Editor's Picks
Nichols grabs market share
Wednesday 24 Mar 2010
Soft drinks group Nichols today unveiled an impressive 22% rise in pre-tax profits and a 29% jump in sales so it is perhaps a bit surprising that the shares are lacking a bit of fizz.
Darling targets young with stamp duty holiday
Wednesday 24 Mar 2010
There were no flashy giveaways in Alistair Darling’s last Budget before the general election, although boss Gordon Brown will hope concessions on fuel and stamp duty are vote winners. The chancellor is doubling the stamp duty limit for first–time buyers to £250,000 from midnight tonight, although duty on homes worth over £1m will rise to 5%. Both Tories and LibDems accused him of stealing policies
Banks to dominate Budget
Wednesday 24 Mar 2010
It’s Budget day and exactly what Alistair Darling has up his sleeve is the subject of much debate. He can’t afford to give away too many sweeteners despite Britain’s public finances appearing in better shape than expected in February. But his boss Gordon Brown needs something to please voters ahead of a general election likely in just six weeks time
FSA arrests six on insider dealing charges
Tuesday 23 Mar 2010
Six people including one hedge fund employee and two other 'City professionals' have been arrested after a long-running insider dealing investigation carried out jointly by the FSA and Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).
End of the line for Jarvis
Tuesday 23 Mar 2010
Shares in rail maintenance group Jarvis were suspended today as it failed to secure additional backing from its lenders.
Inflation tumbles in February
Tuesday 23 Mar 2010
Inflation fell more than expected in February, down to 3% from a 14-month high of 3.5% the previous month, figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed Tuesday. The Bank of England will be happy with the decline, which brings the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) closer to its 2% target and means interest rates may stay lower for longer
Next profits soar
Tuesday 23 Mar 2010
Pre-tax profits soared at Next in 2009 after the desperate consumer environment the fashion retailer feared at the beginning of the year failed to materialise.
Google redirects Chinese users to HK site
Monday 22 Mar 2010
The expected withdrawal of Google from China in protest at government censorship took place on Monday, though the Internet search giant is not leaving its Chinese users totally in the lurch, as it is redirecting visitors to its Chinese site to the Hong Kong home page of Google.
Tuesday preview: Cairn, Legal & General, IMPs
Monday 22 Mar 2010
Oil explorer Cairn Energy’s ‘clean net income could be about $70m but a number of exceptional items will reduce the reported figure to about $10m compared to $348m in 2008 which was boosted by transaction gains and losses,’ according to broker Charles Stanley.
Premium broker tips: Not all benefit from US healthcare bill
Monday 22 Mar 2010
Companies mentioned: Advanced Medical Solutions, Consort Medical, Corin Group, Optos, Synergy Health, ICAP
Supergroup float oversubscribed
Monday 22 Mar 2010
Fashion clothing retailer SuperGroup's IPO has closed comfortably oversubscribed by both institutional and retail investors.
BG signs $40bn coal seam gas deal with China
Monday 22 Mar 2010
BG Group has confirmed a $40bn long-term deal to supply China with liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its coal seam deposits in Australia.
Virgin prepares bid for RBS branches, reports
Sunday 21 Mar 2010
Richard Branson’s Virgin Money is reportedly preparing a first round bid for Royal Bank of Scotland’s 320 English branches. Virgin Money has hired advisers Greenhill, which confirms Virgin’s interest in being considered a serious contender for the part-nationalised lender’s high street banking network, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
The Fundamentalist: Marrying value and growth
Saturday 20 Mar 2010
The stock market is now in a phase where it is driven by earnings growth and it is a phase, according to Goldman Sachs, in which value based investing does well.
Imagination unfazed by uncertainty
Friday 19 Mar 2010
Imagination Technologies, which designs chips used in smartphones and other must-have gadgets, clearly operates in an area with huge growth potential, so it is perhaps no surprise that the stock trades at nearly 30 times expected earnings for 2011.
Best ISA deals
Friday 19 Mar 2010
With the ISA season well under way, savers who want to make the most of their hard earned cash should now start looking for the best deals before the April 5 deadline.
BA cabin crew to go on strike as talks fail
Friday 19 Mar 2010
Britain is facing a spring of discontent amid walkouts by British Airways cabin crew and rail signal workers.
Rio, Chinalco ink JV for Simandou project
Friday 19 Mar 2010
Miner Rio Tinto and Chinese-run aluminium firm Chinalco have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a joint venture covering the development and operation of the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea.
Lloyds predicts profit for 2010
Friday 19 Mar 2010
Part-nationalised lender Lloyds will be profitable on a combined businesses basis in 2010, chief executive Eric Daniels claimed Friday. In a short statement ahead of a presentation at the Morgan Stanley European Financials Conference today, Daniels said trading in the first 10 weeks of 2010 had been “strong”. Costs are down and impairment provisions are trending at lower levels than forecast
Premium broker tips: High oil price to boost UK firms
Thursday 18 Mar 2010
Companies mentioned: Shell, BP, BG, Taylor Wimpey, Segro, Rio Tinto, Next
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