FTSE surges to a 30-month high as risk appetite boosted by strong US earnings December 21, 2010 MINERS and banks drove Britain’s top share index to a 30-month closing high yesterday, as risk appetite rose due to easing tensions on the Korean peninsula and upbeat earnings from US software maker Adobe Systems. The FTSE 100 index ended up 60.19 points, or one per cent, at 5,951.80, its highest close since early June [...]
Christmas party poopers Everton spoil City’s opportunity to go top of the table December 20, 2010 MANCHESTER CITY v/s EVERTON A BATTLING display from 10-man Everton prevented Manchester City from topping the table at Christmas for the first time since 1929. Roberto Mancini’s side were boosted prior to kick-off by the news of Carlos Tevez’s transfer request u-turn, but that was as good as it got on a night of missed [...]
Delay could prove fatal for Gartmore December 20, 2010 HENDERSON is unlikely to agree an acceptable offer for Gartmore before the Christmas break, sources close to Henderson say, raising the risk that the embattled fund manager could collapse before a deal is done. Henderson confirmed yesterday it is in negotiations to snap up its stalling rival and is said to have offered 95p per [...]
BA shares hit as Heathrow chaos drags on December 20, 2010 SHARES in British Airways plummeted yesterday thanks to the major disruption to its flights from Heathrow. The firm, which is Heathrow’s biggest operator, cancelled 70 of its 130 flights out of the airport yesterday, leaving thousands stranded. BA is currently losing up to £10m a day, according to analyst estimates – close to the losses [...]
National Grid expects record gas usage to ease this week December 20, 2010 THE NATIONAL Grid has reassured customers that gas and electricity supplies are more than enough to meet demand, despite record usage yesterday forcing it to issue a supply alert. The utility issued a gas balancing alert for yesterday and today, which allows its to redirect power from industrial users to help fuel homes and switch [...]
Retailers feel chill winds of arctic conditions December 20, 2010 FOR retailers, it never rains – it snows and snows and snows. The industry had been hoping that the latest blast of freezing weather would hold off until after Christmas. Instead, the snow that blanketed London in the small hours of Saturday morning thwarted one of the biggest days on the retail calendar. Persistent sub-zero [...]
ECB takes its foot off the gas in bond purchase programme December 20, 2010 THE European Central Bank (ECB) slowed its rate of sovereign bond purchases significantly last week, figures out yesterday showed. The ECB bought €600m’s (£507m) worth of gilts in the week to last Friday, marking a sharp downward shift from its purchases of €2.7bn, €2bn and €1.3bn in the previous three weeks respectively. Last week also saw [...]
A fancy hotel is the answer if you’re stranded by snow December 20, 2010 IT’S not looking good for those of us planning to head away for Christmas, which means it could be time to rethink things. Option one: wallow at home, rueing the fact that your plans have been scuppered and the shops have sold out of turkey; option two: book into a hotel, relax and enjoy a stress-free Christmas [...]
Lux retreats for weightloss December 20, 2010 FITNESS & DIET EXPERT No longer seen as old-style fat farms, weightloss retreats are perfect for those looking to shift a Christmas-pud tum and locate long-forgotten waistlines. For the purist: Covering everything from Neuro Linguistic Programming – through to Raw Food Training and colonic irrigation, the team at Anamachara Detox maintain they can get your [...]
Utility firms lift FTSE 100 as cold snap drives power sales December 20, 2010 UTILITY stocks helped push Britain’s top shares higher yesterday, as the UK’s near-Arctic conditions boosted demand for energy, but British Airways toiled as the big freeze disrupted airline services. The FTSE 100 closed up 19.86 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 5,891.61. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 closed up 6.33 points at 11,433.11. It touched a [...]