Johnston Press chairman buys again
21st Mar 2011 16:59
Johnston Press chairman Ian Russell has nearly doubled his stake in the local newspaper publisher. Russell acquired 1.3m shares at 7.65p each, taking his stake to 2.71m shares. The share purchase cost just over £99,000. The Johnston Press share price has fallen by nearly three-quarters in the pa
Read moreLondon close: Shares in late dive as Mideast worries resurface
1st Mar 2011 16:43
The spectre of higher oil prices sent a chill down traders' spines late in the afternoon, sending shares plummeting into the red. The turmoil in the Arab World is behind the spike in crude, with a barrel for April delivery rallying towards $100 in New York. Worries over the possibility of protests
Read moreElementis gleams as profits soar
1st Mar 2011 15:21
Chromium specialist Elementis saw a major turnaround in fortunes last year, with its speciality products enjoying a record 12 months. Revenues in 2010 jumped to $697m compared to $564m in the previous year, with operating profit up 183% to $102.3m. Pre-tax profits rose 239% to $96m. In Specialty
Read moreLondon afternoon: Hard going for Footsie
1st Mar 2011 14:53
It's proving a struggle in London with not long to go until the close, as Wall Street fails to inject much excitement and miners either see gains trimmed or disappear completely. Aerospace and vehicles engineer GKN has few friends. It bounced back into the black last year as all divisions bar aeros
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 gives up gains
1st Mar 2011 12:07
The top share index is flat after giving up early gains, while company updates in the FTSE 250 have sparked big moves in both directions. Capita is the best performer in the FTSE 100 after the outsourcing group said it was in talks with Zurich about performing some administrative tasks for the ins
Read moreLondon close: US breathes life back into Footsie
1st Nov 2010 16:42
A good early performance from Wall Street helped Footsie snap out of a weak spell to close in positive territory. US shares were boosted by a bigger than expected rise in factory output in October. The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index rose to 56.9 last month. Analysts thought
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks and miners lead advance
1st Nov 2010 15:14
Footsie pulled out of its late morning slump over the lunch time session to move firmly back into positive territory, though investors are still reluctant to commit too heavily ahead of tomorrow's mid-term US elections, and the quantitative easing decisions expected this week from the Bank of Englan
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Update sparks Elementis jump
1st Nov 2010 13:49
Elementis' share price has reacted positively to its announcement that it expects to make more money than expected this year as a swell of activity in the oil and gas sector helped the speciality chemicals supplier lift sales by 11% in the third quarter. Mining stocks such as the African pair Kenma
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie subdued after buoyant start
1st Nov 2010 12:02
Footsie has failed to rediscover its early-morning buoyancy and sits in the blue by a few points. Among the laggards is Serco. The company, which carries out work for the government such as operating prisons and London's Docklands Light Railway, has taken a knock after it was forced to make a grove
Read moreLondon open: Footsie charges higher
1st Nov 2010 08:32
High demand for banks and miners got the week off to a good start, offsetting weakness in the outsourcing sector. Banks are going well as trading updates loom. Lloyds Banking Group is getting ready for tomorrow's statement with a 2% jump, while Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC are also making up gr
Read moreElementis estimates earnings beat
1st Nov 2010 07:42
Elementis expects to make more money than expected this year as a swell of activity in the oil and gas sector helped the speciality chemicals supplier lift sales by 11% in the third quarter. An increase in shale gas drilling in North America was behind a surge in sales to the oilfield sector where
Read moreLondon close: Footsie soars as earnings impress
2nd Aug 2010 16:51
Footsie posted triple-digit gains as strong earnings here and elsewhere cheered investors. HSBC gave the banking sector a lift. The global banking giant's pre-tax profit more than doubled to $11.1bn on a reported basis, while underlying pre-tax profit rose by 30% to $9.6bn/ Loan impairment charges
Read moreLondon afternoon: Triple digit rise for Footsie
2nd Aug 2010 14:20
The Footsie is sitting on a triple-digit gain though the benchmark index has largely traded sideways since 9:30 this morning when the purchasing managers index (PMI) for UK manufacturing was released. The index showed that activity in British factories grew at a slower pace in July, but the decli
Read moreLondon midday: Banks set the pace
2nd Aug 2010 12:14
Banking shares drove London higher in the morning session after better than expected figures from global banking giant HSBC. HSBC's pre-tax profit more than doubled to $11.1bn on a reported basis, while underlying pre-tax profit rose by 30% to $9.6bn/ Loan impairment charges and other credit risk
Read moreElementis H1 profit soars
2nd Aug 2010 08:33
Speciality chemicals supplier Elementis reported better than expected half year profit and it expects to make progress throughout the rest of the year. "We experienced higher volumes in all key markets and all regions due to better underlying economic conditions and market share gains," said chief
Read more