London pre-open: Shares shrug off Greek woes
14th Jun 2011 07:33
The downgrade yesterday of Greek sovereign debt by ratings agency Standard & Poor's to a level barely above junk status seems unlikely to prevent shares adding to yesterday's modest gains at the outset, with City traders predicting the top-share index will open around 30 points firmer. Supermarket
Read moreTAQA extends Wood Group arrangement
14th Jun 2011 07:05
Oilfield services firm Wood Group has extended its contract with TAQA Bratani Limited, the energy company that is 51% owned by Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority, for a further five years. Under the terms of the deal, Wood Group PSN, a subsidiary of Wood Group, will provide operations & mai
Read moreLondon close: Flat finish as Carnival and Imperial warn on profits
13th Jun 2011 17:07
Shares finished slightly higher on another choppy day for the FTSE 100, with bid-talk surrounding ENRC helping offset profit warnings from Imperial Tobacco and Carnival. Imperial Tobacco fell back after it slashed profit expectations for its Spanish business as competition in the country forced it
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 fights back
13th Jun 2011 12:15
Shares have climbed higher after an indifferent start, with mining stocks and banks sending the top share index higher. Imperial Tobacco is lower though after it slashed profit expectations for its Spanish business as competition in the country forced it to cut prices for cigarettes. Imperial, whos
Read moreLondon open: FTSE 100 pauses for breath after retreat
13th Jun 2011 08:34
Shares are flat following Friday's slide. Imperial Tobacco is lower though after it slashed profit expectations for its Spanish business as competition in the country forced it to cut prices for cigarettes. Imperial, whose brands include Lambert & Butler and Gauloises Blondes cigarettes, said opera
Read moreLondon pre-open: More falls expected
13th Jun 2011 07:45
The top share index is expected to fall slightly, adding to the big losses seen at the end of last week. Imperial Tobacco has slashed profit expectations for its Spanish business after competition in the country forced it to cut prices for cigarettes. Imperial, whose brands include Lambert & Butler
Read moreWood Group's shareholders to recieve £665m
13th Jun 2011 07:24
Energy services firm Wood Group will return 140p per share to its shareholders, in the second stage of its £1.08bn return of cash programme. Following the £412m returned through a tender offer two weeks ago, the company will return the residual £665m by way of a B/C share scheme on 1 July, in which
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 rallies despite retail gloom
9th Jun 2011 16:31
Shares rallied in the afternoon after a good start on Wall Street where stocks won back some recent losses. Engineer Weir Group was the highest riser after its earnings estimates were lifted by RBC Capital Markets. There have also been reports today that two companies in China have been given fine
Read moreSector movers: Home Retail drags retailers into the red
9th Jun 2011 16:06
Unsurprsingly, the retailing sector is the worst performing sector on Thursday, after Home Retail Group took a dive. Home Retail has taken a plunge after revealing an 8.1% fall in sales at its catalogue-based retailer Argos in the 13 weeks to 28 May. "Trading conditions, particularly at Argos, have
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Insurers under the weather
23rd May 2011 15:12
Analysts at Digital Look have attributed the share price weakness of insurers Admiral and Old Mutual to the Icelandic volcano, which could cause disruption to travellers across western Europe on reports of a drifting ash cloud. Airline International Consolidated Airlines is also flying lower. Also
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Aggreko leads the fallers
16th May 2011 15:45
The Footsie has come off its lows but remains in the red, led by temporary power supplier Aggreko, who is trading over 3% lower. Engineers Invensys and Weir are also out of favour. Data software firm Autonomy is wanted after it announced that it is to boost its cloud computing capability with a $38
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 drifts lower
16th May 2011 12:00
Stocks have drifted lower following their poor start. The European debt crisis talks overshadowed by the arrest of IMF chief Dominique Strass-Kahn. European finance ministers look likely to give the go-ahead for a Portuguese bailout today in a meeting overshadowed by the arrest of the head of the I
Read moreLondon open: Mixed reception for company updates
16th May 2011 08:25
Stocks are suffering more losses in early dealings, with company updates failing to impress the market. Oilfield services group Wood Group slips after saying it is to return £1.05bn to shareholders by way of a tender offer to repurchase up to 32.1% of the issued ordinary share capital of the group.
Read moreLondon pre-open: Soft opening expected
16th May 2011 07:39
The top share index could well slide below 5,900 at the outset this morning with City traders expecting the Footsie to dip by around 27 points from Friday's close of 5,926. Oilfield services group Wood Group is to return £1.05bn to shareholders by way of a tender offer to repurchase up to 32.1% of
Read moreWood Group buy back set at 605p - 625p
16th May 2011 07:18
Oilfield services group Wood Group is to return £1.05bn to shareholders by way of a tender offer to repurchase up to 173.6m Wood shares, equivalent to 32.1% of the issued ordinary share capital of the group. The company flagged its intention to shower shareholders with cash back in February after
Read more