London close: Late decline wipes out gains
18th Dec 2009 16:43
Footsie ended lower having spent most of the day in positive territory. Financials led the market down and cruise operator Carnival's lower quarterly profit did not help. Most of the miners ended the day higher but they lost some of their earlier gains. Having been hit hard yesterday following the
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks in consolidation mode
18th Dec 2009 14:21
Blue-chips moved sideways over the lunch-time session, consolidating the morning's gains. Goldman Sachs has given a lift to the oil sector, tipping BP as the 'clear winner' among oil companies next year, though it also rates UK operators BG and Royal Dutch Shell over their continental European coun
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks amble higher
18th Dec 2009 12:10
Leading shares are mixed with a slightly firmer bias, helped by the strength of resource stocks. Gold miner Randgold Resources leads the mining sector higher as the gold price stabilises after falling heavily overnight. Elsewhere in the sector BHP Billiton, Kazakhmys and Antofagasta catch the eye.
Read moreLondon close: Banks spooked by higher capital call
17th Dec 2009 16:34
Banks sank on a call for tougher capital requirements and coupled with a weak mining sector it meant a poor day in London. Lloyds Banking took a pasting, while Standard Chartered and Barclays were also among the worst performers. The Basel Committee of central bankers and supervisors called for st
Read moreLondon afternoon: Barclays hit by lawsuit
17th Dec 2009 13:55
Footsie remains deep in negative territory, and with US markets set to open lower, there is no prospect of a boost from Wall Street. Banks and miners are responsible for much of the blue-chip index's fall. Lloyds Banking is leading the fallers, while Standard Chartered and Barclays are also among t
Read moreSector movers: JJB leads retailers lower
17th Dec 2009 12:13
JJB Sports is leading the retail sector lower. The sportswear and equipment retailer reported a 29% decline in underlying sales and remains cautious about Christmas and New Year trading. However, it's not all bad news on the retail front. Car dealer Inchcape is higher after saying it expects 2009's
Read moreLondon midday: Shares slip as banks and miners slide
17th Dec 2009 12:09
Falls across the board for the heavyweight bank and mining sectors are keeping Footsie firmly in the red. Lloyds Banking is leading the blue chip fallers, while Standard Chartered and Barclays are also among the worst performers. Among the miners, Antofagasta, Eurasian Natural Resources and Xstrat
Read moreLondon open: Banks and miners lead fall
17th Dec 2009 08:49
Weak miners and banking shares are leading London's top stocks lower in early dealings on Thursday. UK shares were expected to start the session in the red after Wall Street fell following the latest Federal Reserve rate decision and stimulus update. The central bank said interest rates would stay
Read moreLondon pre-open: Weak start on the cards
17th Dec 2009 07:35
UK shares looks set to start the session in the red after Wall Street fell following the latest Federal Reserve rate decision and stimulus update. The central bank said interest rates would stay low for some time, although it upgraded its estimate for the US economy and will continue to rein back s
Read moreStrong fourth quarter lifts Inchcape
17th Dec 2009 07:27
Car dealer Inchcape expects 2009's performance to be slightly ahead of expectations. Total revenue for the first 11 months of 2009 was 11.4% lower than the corresponding period of 2008 in constant currency terms. Like for like revenue over the same period was down 9.4% in actual currency and 15.6%
Read moreWednesday tips round-up; Pearson, Greggs, Bunzl
21st Oct 2009 06:45
Pearson faces pressures in financial advertising at the FT Group while Penguin's performance is flat. However, underpinned by US stimulus spending and the natural hedge between higher US college enrolments and weaker US school budgets, Pearson should continue to prosper in North America while its
Read moreLondon close: Footsie slips back
20th Oct 2009 16:50
There was no shortage of company news to give Footsie direction but it was the release of housing data in the US that ultimately dragged the leading share index into the red. Housing starts increased to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 590,000 last month, up 0.5% above a revised 587,000 in Oct
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie pulled both ways
20th Oct 2009 14:19
Footsie is struggling to find any sense of direction despite some big movements in individual companies' share prices. Fast growing software company Autonomy is finding the market hard to please. Despite another spell of strong organic growth in the third quarter, the shares are the worst performer
Read moreLondon midday: Banks drag Footsie down
20th Oct 2009 12:04
Footsie made a valiant effort to finish the morning in the blue but came up just short, thanks largely to the weakness of financial stocks. Barclays is sharply lower, after Qatar's sovereign wealth fund said it was selling half of the warrants it holds in the bank. Qatar Holding is selling 379.22
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Partygaming slumps as founder sells
20th Oct 2009 10:39
Investors are betting against PartyGaming after the founder of the online gambling group started selling some of his stake. He will sell up to 75m shares in the firm, reports say. Investors have no appetite for shares in Greggs even after the bakery chain served up a 2.5% rise in third quarter sale
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