London 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 midday: Market follows Man higher
4th Nov 2010 12:54
After a morning of holding its breath waiting for the Bank of England's pronouncement on quantitative easing, the admittedly small hopes that the Bank would follow the US central bank's lead and resume its asset buy-back programme were crushed by the announcement of maintenance of the status quo. N
Read moreLondon open: Shares jump after US launches second stimulus phase
4th Nov 2010 08:30
Yesterday's announcement of a second phase of quantitative easing in the US has sent shares soaring. Miners in particular are going well on hopes that the stimulus measures will help sustain the global economic recovery. BHP Billiton, Kazakhmys and Xstrata move ahead. In other sectors, Anglo-Dutc
Read moreJD Wetherspoon Q1 lfl sales up 1.6%
4th Nov 2010 07:17
First quarter like-for-like sales at pub chain JD Wetherspoon increased 1.6% while total sales in the period rose 7.3%. "Our sales, profit and cashflow continue to be resilient and the performance of our recently opened pubs remains encouraging," the group said in today's quarterly update. There h
Read moreThursday preview: BoE QE, Man Group, Unilever
3rd Nov 2010 15:58
By Thursday morning markets will know whether the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has resumed quantitative easing (QE) and, if so, by how much. Attention will then turn the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which has much the same decision to make as its US counterpart. Whi
Read moreLondon close: Weak end to dull day
14th Oct 2010 16:35
Leading shares closed lower on a poor day for the banks and a tumble for African Barrick. Fears that Standard Chartered's rights issue yesterday could be the start of a flood of cash calls unsettled Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays. Metal prices are back on the rise as the dollar heads
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie bottoms out
14th Oct 2010 14:17
Leading shares trod water over the lunchtime session, leaving Footsie still stranded in the red. Banks remain in the doldrums. Fears that Standard Chartered's rights issue yesterday could be the start of a flood of cash calls has unsettled Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays. Metal prices
Read moreSector movers: Pub stocks out of sorts
14th Oct 2010 14:05
Travel & Leisure is lower today with pub stocks suffering. Pub chain JD Wetherspoon is lower after saying it is losing its finance director and chief operating officer "in due course" after just a couple of years on the board. Punch Taverns' bad spell continues after it said on Tuesday that it pla
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Mixed bag from retailers
14th Oct 2010 14:04
Retail-related stocks are mixed today after updates. Cash and carry group Booker is higher after it posted a sharp rise in interim profits and reported strong turnover so far in the second half. So is WH Smith. The newsagent and bookshop operator posted a strong rise in profits and upped its fina
Read moreLondon midday: Downward drift quickens
14th Oct 2010 11:56
US markets may be expected to open firmer but London is determined to go its own way today, heading lower, despite a buoyant mining sector. Metal prices are back on the rise as the dollar heads in the opposite direction. That is not enough to prevent gold miner African Barrick Gold taking a tumble,
Read moreLondon open: Footsie builds on gains
14th Oct 2010 08:24
London has crept higher following yesterday's gains, with a stream of updates giving investors plenty to ponder. Starting with the bad news, African Barrick Gold has suspended 40% of the mining department at its Buzwagi mine in Tanzania following a fuel theft it suspects was an inside job. The shar
Read moreWetherspoon calls time on FD and COO
14th Oct 2010 08:16
Pub chain JD Wetherspoon is losing its finance director and chief operating officer "in due course" after just a couple of years on the board. Former Tesco man Keith Down, finance boss and company secretary since 2008, and Paul Harbottle, at Wetherspoon since 2003 and now chief operating officer, w
Read moreBroker tips: JD Wetherspoon, First Property, EnCore
5th Oct 2010 13:04
Charles Stanley Securities expects sales growth at JD Wetherspoon (JDW) as the group confidently moves from cash conservation into estate development. Analyst James Dawson antipates this increase through new site add-ons rather than like-for-like sales growth, although higher repairs are now deeme
Read moreBroker snap: Sales growth expected at JD Wetherspoon
5th Oct 2010 12:39
Charles Stanley Securities expects sales growth at JD Wetherspoon as the group confidently moved from cash conservation into estate development. Analyst James Dawson antipates this increase through new site add-ons, although higher repairs are now deemed necessary to freshen-up the mature sites.
Read moreLondon close: Lower close as rally falters
15th Sep 2010 16:35
Footsie closed a few points in the red Wednesday as a rally brought about by an improvement on Wall Street lost momentum. The US had a weak start following poorly-received manufacturing figures but sentiment recovered as trading progressed. Here, BP was lower in line with weaker oil prices, with t
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