London open: Miners jump higher in early trading
20th Jul 2011 08:42
After a strong finish on Wall Street last night - with the Dow Jones having its best day of the year so far - the Footsie opened up nearly 0.5% higher. Mining giant BHP Billiton was a high riser after it was able to achieve another iron ore output record in the year ended 30 June, its eleventh cons
Read moreLondon close: Banks recover as Footsie gains 0.65%
19th Jul 2011 16:29
The banking sector was winning back investor confidence on Tuesday as shares sharply rebounded, lifting the top share index close to the 5,800 level. Lloyds, RBS and Barclays were in demand, following the sector sell-off yesterday on the back of concerns over the softness of last week's European ba
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks, miners drive Footsie higher
19th Jul 2011 16:10
Lloyds, RBS and Barclays were in demand, following the sector's sell-off yesterday on the back of concerns over the softness of last week's European banking stress tests. Lloyds was the high riser of the day, after announcing that it is aggregating the wholesale markets, treasury and trading, trans
Read moreWPP buys into mind-reading firm
19th Jul 2011 15:50
Advertising firm, WPP, announced it had invested US$3m for a minority stake in Affectiva, a technology firm that specialises in measuring the emotional responses of consumers. WPP said its latest investment had been made through its wholly-owned information consultancy group, Kantar. The company
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Serco's growth rate to acclerate
6th Jul 2011 17:17
Fears that outsourcers such as Serco would be hard hit by the government's comprehensive spending review have yet to be fully realised, but the company's shares have been on a bad run of late. That seems to have prompted Citigroup to issue a "buy" note on the stock, with a target price of 670p. Ci
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 limps back above 6,000
6th Jul 2011 16:33
The top share index was above the 6,000 point mark at the close of play, but only just after worries over the Eurozone crisis - and global growth - sent stocks lower. The People´s Bank of China's decision to raise its key policy rate by 25 basis points with effect from tomorrow sent markets into re
Read moreLondon open: WPP drags sluggish FTSE 100 lower
6th Jul 2011 08:34
Stocks have got off to a sluggish start again today, with most of the excitement to be found among smaller companies. That said, acquisitive advertising conglomerate WPP is the heaviest faller in the large-cap index. It has been waving its debit card about again, this time acquiring a majority stak
Read moreWPP buys Indian advertising agency
6th Jul 2011 07:21
Acquisitive advertising conglomerate WPP has been waving its debit card about again, this time acquiring a majority stake in Indian advertising agency, Mindset Advertising. Mindset is a full service advertising agency that offers creative services, strategic planning and campaign execution in digit
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Autonomy leads the decline
16th Jun 2011 14:12
Just three stocks are making gains, with WPP, Capita and Vodafone edging slightly higher. Meanwhile, Autonomy is the worst performer on the blue chip index, losing over 4%. Engineering peers GKN, IMI and Weir are also lower. The miners are lower today, as global growth fears dampen the markets. Lo
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Hamworthy, BATS, Phoenix IT...
8th Jun 2011 06:48
The speed of the revival in the Hamworthy's fortunes is probably best shown by the growth in the order book, up from £142m a year before to £258m at the end of March. The shares, 13% ahead at 634½p last night after those upgrades, are up by almost 50% since the start of the year and sell on around 2
Read moreSaudi businesswoman opens WPP account
7th Jun 2011 16:08
Non-executive director Lubna Olayan has opened her account in the advertising and marketing giant WPP. The Saudi businesswoman took 10,000 shares 738.5p a pop, paying a total of £73,850. Olayan, the daughter of entrepreneur Sulaiman Olayan, has been with WPP since 2005. In an update last week,
Read moreLondon close: Footsie recovers after steep fall
3rd Jun 2011 16:40
After a steep decline after lunch - on the back of a poor start on Wall Street - the Footsie recovered to finish above water, albeit only by around 0.1%. US economic data fuelled a brief sell-off just before 2pm after some much weaker than expected jobs data. Just 54,000 new jobs were added in the
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Autonomy tops the risers
3rd Jun 2011 15:49
Data search group Autonomy is the top riser in the FTSE 100 after completing the $380m acquisition of assets from Iron Mountain. WPP, the advertising giant, is heading higher after acquiring a 70% stake in Grïngo Publicidade, a leading digital agency in Brazil. Making moderate gains is satellite
Read moreBroker tips: WPP, Victrex, Workspace Group
3rd Jun 2011 12:38
Nomura has reduced its full-year revenue assumptions for advertising and marketing group WPP as growth in April appears to have slowed slightly after a stronger first quarter. "The trading statement for the first four months of the year showed organic growth of 6.2% vs. 6.7% for Q1 [first quarter]
Read moreLondon midday: Traders sit tight ahead of US jobs figures
3rd Jun 2011 12:23
Stocks are pausing for breath following some big losses lately, with traders now looking ahead to US jobs data due later this afternoon. With summer approaching, advertising giant WPP, the top riser in the FTSE 100 today, has decided the time is right to go for a Brazilian, and has acquired a 70% s
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