Editor's Picks
Go-Ahead's revenue rises 6%
Thursday 01 Sep 2011
Train and bus services group Go-Ahead saw sales rose 6% in the year ended 2 July, as the group was able to offset a fall in revenue from its buses around London.
Punch Taverns on track to meet expectations
Thursday 01 Sep 2011
Punch Taverns, Britain's biggest pub company, has seen income down 5.2% in the past 12 months according to its full year trading statement. The figures also show final quarter income down 5% on the previous year although average net income per pub rose 0.9%. However, last year's takings were boosted by the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Resilient performance at Restaurant Group
Thursday 01 Sep 2011
Frankie & Benny’s restaurant chain operator, The Restaurant Group served up an 8% increase in pre-tax profit and said it is confident of another year of good progress in 2011.
Rolls-Royce grows nuclear business with US acquisition
Thursday 01 Sep 2011
FTSE 100 power systems titan Rolls-Royce has bought US civil nuclear reactor services firm R Brooks Associates for an undisclosed sum, in an effort to grow its civil nuclear business.
Hargreaves Lansdown raises divi by 60%
Thursday 01 Sep 2011
Assets under administration at Hargreaves Lansdown climbed 41% in the year ended 30 June, as the wealth management firm hiked its dividend by nearly 60%.
London pre-open: Flat start in store
Thursday 01 Sep 2011
The top-share index is expected to start virtually unchanged, despite another good day for the Dow Jones yesterday in the US. Wealth management firm Hargreaves Lansdown saw underlying profit before tax rise 42% to £129.0m in the year to the end of June from £90.7m the year before. Revenue advanced 31% to £207.9m from £159.0m. Total net business inflows of £3.5bn were up 6% on last year.
Thursday newspaper round-up: UK banks, Melrose/Charter, AT&T...
Thursday 01 Sep 2011
Britain’s biggest banks are set to escape any major restructuring until after the planned 2015 general election, amid a political consensus that they should focus on business lending to sustain the faltering economy. Vince Cable, the cabinet’s most vocal bank critic, has accepted it may be impossible to implement extensive banking reforms before the election, according to government officials...
London close: Strong finish to bad month
Wednesday 31 Aug 2011
The top share index finished the worst month since the financial crisis broke out in late 2008 with strong gains as strong economic data in the US whetted investors’ appetite for battered shares. The purchasing managers’ index, which measures industrial sentiment for the Chicago area, came in ahead of expectations. Private sector jobs data also beat predictions. Among today’s big gainers was b
Travel arm could make for smooth journey at WH Smith
Wednesday 31 Aug 2011
That WH Smith is buying back more of its shares is not really a surprise. The newsagent is described as one of the successes of Britain’s retail sector, yet the shares are still scarcely moved since early 2007.
Mixed signals from Portugal Telecom
Wednesday 31 Aug 2011
Costs are rising faster than revenue at Portugal Telecom, resulting in a bigger than expected decline in net profits, though top line profits beat expectations.
Sector movers: Norcros builds on gains for construction stocks
Wednesday 31 Aug 2011
Norcros, the home products group behind Tritons showers, is a high riser among construction and materials stocks, pulling the sector to the top of the pile.
Gilts fall as share rally continues
Wednesday 31 Aug 2011
Major bond markets were out of sync again Wednesday despite rises across the equity markets. Here, with the FTSE 100 continuing its recovery after playing catch up with other markets yesterday following the bank holiday weekend, gilts were out of favour. The yield on a 10-year gilt climbed by a basis point to 2.52%.
Thursday tips round-up: Cape, Aggreko, bwin.party...
Wednesday 31 Aug 2011
For the first set of figures as a company with a main listing, the interims from Cape were a touch underwhelming, according to the Tempus column at the Times. They were greeted with a 6¾p fall in the share price to 480p. Revenues were pretty well flat at £335 million and profits before tax fell by 12.5 per cent to £28.6 million. Operating margins slipped from 12.1 per cent to 11.5 per cent. Of
Chesnara suffers in turbulent markets
Wednesday 31 Aug 2011
A dividend hike at life assurance company Chesnara was not enough to stop shares sliding after first half profits fell dramatically.
Premium broker snap: Schroders hit with a downgrade from Citi
Wednesday 31 Aug 2011
Schroders’ share price took a hit on Wednesday after US investment bank Citi slashed its target price and downgraded the asset management giant from buy to hold on the back of the recent volatility in global stock markets.
US close: Good end to a bad month
Wednesday 31 Aug 2011
US equities rose mildly higher on Wednesday, as Wall Street was hoping that the volatile trade seen during August is finally over. Despite today's gains, the Dow was down 4% over the month.
London midday: Smith & Nephew leads rally
Wednesday 31 Aug 2011
Shares have built on their earlier gains, though the rally is unlikely to be enough to prevent the biggest monthly fall since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008.
London midday: Smith & Nephew leads rally
Wednesday 31 Aug 2011
Shares have built on their earlier gains, though the rally is unlikely to be enough to prevent the biggest monthly fall since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008. Among today’s big gainers is bid rumour-mongers’ favourite Smith & Nephew. Latest talk has it that peer Stryker could be interested in moving for the replacement hip specialist with a possible offer of between 850p and 900p.
Broker snap: British Land, Land Sec tumble after Morgan Stanley downgrade
Wednesday 31 Aug 2011
Assuming negative net asset value (NAV) growth in the UK in the next 12 months, Morgan Stanley has downgraded real estate investment trust (REIT) peers British Land and Land Securities from overweight to underweight, causing shares to take a tumble on Wednesday.
Bid talk boosts Smith & Nephew again
Wednesday 31 Aug 2011
Shares in replacement hip manufacturer Smith & Nephew moved sharply higher on Wednesday amid renewed talk of a bid for the company. Shares in the company were higher yesterday and added more than 7% today, bringing them back to the levels at which they sat ahead of the recent market decline. According to rumours, Smith & Nephew’s peer Stryker
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