Editor's Picks
Engines at full throttle at BMW
Tuesday 02 Aug 2011
Auto giant BMW closed the second quarter of the year with record sales, revenue, and earnings.
Rotork optimistic after record first half
Tuesday 02 Aug 2011
Shares in FTSE 250 engineering group Rotork jumped by over a tenth on Tuesday morning after record revenue in the six months ended 30 June led the firm to raise its expectations for the full year. The company, which makes valves for the oil and gas, power and water industries, said that revenue grew by 8.7% from £183.5m to £199.4m, while the order intake was up by 22.5% in the period, ...
Premium broker snap: UBS upgrades GKN to buy
Tuesday 02 Aug 2011
Global engineering giant GKN, which is due to release its interim results on Wednesday, has been upgraded from neutral to buy by UBS, who says that the firm is delivering “growth in bumpy times”.
London open: Barclays boosts FTSE 100 but miners suffer
Tuesday 02 Aug 2011
The top share index has edged higher amid a mixed reception for today’s stream of company results.
Market overview: Barclays boost for FTSE 100
Tuesday 02 Aug 2011
0825: Barclays is leading the top share index higher in early dealings, though only by a few points. The bank saw income and profits fall in the half year to 30 June after the “lacklustre” economic environment hurt income generation in many of the bank’s major markets. Barclays is joined higher by peers HSBC, Standard Chartered, Lloyds and RBS. Miners are among the fallers though, including
US House passes debt bill
Tuesday 02 Aug 2011
The US House of Representatives has voted through a bill to raise the debt ceiling in the first stage of a two=step process designed to avoid the country defaulting on its debt.
Xstrata rides commodity boom
Tuesday 02 Aug 2011
Profits soared at global mining giant Xstrata in the half year to 30 June as continuing growth in emerging Asian economies and the recovery in the West boosted commodity prices.
Wolseley secures cheaper bank deal
Tuesday 02 Aug 2011
Wolseley, the building supplies firm that nearly collapsed in the credit crunch under the weight of its own debt, has concluded the successful syndication of two 5¼ year revolving credit facilities totalling £820m.
London pre-open: Footsie spinning its wheels
Tuesday 02 Aug 2011
Stocks are set for an indecisive start, with bears pointing to weaker than expected US manufacturing data and bulls focussing on the successful passage through the US House of Representatives of the budget deficit reduction bill last night.
UPDATE 2: Barclays cost to income ratio comes in at top end of expectations
Tuesday 02 Aug 2011
Barclays is to cut 3,000 jobs this year, blaming a “lacklustre” economic environment for hitting many of the bank’s major markets.
Tuesday tips round-up: Intertek, Ultra Electronics, Xchanging
Tuesday 02 Aug 2011
Intertek is the company you hire to determine whether the paint coating your mug is toxic. Or to find out whether Jeremy Clarkson’s assertions about the mileage achieved by an electric vehicle are accurate. It is the world’s largest provider of testing services. Good products, good management and access to growth markets mean that Intertek will be a core holding for many investment funds. Just
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Osborne, US vote, HSBC, Italy
Tuesday 02 Aug 2011
George Osborne and Vince Cable last night issued a double warning to Britain’s banks to start lending to business – as they prepare to announce astonishing profits of more than £8bn.The Chancellor said the banks had an ‘economic obligation’ to lend to cash-strapped businesses and warned them that the Government ‘will not tolerate banks piling the pressure’ on small firms, according to the Daily
SISG will invest $1.5bn in African Minerals
Monday 01 Aug 2011
Shandong Iron & Steel Group (SISG), the world's ninth largest steel group, will invest $1.5bn in African Minerals in return for a 25% shareholding in the latter's Tonkolili iron ore project.
London close: Gains wiped out
Monday 01 Aug 2011
After a late dive the top share index finished deep firmly in the red, reversing strong gains after some weak economic data from the US. The Institute of Supply Management´s (ISM) purchasing managers´ index for the manufacturing sector fell to 50.9 points in July, from 55.3 the month before. That data, which followed even more disappointing numbers from the UK earlier on,
US manufacturing PMI comes in well below forecasts
Monday 01 Aug 2011
The Institute of Supply Management´s (ISM) purchasing managers´ index, for the manufacturing sector, fell to 50.9 points in July, from 55.3 the month before. Consensus estimates had been for a much smaller fall, to 54.2. The PMI has thus shown its 24th consecutive month of growth, but at a much lower rate than in June.
Broker snap: Buy Intertek, says Prime Markets.
Monday 01 Aug 2011
Buy testing and inspections firm Intertek, recommends Prime Markets, which said that the group’s interim results show improvement in every metric.
Open books to Melrose, says Charter's second largest investor
Monday 01 Aug 2011
Charter International is facing pressure from its second largest shareholder, Schroders, to open its books to engineering conglomerate Melrose to conduct due diligence, despite Charter’s attempts to stay away from the clutches of Melrose’s takeover offer.
UK government announces £3.75bn civil service savings
Monday 01 Aug 2011
The UK Government said it has made £3.75bn in administrative savings in its first ten months in office. Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, said the biggest cuts in civil service spending had come by curbing use of consultants and renegotiating contracts with the government's biggest suppliers.
UPDATE: HSBC profits rise, to cut 30,000 jobs
Monday 01 Aug 2011
Banking giant HSBC has unveiled a rise in profits and announced plans to cut up to 30,000 jobs.
Premium broker snap: Nomura upgrades UBM to neutral
Monday 01 Aug 2011
Nomura has upgraded its rating on UBM from reduce to neutral following the stock’s recent underperformance.
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