opened flat with utilities and airlines the bright spots on bid and recovery talk respectively. Irish no-frills airline Ryanair's third quarter loss came in lower than expected and it upped its profit estimate for the full year as new routes meant yields fall by less than
Read moreLondon close: Banks and miners drag Footsie lower
21st Jan 2010 16:30
Leading UK shares lurched lower in the afternoon as US shares weakened and investors waited nervously for President Obama's new bank reforms. The US President's proposals prohibit commercial banks from owning or investing in hedge funds or owning, investing or advising private equity funds, while a
Read more