Editor's Picks

Filter by:

  • Capita buys pensions business for £27.5m

    Friday 22 Jul 2011

    Outsourcing giant Capita announced on Friday the acquisition of pensions administration and software business of NorthgateArinso for £27.5m. “Following the acquisitions of Gissings, Higham Dunnett Shaw and Aspen over recent years, this latest deal will add new expertise and added capacity to Capita's pensions management and administration business, Capita Hartshead,” the firm said.

  • US open: Senate shoots down House proposal, as expected

    Friday 22 Jul 2011

    The main US equity benchmarks are trading ‘mixed’ at midday (Dow Jones: -45, Nasdaq Comp.: 7, S&P 500: -1). The above despite the announcement, yesterday, by Eurozone leaders, as regards a rescue package for Greece and support for other countries in financial troubles and on a day on which we the economic calendar is empty.

  • Markets welcome Greek debt deal

    Friday 22 Jul 2011

    Greece, a European nation with a recorded history of 4,000 years and a reputation as the cradle of civilization, will soon be in default, joining a host of countries from Liberia to Argentina, which have found themselves unable to pay their debts

  • London open: Banks keep rising, easyJet takes off

    Friday 22 Jul 2011

    Stocks have continued rising following yesterday’s Eurozone agreement, with banks unsurprisingly in the vanguard of the advance.

  • RM to fall short of expectations

    Friday 22 Jul 2011

    Education IT services provider RM had a tough time between 1 April and 21 July and thinks its performance may have been below expectations.

  • Close Brothers seeing slowdown at Winterflood

    Friday 22 Jul 2011

    Merchant bank Close Brothers performed soundly in the five months to the end of June, although Winterflood, its securities division, saw a slowdown as market conditions got tougher in the second quarter of 2011. Although there has been a slowdown in the Securities division, the group expects to deliver a satisfactory performance for the 2011 financial year.

  • Friday tips round-up: Capita, AstraZeneca, Colt

    Friday 22 Jul 2011

    The market has well and truly fallen out of love with the support services sector, and with the sector leader Capita Group. Some acceptable interim figures from the company were greeted with a sharp price fall yesterday. The rate of dividend growth is a little lower than it has been historically because the company wants to conserve cash for acquisitions. There is also the prospect, with the

  • Strong finish to year on the runway for easyJet

    Friday 22 Jul 2011

    Assuming normal market conditions, no frills airline easyJet expects full-year pre-tax profits to fall in the range of £200m to £230m. Market consensus is for an adjusted profit before tax of £183.1m.

  • Mondi predicts profit jump

    Friday 22 Jul 2011

    Paper and packaging firm Mondi expects profits for the first half of 2011 to be “considerably higher” than in the same period last year, it said in an announcement today.

  • Vodafone sees revenue drain in Spain

    Friday 22 Jul 2011

    Vodafone has seen revenue from its core business grow 1.5% in the second quarter of 2011 although the firm is certainly struggling against some serious headwinds in some markets.

  • United Utilities to pay 30p dividend

    Friday 22 Jul 2011

    Water group United Utilities will pay a total dividend of 30p a share for the first year of the new five-year regulatory regime and plans to continue with its policy of paying a dividend 2% ahead of inflation, as measured by the Retail Price Index.

  • Friday newspaper round-up: Eurozone, Scottish Power, Olympic McDonalds

    Friday 22 Jul 2011

    Eurozone leaders pulled the single currency back from the brink of disaster last night as they agreed a second plan to bail out Greece and ambitious proposals to overhaul the embattled euro area. Markets rallied as the 17 leaders hammered out an agreement that economists said marked a step forward in eurozone co-ordination and gave comfort to European banks but still fell far short of full

  • US close: Sovereign debt talks boost shares

    Thursday 21 Jul 2011

    Though it was a busy day for company announcements, US markets could not ignore events in Brussels, where news that Europe's leaders have agreed on a new aid package for Greece and an overhaul of the Eurozone sovereign rescue fund, the so-called European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF), lured buyers into the market.

  • The Economist calls a 'top’ in gold prices? Well, not quite …

    Thursday 21 Jul 2011

    Some commodity and metals traders are apparently commenting today on an article published by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), yesterday, according to which, “although the reasons are clear for the rise in the price of gold over the past few years, we believe that it is nearing its peak.” For the EIU the US will reach a deal so as to avoid a default by the 2nd of August, the eurozone will at

  • The eurozone outlines its new crisis response

    Thursday 21 Jul 2011

    In his speech following today’s meeting of Eurozone Heads of State the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, has highlighted the following as the main pillars of today’s agreement.

  • Broker snap: Heart drug approval to comfort Astra, Citi says

    Thursday 21 Jul 2011

    Citi maintained its buy recommendation on drugmaker AstraZeneca and said that regulatory approval for its heart drug in the US will provide “some comfort on the longer-term outlook for the business, especially beyond 2014,” given the disappointment over the future of its diabetes drug.

  • London close: European hopes boost Footsie back to 5,900

    Thursday 21 Jul 2011

    London equities rallied to a strong finish - recouping the losses experienced over the last week - on hopes of a solution to the sovereign debt crisis in Europe. At midday, shares offset early losses as reports surfaced that Europe’s leaders have agreed on a new aid package for Greece and an overhaul of the Eurozone sovereign rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).

  • FTSE 250 movers: Halfords, Colt results disappoint

    Thursday 21 Jul 2011

    A decline in revenue recorded by communications and information technology firm Colt and car parts and bike retailer Halfords disappointed investors but failed to sway the mid-cap stock index lower. Colt announced a 3.5% reduction in revenues in the first half of the year, mainly driven by a decline in mobile termination rates, while Halfords...

  • US midafternoon: Negotiations continue on Capitol Hill

    Thursday 21 Jul 2011

    US shares are still racing ahead on reports that Europe's leaders have agreed on a new aid package for Greece and an overhaul of the Eurozone sovereign rescue fund, the so-called European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF).

  • FTSE 100 movers: Financials soar on Eurozone hopes

    Thursday 21 Jul 2011

    Financials were leading the recovery on Thursday afternoon following a fall earlier in the day, on hopes of a solution to the sovereign debt crisis in Europe. European leaders agreed a new aid package for Greece and an overhaul of the Eurozone sovereign rescue fund. Among the proposals are a reduction in debt burdens on Greece, Portugal and Ireland.

Top of Page