New M&S chairman goes shopping
24th Nov 2010 17:31
Robert Swannell, the former banker who will soon be the chairman of Marks & Spencer, has bought a big chunk of shares in the High Street retailer. He took 20,000 shares at 372.8p a time, paying just less than 75,000, and now has 70,000. Swannell's appointment at the helm of Marks & Spencer was an
Read moreLondon close: Footsie sluggish as Ireland hogs limelight
17th Nov 2010 16:52
Footsie limped to a slightly higher finish on a sluggish day dominated by uncertainty over the Irish debt situation. Ireland appeared close to accepting a European bailout Wednesday ahead of a visit from European Union and International Monetary Fund experts the following day. The discussions shoul
Read moreLondon afternoon: Waiting for the dust to clear
17th Nov 2010 14:35
Investors continue to adopt a wait and see approach, biding their time until the Irish debt situation becomes clearer. UK economic news has been good, but not amazingly so. There was an unexpected fall in unemployment in October and a widely-anticipated three-way split in views on the Bank of Engla
Read moreBarratt has weak autumn though prices rise
17th Nov 2010 07:43
Housebuilder Barratt Developments has had a weaker than expected autumn selling season, though new site openings will drive a "limited" increase in volume growth for the full year. Net private reservations per active site per week dropped to 0.45 in the four months since July 1 from 0.55 a year ago
Read moreLondon close: Footsie recovers as M&A action heats up
15th Nov 2010 16:37
The top share index snapped out of a weak start to finish in positive territory Monday as jitters over the Irish debt situation eased and bid speculation and company updates attracted attention. Shares in Invensys moved higher despite the engineering firm denying press reports that it has received
Read moreLondon afternoon: Bid activity keeps the pot bubbling
15th Nov 2010 14:07
A sprinkling of bid speculation is livening up markets this Monday, as traders wait for the Irish sovereign debt situation to play itself out. Shares in Invensys are higher despite the engineering firm denying press reports that it has received an approach. The company's chief executive Ulf Henrik
Read moreLondon close: Two-year high for blue chips
4th Nov 2010 17:01
Footsie hit a two-year high as investors piled into blue chips after yesterday's larger-than-expected stimulus package unveiled by the US Federal Reserve. But the good sentiment was not universal, with some hefty fallers on the back of disappointing trading updates. Hopes that the Bank of England's
Read moreLondon afternoon: Morning's gains consolidated
4th Nov 2010 14:23
Since the Bank of England's noon announcement extinguished the small hopes of Britain joining the US in reviving its quantitative easing programme, leading shares have marked time. Miners are still doing particularly well on hopes that the Fed's stimulus measures will help sustain the global econo
Read moreLondon afternoon: Miners retain most of their gains
25th Oct 2010 14:28
London has lost some of its gains in the early afternoon but it is showing signs of a renewed upturn. Miners remain the best performers on expectations that the US dollar will suffer a relapse after the G20 agreement over the week-end that should, if adhered to, bring an end to so-called currency w
Read moreLondon midday: Banks miss out
25th Oct 2010 12:05
Having got off to a flying start London spent the mid-morning period slowly relinquishing its gains before regaining impetus just before midday. Miners continue to lead the advance on expectations that the US dollar will suffer a relapse after the G20 agreement over the week-end that should, if adh
Read moreBBA mortgage approvals at 18-month nadir
25th Oct 2010 10:22
There was more bad news for the UK housing market on Monday as the British Bankers' Association's measurement of mortgage approvals fell to an 18-month low in September. The number of new mortgages approved by members of the British Bankers' Association (BBA) in September was just 31,104, down from
Read moreLondon close: Footsie closes on low note
7th Oct 2010 16:52
Footsie turned down in the afternoon session despite better than expected US jobs and retail sales figures. US shares did not respond to the economic data and by midday the Dow was showing strongly red. In Europe, interest rates were left on hold by both the Bank of England and European Central ba
Read moreRedrow swings to profit as house prices improve
9th Sep 2010 07:26
Higher house prices helped home builder Redrow move back into profit in the year to June 30, but the outlook remains uncertain. The company posted a pre-tax profit of £0.7m against a loss of £44.2m the previous year, as revenues jumped to £396.9m from £301.8m. Average selling prices rose to £149,3
Read moreLondon close: US spurs Footsie recovery
8th Sep 2010 16:36
Footsie put its weak start behind it to close with good gains, helped by buoyant trading on Wall Street. US shares recovered from losses yesterday that snapped a recent winning streak. Among the risers here was ARM Holdings. UBS has issued a downbeat assessment of the European semiconductor mark
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Barratt falls back
8th Sep 2010 15:13
Shares in Barratt are lower after the housebuilder reported a profit in the second half as the housing market rebounded, but added that reservations have turned down recently. Sports Direct is enjoying another day of gains after yesterday saying that total sales rose 8.8% in the first quarter despi
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