Supermarket sweep pushes FTSE to seventh rise in a row July 21, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index rose for a seventh-straight day yesterday, boosted by supermarkets after a trading update from Wm Morrison, and after strong US quarterly results, with miners also lending support. The FTSE 100 closed 37.55 points higher, or 0.9 per cent, at 4,481.17, following a gain of 1.3 per cent on Monday. The index [...]
Commodities and financials emerge as stars of the index July 13, 2009 THE FTSE 100 closed 1.8 per cent higher yesterday, boosted by stronger energy and mining stocks, while financial shares also provided support to the market which had fallen in five of last eight sessions. The index ended 74.96 points higher at 4,202.13, after falling 0.8 per cent on Friday to its lowest close since 28 [...]
Xstrata looks to woo Anglo shareholders June 24, 2009 MINER Xstrata went public with the details of its offer for rival Anglo American yesterday, in an effort to convince shareholders of the merits of the deal. Releasing a letter sent to Anglo, Xstrata chief executive Mick Davis said a merger could bring in annual cost reductions of more than $1bn (£609m) by the third [...]
First gains of the week as Alcoa boosts the markets July 9, 2009 THE FTSE 100 closed 0.5 per cent higher yesterday, ending a three-day losing streak on the back of gains in miners after reassuring earnings from Alcoa. The index closed 18.43 points firmer at 4,158.66, having fallen 1.1 per cent the previous session to its lowest closing level in more than two months. However trading was [...]
FTSE 100 slips below 4,200 but defensives stay afloat July 6, 2009 THE FTSE 100 fell one per cent yesterday to close 41.37 points down at 4,194.91, on concerns about the global economic outlook, with heavyweight oils, miners and banks leading the market lower, after it gained 0.1 per cent on Friday. The index fell through the 4,200 level for the first time since late April. It [...]
MINERS PLOT A 40BN MERGER June 21, 2009 COAL miner Xstrata is eying up Anglo American – owner of the world’s biggest platinum producer – for a £41bn marriage, City A.M. can confirm. A tie-up between the two titans would create one of the world’s leading natural resources companies, and comes as a wave of consolidations sweeps over the mining industry. Xstrata is [...]
MINERS PLOT A 40BN MERGER June 21, 2009 COAL miner Xstrata is eying up Anglo American – owner of the world’s biggest platinum producer – for a £41bn marriage, City A.M. can confirm. A tie-up between the two titans would create one of the world’s leading natural resources companies, and comes as a wave of consolidations sweeps over the mining industry. Xstrata is [...]
EUROPEAN REPORT June 8, 2009 EUROPEAN shares closed lower yesterday as banks gave back some of their recent gains, though a late rally in commodities prices helped to limit the losses of mining and energy shares. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 0.8 per cent to 865.11 points, rising off the day’s low of 857.39. The index had risen for [...]
London markets sag in the heat but Diageo refreshes July 2, 2009 THE FTSE 100 closed 2.5 per cent lower yesterday, with market sentiment hit by data showing US employers cut more jobs than expected in June and unemployment in Europe hit a 10-year high. The index ended down 106.44 points at 4,234.27 after closing 2.2 per cent higher on Wednesday, the first day of the new [...]
FTSE gains on commodities rally after price of oil rises July 1, 2009 THE FTSE 100 closed 2.2 per cent higher yesterday, fuelled by a rise in the oil price which prompted a strong rally in commodity stocks, and on hopes that the recession may be drawing to a close. The index was up 91.50 points at 4,340.71, after closing 1 per cent lower on Tuesday. “When (the [...]