London afternoon: Banks defy broker gloom
7th Jan 2010 14:27
Leading shares are mixed, with the Footsie barely changed now miners have recovered from a weak showing in the morning session to show gains in the afternoon. Kazakhmys and Fresnillo lead the mining sector but their gains are surpassed by two stocks from the banking sector where Barclays and Lloyds
Read moreLondon midday: Bank sits on hands
7th Jan 2010 11:51
London drifted lower ahead of the announcement of the Bank of England's quantitative easing and interest rate decision, which, as expected, left both the level of interest rates and the scale of the quanititative easing programme unchanged. Mining stocks are proving to be a millstone round Footsie'
Read moreLondon open: Miners offset strong supermarkets
7th Jan 2010 08:14
Miners are leading London's top stocks lower in early dealings on Thursday, offsetting strong demand in supermarket groups. Eurasian Natural Resources, Kazakhmys, Randgold Resources, Antofagasta, Xstrata and BHP Billiton are among the worst performers. On the positive side, Sainsbury, Tesco and Mo
Read moreBeazley acts to limit FX influence
7th Jan 2010 07:44
Specialist insurer and reinsurer Beazley, which took a £49.8m foreign exchange related hit to profits last year, has moved to reduce the impact of currency movements by matching the group’s underwriting capital by currency to the principal underlying currencies of its written premiums. The company
Read moreGalliford Try chief exec builds up stake
11th Dec 2009 16:37
Greg Fitzgerald, chief executive of Galliford Try, has lifted his stake in the construction group. He took 13,490 shares at 296.5p a time, paying a total of about £40,000, and now has 585,008. Shares in the company have jumped by about 40% in the past year. Last week it announced its acquisitio
Read moreDomino's director take away
16th Nov 2009 16:07
Domino's Pizza directors have offloaded shares ahead of a tender offer by the company. The directors have sold at 310p a share whereas the tender offer is at 317p a share. Domino's intends to buy back 6m shares for £19m. The directors have sold nearly as many shares as Domino's is tendering for. A
Read moreBeazley broadens marine offering
10th Nov 2009 09:09
Just a day after its third quarter trading update insurer Beazley has announced plans to expand its marine underwriting capabilities. The company will set up a new team, headed by Zareena Hussain, to offer professional liability and logistics coverage to marine operators. ‘Zareena and her colleagu
Read moreLondon close: Miners power Footsie gains
9th Nov 2009 16:31
Mining stocks were at the vanguard of a strong advance from FTSE 100 as commodity prices were boosted by plans outlined by world leaders over the weekend to continue with stimulus measures. Kazakhmys, Fresnillo, Rio Tinto and Vedanta were some of the best performers in the mining sector. Mining g
Read moreLondon afternoon: Cadbury rejects Kraft bid
9th Nov 2009 14:23
After all the waiting and speculation, the formal bid for Cadbury from US group Kraft Foods proved a disappointment, but it has not dampened sentiment in a buoyant London market. Kraft formally announced a bid for Cadbury on the same terms as the indicative offer announced at the beginning of Septe
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie bursts through 5200
9th Nov 2009 11:58
With the price of gold crashing through the $1,100 and other metal prices on the up, miners are leading a strong advance by Footsie. Demand for mining stocks has been spurred by comments at the close of the G20 summit pledging a continuing commitment to providing economic stimulation to the world e
Read moreLondon open: Miners and insurers lead the charge
9th Nov 2009 08:55
Leading shares have made a confident start to the week following the latest G20 meeting, with insurers and miners leading the way higher. A statement issued after this weekend’s G20 summit reassured marlkets that there would be no premature withdrawal of economic stimulus packages. “The recovery
Read moreLondon pre-open: Strong start to week expected
9th Nov 2009 07:35
London looks ready to start the week in style following the latest G20 meeting and after Wall Street found plenty of support at the 10,000 level on Friday afternoon. A statement issued after this weekend's G20 summit reassured marlkets that there would be no premature withdrawal of economic stimulu
Read moreBeazley sees growth despite rate increases
9th Nov 2009 07:02
Insurer and reinsurer Beazley has seen strong growth in premiums written this year, even after it pushed through rate increases. Gross premiums written in the first nine months of 2009 rose 45% to £861.9m from £595.4m in the first nine months of last year. Investments and cash have improved to £2,
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: National Grid, Pearson, Dialight
28th Jul 2009 06:43
National Grid is the safest of the safe. Even for a utility, it has a risk-averse investment model. At the moment, 95% of its revenues are from regulated services. Last week's confirmation that a major ratings agency was taking the outlook back up to "stable" is a key development and leaves the st
Read moreLondon close: Footsie equals winning streak
27th Jul 2009 16:59
Though it was a close run thing the Footsie ended the day in the blue, equalling its record run of 11 successive days of rises. The blue-chip index was supported by a strong performance from miners and the part-nationalised banks. Lonmin was wanted after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to "neutr
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