FTSE 100 movers: Barclays sells mortgage assets
21st Mar 2011 13:44
Barclays has sold a portfolio of property loans to CreXus Investment Corp, a commercial mortgage REIT, for $586m in cash. CreXus needs to sell shares to raise money via a share issue in order to buy the 30 commercial real estate assets. CreXus is managed by a subsidiary of Annaly Capital Managemen
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks back on the climb
21st Mar 2011 12:23
Footsie finished the morning 10 points or so below its high for the day after regaining impetus following a mild spell of profit taking mid-morning. Telecoms titan Vodafone is a high riser on the back of AT&T's $39bn bid for Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA. If the bid is allowed, the enlarged firm
Read moreLondon open: Telecoms power forward on AT&T move
21st Mar 2011 08:50
Footsie has opened brightly with telecoms stocks powering ahead on the back of AT&T's huge $39bn bid for Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA. Vodafone is top riser as analysts have wasted little time working out what it means in value terms for Vodafone's 45% stake in current US market leader Verizon
Read moreHughes quadruples Restaurant Group stake
17th Mar 2011 16:49
Restaurant Group non-executive Tony Hughes has invested more than £900,000 in the company. Hughes has more than quadrupled his stake in the Garfunkels and Chiquito restaurants operator to 400,000 shares He bought 308,524 shares at 294.74p a share. By buying now Hughes will receive the 7.46p a shar
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners recover
17th Mar 2011 14:18
Mining shares are starting to recover today. Antofagasta and Xstrata are both ahead. Shares in Weir Group are higher after one of its directors, Lord Smith of Kelvin, bought more than £48,000 worth of shares. Legal & General has fallen even though the insurer raised its full year dividend by 2
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Antofagasta, Weir, Inchcape...
9th Mar 2011 06:48
Copper miner Antofagasta already trades at "considerably higher multiples than those of Kazakhmys or indeed the major diversified miners", according to brokers. Given that, it is not a buy but the company's strengths and the confidence evidenced by the special dividend means this is not a sell say
Read moreLondon afternoon: Miners drag down Footsie
8th Mar 2011 14:34
Mining stocks are weighing heavily on Footsie as the price of gold and copper moved lower today. Precious metal miners Randgold Resources and African Barrick are the big fallers in the sector, but even copper miner Antofagasta is under the cosh, despite announcing it is to pay a huge special divid
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 still seeking direction
8th Mar 2011 12:03
Shares are still seeking direction, with the Libyan turmoil continuing to dominate the headlines. US light crude for April delivery fell $1.60 to $103.84 a barrel. Saudi Arabia and others are going to raise output to keep the global economic recovery on track. The easing in prices came after Kuwai
Read moreLondon open: Oil to dominate again
8th Mar 2011 08:47
Oil and Libya are set to dominate again after yesterday's frantic trading on oil markets. US light crude for April delivery is currently down $1.60 at $103.84 a barrel. Saudi Arabia and others are going to raise output to keep the global economic recovery on track. That has taken some of the pressu
Read moreLondon pre-open: Footsie to regain lost ground
8th Mar 2011 07:41
It looks like UK shares could recapture pretty much all of yesterday's losses in early trade as oil prices pull back from 29-month highs. Futures prices indicate a 15-point gain for the FTSE 100. US light crude for April delivery is currently down $1.60 at $103.84 a barrel. Saudi Arabia and others
Read moreAftermarket sales drive Weir's margin growth
8th Mar 2011 07:21
Global engineering solutions provider Weir Group enjoyed record margins in 2010 as order input rose by almost two-fifths from the year before. Order input, calculated using average exchange rates for 2010, rose 39% £1,904m in 2010 from £1,366m in 2009, and was up 36% on a like for like basis. Unde
Read moreBroker snap: Weir upped to a 'buy'
16th Feb 2011 12:54
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) upgrades Scottish engineer Weir Group from a 'hold' to a 'buy' and ups its forecasts as it believes 2011/12 consensus upgrades are possible from improved pricing/demand in the mining/oil sectors. "Weir is, in our view, a quality name in the UK Capital Goods sector and i
Read moreBroker tips: Rolls-Royce, International Power, Weir
16th Feb 2011 11:18
UBS is no longer a seller of engine maker Rolls-Royce, but still sees little scope for the group to materially beat expectations. The broker upgrades Rolls-Royce to a 'neutral' recommendation following its 2010 results, saying that "assuming [it's] premium valuation will persist, then there is less
Read moreLondon close: Flat finish for FTSE 100
14th Feb 2011 16:42
The top share index finished flat after a sluggish day's trading. Takeover talk pushed the price of engineering stalwarts Weir Group and Invensys higher, with engineering colossus Siemens said to have cash burning a hole in its pocket. The German company's chief financial officer, Joe Kaeser, sai
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie in red despite miners
14th Feb 2011 14:29
Mining stocks are buoyant after China's economy grew 9.8% in the final quarter of 2010, but demand for miners has not prevented the blue-chip index from sliding into the red. Takeover talk is pushing the price of engineering stalwarts Weir Group and Invensys higher, with German engineering colossu
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