Commodity falls and fears for stress tests see FTSE decline July 14, 2011 FALLS among commodity issues sapped the strength of Britain’s top share index yesterday, as worries over global growth clouded the demand outlook for metals and oils. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was down 59.48 points, or one per cent at 5,846.95, reversing all and more of the previous session’s 0.6 per cent rally. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 10, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES VIRGIN SEEKS US ROLE Virgin Trains is vying to play a role in the privatisation of the US rail industry in a move that could see it become the operator of the lucrative 457-mile route from Washington to Boston. Virgin, which already runs the profitable West Coast railway line between London and Glasgow [...]
Heartening US data prompts market rally July 1, 2011 Financial stocks have powered ahead today after good economic news from the US and a reduction in concerns over Greece’s debt prompted a market rally. Lloyds, Barclays and RBS, the UK’s three biggest banks, have provided firepower to the FTSE 100, leaving it 0.7 per cent higher at the close, at 5,989.76 and bringing it [...]
Banks take FTSE 100 to its fifth straight day of gains… June 30, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares rose sharply yesterday after the Greek parliament passed a second austerity bill to secure emergency funds, with riskier assets such as oil stocks, banks and miners leading the charge higher. The FTSE 100 index closed up 89.76 points, or 1.5 per cent, at 5,945.71, its fifth consecutive day of gains, managing to [...]
Walker prepares a bid to take back Iceland June 27, 2011 ICELAND founder Malcolm Walker is negotiating with banks to secure the finance to buy back the frozen food retailer. Its current owner, the resolution committee of Landsbanki, needs to offload the budget chain. Walker is in negotiations with several banks, including Goldman Sachs, for a £1.5bn loan that would allow him to buy the 67 [...]
Fame And Glory for O’Brien June 16, 2011 Ballydoyle trainer celebrates Gold Cup and targets success at Longchamp THE AIDAN O’BRIEN trained Fame And Glory will head for the Arc De Triomphe in October full of confidence after landing a major gamble to take the Ascot Gold Cup on day three of the Royal meeting. The son of Montjeu was trimmed to 11/8 [...]
Investors ignore growth abroad to focus on UK woes June 14, 2011 MAYBE Tesco should move its primary listing to Hong Kong. Then investors might pay more attention to Asia, where sales grew by 11.4 per cent at constant exchange rates in the first quarter. The region accounted for around 17 per cent of sales and trading profit last year, a figure that will only grow. Or [...]
Iceland profits reach record high June 10, 2011 Frozen food giant Iceland’s profit soared by almost 15 per cent in the past year as cash-strapped shoppers felt the pressure from rising food prices, it reported. Net profit before tax rose 14.8 per cent to £155.5m in the year ending March 2011, compared with £135.4m in 2010, in what Iceland described as a record [...]
Sir Stuart Rose got an £8.1m golden goodbye June 9, 2011 SIR Stuart Rose was handed an £8.1m golden goodbye when he left Marks & Spencer last year, according to the retailer’s annual report. The former chief executive and executive chairman received a pay packet worth £2.77m in 2010-11, compared to £2.6m a year earlier, plus over £5m in shares. Marc Bolland, who became chief executive [...]
Mining shares rebound and oil stocks rise on supply fears June 9, 2011 MINERS rebounded from the previous day’s sharp sell-off to help push Britain’s top share index higher yesterday, while oil stocks tracked crude higher on supply fears. The FTSE 100 closed up 47.45 points, or 0.8 per cent, at 5,856.34, having bounced well clear of the session low of 5,795.00, although thin volumes exaggerated the index’s [...]