LISTED PRODUCT NEWS April 21, 2010 FIRST LISTING FOR RBS’S ETC PLATFORM Standard Commodities, the Royal Bank of Scotland’s exchange-traded commodities (ETC) platform, launched its first product on the Frankfurt Xetra stock exchange this week. Its physical gold ETC gives investors exposure to the performance of the London gold market fix price and the ETC is denominated in euros. The ETC [...]
Lower commodity prices and concerns over Greek debt weigh on FTSE stocks April 21, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index ended down yesterday as lower commodity prices hit miners and oil stocks and concerns over Greece’s debt returned to haunt banks, though positive broker comment boosted food retailers. The FTSE 100 index closed down 60.26 points, or 1 per cent, at 5,723.43, giving back Tuesday’s one per cent gain. “Equity sentiment [...]
Beauty and the Beast April 20, 2010 IN TODAY’S list of the “world’s most popular goals” by goal-setting website 43 things, 19,131 people said that their goal was to “go on a road trip with no predetermined destination”. The pure pleasure of driving minus a defined objective came in first, before losing weight, falling in love and ceasing to procrastinate. It’s imperfect [...]
Demand for bank shares lifts FTSE 100 to a 22-month high April 15, 2010 THE FTSE 100 share index hit a 22-month high for the second day yesterday, as US data and earnings reports fanned hopes that a recovery in the world’s largest economy was gathering pace, with banks also buoyed by bullish broker comment. The FTSE 100 closed 28.76 points higher at 5,825.01 – its highest close since [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 14, 2010 DEBENHAMS Numis reiterates its “buy” recommendation on Debenhams citing the retailer’s solid interim results, which place it comfortably ahead of Numis’ expectations. Numis raises August forecasts to £147m from £137m and sees scope for a rise in like-for-like sales. Despite a strong run, Numis believes the stock continues to offer value. BHP BILLITON A “buy” [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 12, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES TOP CITY SKYSCRAPER FOR SALE Tower 42, the tallest occupied skyscraper in the City, will be put up for sale as booming prices return to London’s commercial property market. The 600ft former NatWest tower near the Bank of England is expected to fetch more than £300m ($461m) when its owners, Hermes Real Estate [...]
SABMiller is a FTSE beater April 11, 2010 LONDON listed SABMiller will aim to outperform the FTSE 100 index for the tenth straight year in 2010 and confirm its status as one of the best market-beating stocks around, according to financial website The Motley Fool. The South African brewer is expected to receive a boost from the football World Cup this summer and [...]
Poor performance among miners pushes FTSE down April 7, 2010 WEAKER miners and energy stocks, weighed by falling commodity prices, outweighed gains in defensive tobacco firms and drugmakers to drag Britain’s top share index down 0.3 per cent by the close yesterday. The FTSE 100 index ended 18.29 points lower at 5,762.06. Volume was thin as many traders extended their Easter holidays, with just 74 [...]
Delay for Rio BHP tie up April 6, 2010 AUSTRALIAN competition authorities have delayed approval of a joint venture between iron ore giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton until next month. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) was expected to give the venture the go-ahead in February but then pushed the date to April. The latest delay is because the ACCC wants to [...]
EU is pushed to act on iron ore prices March 31, 2010 EUROPEAN steel industry body Eurofer urged European Union regulators to prevent unfair competition and excessive pricing of iron ore yesterday, saying it could hamper economic recovery in Europe. Eurofer said market concentration by three companies controlling almost three quarters of the world market had resulted in unbalanced pricing power and a high degree of market [...]