London afternoon: Footsie consolidates gains
16th Sep 2009 14:30
The number of FTSE 100 constituents in the red today is in single figures as investors chase up share prices in the wake of relatively upbeat comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke last night. Bernanke said the US recession 'is very likely over at this point,' prompting an advance by gl
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Dunelm gives back gains
16th Sep 2009 12:32
Shares in Dunelm Group give back some of the strong gains they posted yesterday when the homewares retailer said it had seen a big rise in sales in the early part of the new financial year. Carpet group Carpetright is also lower, adding to recent losses. Weir Group is lower after the engineer anno
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie breaks through 5100
16th Sep 2009 11:58
Leading shares rose steadily throughout the morning session pushing the FTSE 100 index through the 5100 barrier. Mining stocks are responsible for much of the rise as metals prices head north after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the US recession 'is very likely over at this point' in a s
Read moreLondon open: Bright start for Footsie
16th Sep 2009 08:42
London's blue chips have made a strong start following on from Wall St's rise after US Fed chief Ben Bernanke called the US recession over. Miners are pushing on in sympathy with Bernanke's comments led by the majors Xstrata, Rio Tinto and Anglo American. Tullow Oil is the best performer after the
Read moreLondon pre-open: Higher start expected
16th Sep 2009 07:46
Shares are expected to open higher in early dealings, with the FTSE 100 edging further above the 5,000 point mark. Fashion retailer Next enjoyed better than expected progress in the first half, but kept its 'conservative' forecasts for second half like for like sales unchanged. Pre-tax profit for t
Read moreWeir Group loses chief executive
16th Sep 2009 07:19
Mark Selway, chief executive of the engineering group Weir, is to leave the company to take up a position with Australian building materials supplier Boral. He will be replaced by Keith Cochrane, currently finance director of Weir. Cochrane, who joined Weir in 2006, is a former finance boss of ener
Read moreDenham's London Capital stake nears 16%
24th Aug 2009 15:57
London Capital Group's finance boss Simon Denham has taken his stake in the spread betting firm closer to 16% with the purchase of another 200,000 shares. Denham, co-founder of financial spread betting unit Capital Spreads, paid £360,000 or 180p each, for the shares. He now owns 6.1m shares, or 15.
Read moreLondon close: Footsie finishes just down
4th Aug 2009 16:33
London staged a late rally but still finished just in the red as financials weighed and the US started in tepid fashion. Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered was the biggest faller of the day after saying it is to raise £1bn through a placing. It posted solid first half figures with profits up by 1
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie has rare down day
4th Aug 2009 15:02
Footsie is having a poor day with financial and miners weak and a flat start to trading on Wall Street. Insurer Legal & General set the downbeat tone by slashing its interim dividend by 45% after posting a loss of £1bn on a European embedded value (EEV) basis. The half-year dividend has been cut t
Read moreSector movers: L&G casts cloud over insurers
4th Aug 2009 12:54
Life Insurance is worst of the bunch after Legal & General reported after a 92% plunge in operating profit and a 45% cut in the dividend. European embedded value (EEV) operating profit rose 12% to £657m for the six months to 30 June, up from £589m a year ago, but it slumped to £31m from £391m on a
Read moreBroker tips: Weir, Home Retail, Kingfisher
4th Aug 2009 12:21
Weir Group's prediction that it will achieve profits at the upper end of its previous guidance has cheered KBC Peel Hunt and the broker lifts its price target on the engineer to 690p from 550p. Weir's cheery outlook came as it posted a 12% rise in both pre-tax profits and revenues, helped by a stro
Read moreLondon midday: Dull morning for Footsie
4th Aug 2009 12:03
Stocks remain stuck in the red after a poor morning session with shares undermined by miners slipping back and financials under pressure. Insurer Legal & General set the tone, by slashing its interim dividend by 45% after posting a loss of £1bn on a European embedded value (EEV) basis. The half-yea
Read moreBroker snap: Bullish Weir impresses KBC Peel
4th Aug 2009 10:53
Weir Group's prediction that it will achieve profits at the upper end of its previous guidance has cheered KBC Peel Hunt and the broker lifts its price target on the engineer to 690p from 550p. Weir's cheery outlook came as it posted a 12% rise in both pre-tax profits and revenues, helped by a stro
Read moreWeir lifts dividend after profit hike
4th Aug 2009 08:43
Weir Group's chairman Lord Smith of Kelvin hailed the pump and valve maker's strategy to focus on sectors that are not vulnerable to discretionary spending cuts as it posted a rise in profits and revenues and lifted its dividend. In the half year to June 26, pre-tax profits climbed by 12% from the
Read moreWeir on track after strong Q1
13th May 2009 08:25
A strong first quarter has made engineer Weir confident of meeting expectations for the full year. It is still predicting an annual profit before tax and intangibles amortisation from continuing operations of between £140m and £169m. Order input fell 4% during the 13 weeks ending 27 March versus t
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