Topps Tiles says confidence is returning
12th Jan 2010 07:29
Tile and flooring specialist Topps Tiles said its trading performance over the first 14 weeks provides reassurance that consumer confidence is returning. However, the group added it was cautious about the outlook for the economy and believes that 2010 may continue to present a challenging economic
Read moreLondon 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 open: Footsie shrugs off bank weakness
18th Dec 2009 08:45
London's blue chips have opened higher despite another weak showing from the banks after harsher than expected recommendations from the Basel Committee yesterday. Shares in all four fell heavily yesterday on the news and Barclays, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered are all lower
Read moreLondon pre-open: Early gains expected
18th Dec 2009 07:34
The top share index is expected to post modest gains in early dealings. Port operator Forth Ports said it expects full year results to be at the lower end of expectations due to weak trading in its Nordic recycling division and in its container services operations at Tilbury port near London. But
Read moreTopps cuts off Dutch arm
18th Dec 2009 07:27
Topps Tiles has effectively shut down its Dutch operation after withdrawing financial support from the loss-making subsidiary. The cost will be £1m and be reflected in the next figures. The Dutch subsidiary comprises 12 stores and accounted for 4% of the Group's revenue in 2009, but made a loss of
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 closes 32 points lower
24th Nov 2009 16:48
London ended the day in the red as the FTSE 100 lost its earlier gains after Wall Street opened sharply lower. London did not sustain a short-lived rally in the late afternoon. The market seemed to initially ignore Bank of England governor Mervyn King's cautious comments to the House of Commons Tr
Read moreLondon afternoon: Shares still drifting
24th Nov 2009 14:31
London continues to lack direction, with Bank of England governor Mervyn King's comments to the House of Commons Treasury select committee on the state of the economy having more of an effect on sterling than on share prices. With sterling dipping after King's comments, package holiday firms Thomas
Read moreLondon pre-open: Negative start ahead
24th Nov 2009 07:31
London's blue chips are expected to start around 50 points lower, falling back from yesterdays triple-digit gains. Footsie closed more than 100 points higher on Monday thanks to a record price for gold, an early rally on Wall Street and strength across the financial sector. Lloyds Banking Group h
Read moreTopps launches 10% placing
24th Nov 2009 07:07
Tile and flooring specialist Topps Tiles is to shore up its balance sheet with a placing of up to 17.1m new of shares, approximately 10% of its issued ordinary share capital. The Placing is being conducted today through an accelerated book build process to be handled by KBC Peel Hunt. The placing c
Read moreSunday tips round-up: Autonomy,Topps Tiles, H&T
1st Nov 2009 14:40
Autonomy's ability to turn earnings into cash has been a point of great debate this year. The company appeared to silence its critics at the third-quarter results, when it announced a cash conversion rate - calculated as Q3 operating cash flow over Q3 earnings - of 131pc, which it duly trumpeted thr
Read moreLondon close: Footsie dips into the red
23rd Sep 2009 17:05
A late swoon saw London's blue-chip index give up the gains of the morning to close marginally lower on the day, as investors banked profits ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision this evening on US interest rates and its quantitative easing (QE) programme. The morning's gains had been achieved on
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie nears intra-day high
23rd Sep 2009 14:01
The market's climb regained momentum over the lunchtime session. Investors have been put in the mood to buy by the prospect of the Bank of England increasing its quantitative easing programme some time in the future. The minutes to the most recent meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy co
Read moreLondon midday: Market rises despite cash calls
23rd Sep 2009 11:55
The market is off the top but still in positive territory, despite a flood of fund raising announcements this morning. Property group Liberty International shares have been hit by a placing today of up to 56.1m new shares, increasing its shares in issue by just under 10%. The fund raising comes l
Read more