Editor's Picks
Barclays jumps after posting £3bn profit
Thursday 30 Jul 2009
Barclays shares shot up after it posted half-year profits of £3bn, despite an 86% rise in impairment charges, as profits at its investment banking division doubled. Bob Diamond, president of Barclays and head of the investment bank Barclays Capital, said the record profits made at BarCap were “sustainable” and added that writedowns that have hit profits are “past the worst.”
Banks and engineers lead the rally
Thursday 30 Jul 2009
July has seen the most powerful stock market rally in more than five years, with an 11-day run of gains adding 11% to both the FTSE 100 index and All-Share index.
Rights calls boost share prices
Thursday 30 Jul 2009
Rexam broke a month long lull in rights issues announcements this week, hoping to reap the benefits other companies have seen in their share price after a similar move.
Shell profits slump 70%, warns of job cuts
Thursday 30 Jul 2009
Royal Dutch Shell said its second quarter results were affected by weak global economy as net profit slumped 70%. The group also said the new restructuring programme announced in June has enabled it to reduce the number of senior management positions by 20%, adding that “substantial further staff reductions are likely.” Second quarter earnings, on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis
Mortgage approvals hit 15-month high
Wednesday 29 Jul 2009
UK mortgage approvals for buying houses rose to their highest level since April last year, Bank of England data showed, suggesting that lower house prices are beginning to attract buyers back into the market.
Yahoo! wilts on Microsoft deal
Wednesday 29 Jul 2009
Microsoft and Yahoo! have confirmed reports that they are to collaborate in the search engine and online advertising arena. Yahoo! has signed a ten-year agreement with Microsoft to use the latter’s Bing search engine technology to process search requests on its iconic and hugely popular web portal. Yahoo! will assume responsibility for selling premium search advertising service
Sunday newspaper round-up: UK banks, National Express, William Hill
Wednesday 29 Jul 2009
Treasury minister Lord Myners' radical plans for changes to financial regulation are "dangerous" and could result in a further loss of confidence in the market, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), the Sunday Telegraph reports.
HMV's Fox and Apple's Cagni on ITV shortlist
Wednesday 29 Jul 2009
Broadcaster ITV is likely to appoint an external candidate to take over from executive chairman Michael Grade, according to press reports.
Manganese Bronze posts H1 loss, no divi
Wednesday 29 Jul 2009
London taxi cab maker Manganese Bronze delivered a half year loss as challenging economic conditions drove down UK sales.
BAA losses soar on pension deficit
Wednesday 29 Jul 2009
BAA, owned by Spanish infrastructure firm Ferrovial, saw half-year losses surge three-fold as the Heathrow airport operator’s pension scheme deficit rose.
Bike boost for Halfords
Wednesday 29 Jul 2009
A jump in cycle sales as the warm weather returned helped bike and car parts retailer Halfords lift sales over the past three months.
Reckitt powers through the downturn
Wednesday 29 Jul 2009
Detergent maker Reckitt Benckiser continues to shrug off the economic downturn with ease, posting profits and dividends up by a third and raising its estimates for both sales and earnings growth for the full year.
BHP settles for 33% cut in iron ore prices
Wednesday 29 Jul 2009
BHP Billiton, the world’s biggest miner, has agreed pricing terms with a number of iron ore customers for the 2009 contract year, with prices down by about a third on last year. The company has settled 23% of total iron ore volumes at an agreed annual contract price. Prices agreed upon for iron ore fines will be around 33% lower than the prices agreed in 2008
BSM ditches Vauxhall for Fiat
Tuesday 28 Jul 2009
Expect to see plenty more Fiat 500s driving carefully around town as Britain’s biggest driving school, BSM, dumps Vauxhall for the sexy Italian car giant.
Information superhighway hit by traffic jams
Tuesday 28 Jul 2009
Most broadband users stuck on old fashioned copper-based networks are receiving nowhere near the advertised top download speed from their Internet service providers (ISPs) the communications watchdog Ofcom confirmed Tuesday.
Randgold seeks funds as profits soar
Tuesday 28 Jul 2009
Gold miner Randgold Resources is to tap shareholders for almost £200m following a surge in profits in the three months to June.
BP allays dividend fears
Tuesday 28 Jul 2009
Oil giant BP announced second quarter replacement cost profits towards the top end of market expectations and cheered income investors by holding its dividend. Replacement cost profit in the second quarter of 2009 rose to $3.14bn from $2.39bn in the first quarter, but was less than half the $6.75bn achieved in the second quarter of last year.
UKFI chief Kingman steps down
Monday 27 Jul 2009
John Kingman, the chief executive of UKFI, the body controlling the government's stake in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds, has surprised the City by handing in his resignation.
Comment: FT shows the way in online charging
Monday 27 Jul 2009
Judging by Financial Times publisher Pearson’s latest update, people are yet to tire of keeping up with the twists and turns of the credit crunch.
IMF warns of UK credit card crisis
Monday 27 Jul 2009
Fears are growing that the UK’s credit card crisis will worsen in the months ahead as consumers struggle to pay off debts.
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