13th Apr 2010 17:28
JD Sports Fashion has raised expectations over Wednesday's full year results by saying back in January that profit before tax and exceptional items would be significantly above market expectations. That sent investment analysts scurrying to update their earnings forecasts, and current consensus is
Read more25th Feb 2010 16:28
Blue chips closed sharply lower as fears about Greece resurfaced and US dole claimant figures were worse than expected. On a busy day for big company results RBS hogged the headlines. The part-nationalised bank saw its net attributable loss narrow markedly in 2009 with fourth quarter impairments 5%
Read more25th Feb 2010 14:23
The Footsie sank below last night's closing level over the lunch time session, weighed down by weak miners. On a busy day for big company results RBS continues to hog the headlines. Though off the top, the share price is still sharply higher after the part-nationalised bank saw its net attributable
Read more25th Feb 2010 11:50
Shares in Ashmore are in demand after the emerging markets asset manager reported a better than expected 40% jump in half-year profits. Pre-tax profit jumped to £112m in the six months ended 31 December compared with £80.3m last time. Assets under management at the end of December were up 27% to $
Read more14th Jan 2010 06:06
Ever-tighter building regulations on energy efficiency continue to work in SIG's favour. The last introduction of new UK standards in 2006 prompted a 20 per cent rise in the volume of insulation materials per building in the following three years and there is no reason to believe that their successo
Read more13th Jan 2010 16:32
Footsie ended the day firmly in the red with low commodity prices helping to offset positive broker coverage. With the oil price below $80, oil titans Royal Dutch Shell and BP found themselves on traders' sell lists. BG Group also slipped even after HSBC upped its price target for the stock from 13
Read more13th Jan 2010 14:57
Leading shares are mixed having picked up a little over the lunch time session, helped by a firmer start on Wall Street. With the oil price below $80, oil titans Royal Dutch Shell and BP find themselves on traders' sell lists, but BG Group makes headway after HSBC upped its price target for the st
Read more13th Jan 2010 11:56
Oils and banks are dragging the Footsie down, with sentiment also soured by disappointing manufacturing output figures. While industrial production showed a 0.4% rise in November, better than the 0.3% rise economists had been predicting, manufacturing output remained unchanged from October's level
Read more13th Jan 2010 08:50
Last night's decline on Wall Street, its first of 2010, has tipped Footsie lower a little in early deals though the fall so far is modest. US stocks were hurt by weaker than expected fourth quarter results from aluminium producer Alcoa after hours Monday, while Chinese moves to cool bank lending an
Read more13th Jan 2010 07:34
Last night's decline on Wall Street, its first of 2010, is set to tip London lower in early deals. US stocks were hurt by weaker than expected fourth quarter results from aluminium producer Alcoa after hours Monday, while Chinese moves to cool bank lending and a profit warning from Chevron also hur
Read more13th Jan 2010 07:03
Emerging markets asset manager Ashmore Group increased assets under management by 2% in the second quarter, but that's less than many analysts were hoping for given improved conditions. Assets under management (AuM) for the quarter ended 31 December rose to $31.6bn from $31.1bn on the 30 September
Read more12th Jan 2010 17:57
The cold snap over Christmas may have prompted shoppers to contemplate popping into Greggs for a hot pie or sausage roll, but Shore Capital thinks that icy conditions, particularly in the north of England and Scotland, may have suppressed footfall at the bakery chain. It's a view shared by dinburg
Read more12th Jan 2010 17:17
Equities staged a rally in the afternoon session but it was not enough to push the Footsie back into the black, largely because of weak miners, which took fright at moves by the Chinese central bank to cool down the economy by increasing the reserves ratio for Chinese commercial banks. Fresnillo, L
Read more12th Jan 2010 14:47
News that China has raised the reserve requirements for its banks in an attempt to choke growth in the economy has spooked global markets, including London. The prospect of China slowing down economic expansion does not sit well with miners such as Fresnillo, Lonmin, Kazakhmys, Vedanta and Xstrata,
Read more12th Jan 2010 12:11
The market's retreat is picking up pace, as the losses suffered by miners lengthen in the wake of disappointing results from Alcoa, the US aluminium producer. Alcoa, which kicked off the fourth quarter earnings reporting season in the US, declared a slightly worse than expected loss from continuing
Read more