At the close: FTSE 100 index closes lower as Saudi and Iranian oil ministers’ statements helps price of oil to fall despite London Stock Exchange surging February 23, 2016 The FTSE 100 index closed lower today as the price of oil fell after comments from the Saudi and Iranian oil ministers put the production freeze into doubt. The UK's blue-chip index fell 1.25 per cent to 5,962 points, led lower by Standard Chartered and BHP Billiton, despite the surging share price of the London Stock Exchange. "European [...]
Mars recalls chocolate bars in UK and 54 countries, including Snickers, Celebrations, Mars bars and Milky Way February 23, 2016 Chocolate maker Mars has been forced to recall chocolate bars including best-selling Mars and Snickers from more than 50 countries, including the UK after they were found to potentially contain bits of plastic. The US company said the popular sweets are being recalled in 55 countries across Europe, including the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands in Europe as well [...]
Soaring university student admissions helps housing provider Unite stay ahead of the game February 23, 2016 Investors piling into student housing and soaring university admissions helped one of the sector’s biggest property firms Unite Group deliver a leap in net asset value (NAV) and profits last year. The FTSE 250 company, which owns 46,000 beds across the UK valued at £3.8bn, said EPRA earnings, the industry benchmark, leapt by 84 per [...]
London Stock Exchange Group share price leaps as it confirms talks with Deutsche Boerse February 23, 2016 Shares in London Stock Exchange Group jumped more than 16 per cent to 2,689p in lunchtime trading, after reports emerged that it is talks with its German rival, Deutsche Boerse, over a merger. The London Stock Exchange subsequently confirmed the talks. "The boards believe that the potential merger would represent a compelling opportunity for both companies to strengthen [...]
Drax Group share price falls as company slashes final dividend while profits for year ended December 2015 tumble February 23, 2016 Share price in Drax Group dropped today after the energy company cut its dividend and reported a sharp drop in profits. The company reported a profit before tax for the year ended December 2015 of £59m, down from £166m the year before. The electrical power company also announced it would be shelling out just 0.6p [...]
Provident Financial share price up as lender announces boost to profits for year ended December 2015 February 23, 2016 Share price in Provident Financial rose this morning as the company announced a boost to its profits for the year ended December 2015. The lender, which has over 2m customers, reported statutory profits before tax of £273.6m, up 21.8 per cent compared with £224.6m the year before. Shares rose after the results were announced, trading up 2.8 per cent [...]
Why investors are fretting about the bond market: High yield spreads are pricing in 2008 levels of defaults – while some experts say a liquidity squeeze is beginning February 23, 2016 Does the jump in high yield spreads say anything about the global economy? Markets have focused on oil prices as a barometer of health in the global economy and stock markets, but historically high yield spreads over the risk-free rate have been a much better indicator. Spreads have widened considerably lately, and now “the market as [...]
Standard Chartered share price down as group chief executive dubs 2015 performance “poor”, bank brings in annual loss of $1.5bn and underlying profits plummet 84 per cent February 23, 2016 Share price in Standard Chartered dropped this morning as the company revealed that it had made a loss overall for the year and that its underlying profits before tax had dropped sharply. The bank today announced underlying profits before tax of $0.8bn (£0.6bn) for its year ended December 2015, down 84 per cent from $5.2bn the year [...]
Housebuilding is the new black: Persimmon share price rises as profits leap 34 per cent February 23, 2016 Another day, another bit of good news coming out of the housebuilding sector, after Persimmon reported a 34 per cent jump in pre-tax profits. The figures Underlying pre-tax profits rose to £637.8m in the year to the end of December, up 34 per cent on last year's £475m, while full-year revenues rose 13 per cent to £2.9bn. The company said legal completions jumped eight [...]
Ladbrokes share price jumps as it beats expectations – but new gambling and point-of-consumption taxes take their toll February 23, 2016 Not a great day for Ladbrokes, after it reported a 50 per cent fall in profits for 2015 as increased taxes began to have an impact. The figures Ladbrokes said trading profits fell 50.3 per cent, from £112.2m last year to £55.8m in 2015. That's above analyst expectations – last week Deutsche Bank said it expected profits to fall to £44m. [...]