London midday: Banks keep Footsie ahead
12th Mar 2010 12:00
Banks are driving Footsie upwards following a sluggish start. Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays are all higher. Life groups Old Mutual, Legal & General and Standard Life are also in demand. HSBC is the exception among the financials after Goldman Sachs reduced its view to 'neutral' and
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks trade sideways
10th Mar 2010 14:25
The market traded sideways over the lunchtime session allowing the blue-chip index to retain its tenuous position above the 6500 level. Mining stocks are doing their bit to bolster the Footsie as metal prices rise following a sharp increase in imports into China in February. Banks are also doing th
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Bid talk builds up Barratt
10th Mar 2010 14:24
Shares in Barratt climbed amid talk of a bid possibly from rival housebuilder Persimmon. Shares in derivatives broker Tullett Prebon leapt ahead as it confirmed it has been approached over a possible offer for the company. Waste group Shanks is higher after falling yesterday following its abandonm
Read moreCommunisis chairman buys
26th Feb 2010 16:49
Peter Hickson, the chairman of print management and data analysis services provider Communisis, is buying shares following yesterday's results. A downturn in spending on direct mail promotions hit Communisis in 2009 and it cut its final dividend from 1.635p a share to 0.43p a share. The total divid
Read moreLondon close: Carnival provides lift
24th Feb 2010 16:55
Footsie closed slightly higher, with Carnival giving London's blue chips a lift after announcing that it is going to increase the price of its cruises. Carnival was leading the FTSE 100 higher after the cruise operator said it will be lifting ticket prices following strong reservations activity for
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks steady at higher levels
24th Feb 2010 14:12
London has moved into consolidation mode in the afternoon session, ahead of a moderately firmer opening on Wall Street. HSBC remains the top performer as reports circulate that the company is preparing to sell its train leasing business for around £2bn. Sentiment towards the bank is also sweetened
Read moreLondon midday: HSBC rolls higher on train sale rumours
24th Feb 2010 12:04
Banks are leading the market's advance today, more than offsetting weakness among miners. HSBC was the morning's top performer as reports circulate that the company is preparing to sell its train leasing business for around £2bn. Sentiment towards the bank is also sweetened by reports that the boar
Read moreLondon open: Early gains for blue chips
24th Feb 2010 08:54
Financials are keeping Footsie moving forward this morning. Standard Life, HSBC and Aviva are all in demand despite the 100-point fall on the Dow overnight. Reckitt Benckiser is lower again on worries over the inquiry into its sales methods for Gaviscon heartburn products. Mining giant BHP Billit
Read moreLondon pre-open: Small loss likely
24th Feb 2010 07:38
A three-figure slump on Wall Street overnight looks like keeping London in check this morning, with confidence still dented by yesterday's weak US confidence data. Futures prices indicate a small loss for the leading index when trading starts at 8am. Mining giant BHP Billiton's chairman Don Argus
Read moreBarratt narrows losses
24th Feb 2010 07:04
Housebuilder Barratt Developments has cut half year losses and predicts a "significant" improvement in operating margin in the second half versus the first as it begins selling more houses and fewer flats. A loss before tax and exceptional items of £48.5m for the last six months of 2009 was much le
Read moreWednesday preview: Barratt Developments, Logica
23rd Feb 2010 15:51
The housebuilders' results season gets underway with the big fish in Wednesday's results pool being Barratt Developments. The company said last month that completions in the first half of its financial year (i.e. the six months to end of December) were in line with expectations while total average
Read moreBroker tips: Glaxo, Housebuilders, Retailers
23rd Feb 2010 13:03
US senators want GlaxoSmithKline to withdraw its antidiabetic Avandia on concerns it may increase the risk of heart attacks, but analysts at SocGen say this is unlikely. Glaxo maintains it shared all relevant information with the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and a 2009 study said it was unli
Read moreBroker snap: Housebuilders undervalued
23rd Feb 2010 11:24
With the housebuilding sector trading at a 30% discount to projected 2010 net tangible asset value Deutsche Bank thinks there are bargains to be had in the sector and has identified Barratt, Persimmon, Redrow and Taylor Wimpey as its top picks. The German bank is expecting the upcoming results sea
Read moreLondon close: Strong finish for FTSE 100
29th Jan 2010 16:38
Footsie gave up a recent weak spell to finish the week with good gains. Whitbread was the star performer. Following an investor day yesterday, Barclays Capital raised its price target on the Costa Coffee and Premier Inn owner to 1,700p from 1,600p. The broker thinks Whitbread will benefit from new
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Connaught hit as chief exec departs
29th Jan 2010 14:59
Shares in Connaught have fallen sharply on news Mark Tincknell will step down as executive chairman and take on the role of chief executive of the social housing firm to replace Mark Davies, it announced today. Davies originally planed to leave the company at the end of the current financial year t
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