London midday: Shares little changed
14th Dec 2010 12:01
Company updates have given investors plenty to mull over today, but shares are little changed overall. Whitbread, the company behind Costa Coffee and the Premier Inn hotel chain, posted another strong set of numbers though there were a few signs of weakness and the shares have fallen. Another boo
Read moreLondon open: Flat start for blue chips
14th Dec 2010 08:50
A dull start for Footsie was predicted and that's how it has turned out with the weak ending on Wall Street keeping buyers quiet. The Dow Jones had been trading near two-year highs when London closed, but ended with a lead of just 18 points. In UK company news, Go-Ahead, the company that operates
Read moreLondon pre-open: Static start seen
14th Dec 2010 07:38
Not much change is anticipated in early deals as a lack of blue chip news and a mixed finish on Wall Street keep things light at the start of play. The Dow Jones had been trading near two-year highs when London closed, but ended with a lead of just 18 points. In UK company news, Go-Ahead, the com
Read moreCosta powers Whitbread forward
14th Dec 2010 07:13
Another booming quarter for its coffee chain Costa helped Whitbread lift sales by 13.6% over the past three months, with like-for-like revenue up 6.8%, but the shares fell slightly amid signs of softness in some areas. Sales at Costa in the 13 weeks to end November rose by 31% with like-for-like sa
Read moreTuesday preview: Go-Ahead, Whitbread, Imagination Technologies
13th Dec 2010 16:39
Go-Ahead said in October that expectations for the full-year are unchanged as rail and bus operations continue performing well. However, that was before the recent snow disruption, which has seen passengers on Southeastern, the Go-Ahead-owned company that operates between London and Kent, stuck on
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Wellstream, BHP Billiton, Whitbread...
13th Dec 2010 06:26
Millions of families are struggling to pay their bills ? and the number is likely to increase in the new year, according to analysis from the Bank of England. The report published today shows that two fifths of households have difficulty from time to time or constantly in meeting their monthly bil
Read moreIncoming Whitbread boss takes another slice
17th Nov 2010 17:56
Whitbread's incoming chief executive Andy Harrison has continued signalling his commitment to his new employers, spending nearly £500,000 on shares in the hotel and coffee shop operator. He bought 29,439 shares at 1,685.74 a time and now has 161,673. Harrison, who used to be chief executive at eas
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Gold price fall pushes miners lower
27th Oct 2010 14:14
Miners are leading the Footsie lower. Gold is falling in price because of fears that the US Federal Reserve's much anticipated monetary easing programme will be less substantial than expected. That is also pushing the dollar higher. Kazakhmys, Xstrata and Vedanta Resources are the biggest faller
Read moreLondon close: Footsie closes lower after China rate hike
19th Oct 2010 16:39
Shares fell in the afternoon after a surprise hike in rates in China took investors by surprise and the leading share index finished firmly in the red. The People's Bank of China upped its one-year deposit rate to 2.5% from 2.25%, while the lending rate has been hiked to 5.56% from 5.31%, with effe
Read moreLondon afternoon: Chinese rate rises prompt sell-off
19th Oct 2010 14:24
Having drifted aimlessly during the morning session shares turned briskly south over lunch after China made surprise changes to some of its interest rates. The People's Bank of China upped its one-year deposit rate to 2.5% from 2.25%, while the lending rate has been hiked to 5.56% from 5.31%, with e
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Chinese interest rate rise hits miners
19th Oct 2010 14:00
Miners are leading the market down today following a surprise rise in Chinese interest rates. Xstrata says that trading has been strong since the end of the first half. Coal, copper and nickel volumes were all good. Even so, the miner tops the worst performers. Rio Tinto continues to fall after
Read moreLondon midday: Tech titans' fortunes differ
19th Oct 2010 12:03
London had a subdued morning with investors reluctant to jump too far in one direction ahead of tomorrow's release of the meeting notes from the most recent Monetary Policy Committee chin-wag. There has been some excitement in the tech sector, however, after yesterday's blockbusting results from Ap
Read moreLondon open: Flat start ahead of review
19th Oct 2010 08:50
London has recovered from an early blip as investors get ready for tomorrow's comprehensive spending review. Banks are largely responsible for the revival with Barclays, Standard Chartered and RBS all ahead. Autonomy is flat even though chief Mike Lynch said growth prospects for the data search so
Read moreLondon pre-open: Flat start foreseen
19th Oct 2010 07:39
London is set to start the day barely changed as traders sit on their hands ahead of the comprehensive spending review to be announced on Wednesday. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 2 points from yesterday's close of 5,742. First half underlying pre-tax profits from Premier Inn and
Read moreParker signs off in style at Whitbread
19th Oct 2010 07:15
First half underlying pre-tax profits from Premier Inn and Costa Coffee owner Whitbread were in line with market expectations but the company had a pleasant surprise on the dividend front. Group underlying profit before tax rose by 28.4% to £151.8m in the six months to 2 September from £118.2m in t
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