Rexam executives add to holdings
16th Mar 2010 16:46
Can maker Rexam's new chief executive and finance director have both increased their shareholdings in the company. Chief executive Graham Chipchase bought 47,811 shares at 291.9p a share. This £140,000 investment took his stake to 164,345 shares. Chipchase originally joined Rexam as finance direc
Read moreFriday tips round-up; Schroders, Aggreko, Standard Chartered
5th Mar 2010 06:52
The stock market may still be one fifth below its record high, but Schroders has surpassed its turn of the century peak. Yesterday's full-year results from the FTSE 100 fund manager revealed that its total assets under management had risen to £148bn. The company's willingness to continue sitting on
Read moreLondon close: Footsie suffers hiccup
4th Mar 2010 16:40
The blue chip index failed to stretch its winning streak to a fifth session, falling for the first time this week on negative results reaction and downbeat miners. It held above 5,500 all day despite coming close just after trade began and towards the end of play. Engineering and project managemen
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks are becalmed
4th Mar 2010 14:13
It's been an up and down day for the blue-chip index although the Footsie has rarely strayed far from its overnight level. As expected, the Bank of England has held interest rates at 0.5% and taken no further action on quantitative easing (QE) amid conflicting signals over the state of the UK econo
Read moreSpirent optimistic for year ahead
4th Mar 2010 08:27
Communications technology firm Spirent posted a rise in full year profit as conditions improved. For the year ended 31 December 2009 pre-tax profit rose to £54.1m from £51.4m the year before. Revenue grew by 6% to £272.1m. The group saw increased order activity in the second half of the year and f
Read moreTechMARK movers: Kewill seeks acquisitions
25th Jan 2010 15:09
Logistics software provider Kewill says that sales and trading are in line with expectationa and it is looking for acquisition. Kewill is still winning new business and sales cycles remain stable. Cash generation is still strong. Kewill raised £7.2m after expenses in November 2009. This cash will
Read moreSpirent sees rise in operating returns
5th Nov 2009 08:21
Communications technology firm Spirent Communications said trading in the second half of the year has been in line with expectations. ‘During the third quarter we have seen a return to market stability and we have increased profitability,’ said Bill Burns, chief executive officer. Revenue in the t
Read moreSherborne keeps trimming Spirent stake
1st Sep 2009 16:12
US turnaround investment firm Sherborne Investors continues to sell shares in Spirent Communications, the UK telecoms testing equipment maker it bought into three years ago. Sherborne, which took a 15% interest in August 2006, has just sold 7.5m shares at 79.34p each, cutting its stake to 52.7m,
Read moreLondon close: Footsie finishes just down
4th Aug 2009 16:33
London staged a late rally but still finished just in the red as financials weighed and the US started in tepid fashion. Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered was the biggest faller of the day after saying it is to raise £1bn through a placing. It posted solid first half figures with profits up by 1
Read moreMid-cap round-up: Cookson, Spirent, Rotork...
4th Aug 2009 11:27
Industrial materials firm Cookson is at a 9-month high despite slipping into a half-year loss as it raised recovery hopes after a decent start to the second half. The company posted a £3.3m pre-tax loss for the first half of 2009 versus a profit of £99.1m in 2008. Revenue fell 27% at constant exch
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