London close: Footsie back at 5,900
25th Mar 2011 17:19
Blue chips closed the week just above 5,900 with decent gains across a range of sectors helped by a smattering of broker recommendations. Reckitt Benckiser is wanted after Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock of the Cillit Bang maker to "buy" from "neutral", while Autonomy is in the red
Read moreLondon afternoon: Gaming firms in demand
25th Mar 2011 14:07
Leading shares are mixed after the strong opening prompted traders to bank some profits at the end of a week which has seen the top share index advance by around 170 points. Broker commentary is behind the share price movements of the Footsie's best and worst performers. Reckitt Benckiser is wante
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie clings on
25th Mar 2011 12:08
Footsie just about kept its head above water in the morning session but index heavyweight BP was a major drag after last night's news about the blocking of its $16bn joint venture with Rosneft. Broker commentary is behind the share price movements of the Footsie's best and worst performers. Reckit
Read moreXcite not fazed by North Sea oil tax change
25th Mar 2011 07:01
North Sea oilfields operator Xcite Energy said 2010 was a transformational year and the fourth quarter a pivotal period for the company, with the successful drilling of wells in its Bentley field. Loss before tax in 2010 widened to £2.45m from £0.78m in 2009 as the company invested heavily in its d
Read moreBudget tax hike has North Sea explorers on skids
24th Mar 2011 12:35
Oil companies are still reeling from yesterday's Budget decision to increase the tax paid on North Sea oil and gas production to subsidise a 1p a litre cut in fuel duty. North Sea focused oil producer Enquest slumped on the news and is down again today. Encore Oil suffered a less dramatic post-Budg
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Mondi, Helphire, Lancashire
22nd Feb 2011 06:57
Mondi is one of those perennial biggest companies that rarely makes the headlines, but that may be about to change. The papermaker, which is listed in Britain and in Johannesburg, sits just outside the FTSE 100, but a whacking 111% increase in its full-year dividend to 20 cents yesterday and a renew
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 storms past 6,000
4th Jan 2011 16:36
The top share index lost some if its strong early gains ahead of the close, but still finished above the psychologically important 6,000 point mark on a storming start to 2011. Oil giant BPwas boosted by reports that rival Shell looked into making a bid for the company in the wake of last year's G
Read moreLondon afternoon: Triple digit rise for Footsie
4th Jan 2011 14:31
Bid speculation is adding froth to a London stock market already playing catch-up with European and US markets that posted strong gains yesterday. Oil giant BPis boosted by reports that rival Shell looked into making a bid for the company in the wake of last year's Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which s
Read moreMore good news for Xcite
4th Jan 2011 07:54
North Sea oilfields operator Xcite Energy said its 9/3b-6z well on the Bentley field has been successfully suspended for potential future use as a production well. In addition to the successful well flow test announced on 21 December 2010, high quality down hole pressure, temperature and sample dat
Read moreXcite demonstrates potential of Bentley field
21st Dec 2010 11:04
Xcite Energy, the developer of heavy oil assets in the North Sea, has rallied on news the flow test of the 9/3b-6z horizontal well on the Bentley field has been successfully completed. The firm's value soared over 20% Tuesday morning after the flow rates demonstrated the commerciality of the field
Read moreSmall caps round-up: African Eagle, Xcite, Dunedin Smaller Co's
20th Dec 2010 10:32
African Eagle is up again as a new economic model for the Dutwa nickel project in Tanzania turned out to be a "significant" improvement over the results of the scoping study 18 months ago. Independent Perth based consultant Simulus gives a pre-tax net present value (NPV) of US$650m at a discount ra
Read moreSmall caps round-up: Firestone Diamonds, UBC Media
15th Dec 2010 14:48
Firestone Diamonds' first diamond tender at its new sales office in Gaborone, Botswana, sold 14,673 carats for gross proceeds of about $1.6m, with the first sale of diamonds from the main pipe at Liqhobong making $98/carat "We are very pleased that the prices achieved for both Liqhobong and BK11 p
Read moreXcite's North Sea well to exceed expectations
1st Nov 2010 11:34
Xcite Energy, the developer of heavy oil assets in the North Sea, saw net assets increase to £52.9m at 30 September, from £24.1m at 31 December 2009. Cash balances stood at £27.8m, compared to £0.54m at the end of September last year. However, its pre-tax losses increased to £212,716 for the quarter
Read morePremier Oil and gang expand North Sea portfolios
28th Oct 2010 08:12
Premier Oil has been awarded five new licences in the 26th UK Licensing Round, including several blocks close to its existing interests in the Central North Sea. The company, which already has a 35% interest in the potentially huge Catcher field, said the wins, announced yesterday by the Department
Read moreSmall caps round-up: Abbeycrest, City of London Investment, Impax...
25th Oct 2010 17:26
Jewellery maker Abbeycrest has swung to a pre-tax loss of £0.46m for the half year from a pre-tax profit of £1.26m last year. For the six months ended 31 August 2010, group revenue increased by 5% to £18.8m from £17.9m previously. However, this was largely due to the effect of the rising gold price
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