Strong miners propel FTSE to a one-week closing high May 10, 2011 THE FTSE 100 share index hit a one-week closing high yesterday after bumper Chinese trade data boosted miners, although analysts said sentiment could be soured if Beijing opts to tighten its monetary policy. China’s April consumer price inflation index, due today, is expected to have dipped from March’s 32-month high of 5.4 per cent to [...]
BAT aims for new markets as smuggling dents growth March 28, 2011 BRITISH American Tobacco (BAT) yesterday said a rise in cigarette smuggling and the wider decline in smoking across the developed world continue to press down on growth. Group sales by volume fell three per cent during 2010, though price rises more than offset the decline to deliver a five per cent revenue rise to £14.9bn, [...]
Maths skills secret to rise in FTSE ranks April 26, 2011 A BACKGROUND in finance is becoming the best route to landing a chief executive’s job at a blue chip firm, according to findings from this year’s Robert Half study of FTSE 100 chief executives. Nearly half (49 per cent) of serving chief executives in the current FTSE 100 Index have financial backgrounds – such as [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 22, 2011 BP UBS rates the oil major “buy” with a target price of 550p. The broker believes that BP’s 30 per cent stake in Indian explorer Reliance is worth $7.8bn (£4.8bn), slightly above the $7.2bn payment announced on Monday, and that the deal will raise BP’s gearing to around 16 per cent. UBS thinks the deal [...]
BAT targets tobacco firm in Colombia January 9, 2011 BRITISH American Tobacco is looking to take over a Colombian cigarette-maker for around £290m, sources close to the firm said last night A person close to BAT, which owns the Dunhill, Rothmans and Benson & Hedges brands, told City A.M. the firm has long been keen to buy Protobaco and plans to renew its efforts [...]
BAT in share buyback as earnings rise February 24, 2011 British American Tobacco, the world’s second-biggest cigarette maker, announced a share buyback programme of £750m as it met forecasts with a 15 per cent rise in 2010 earnings. The London-based maker of Kent, Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall cigarettes, said it had gained from higher prices, acquisitions and the pound’s weakness, and it was [...]
BAT triggers buyback but shares drop February 24, 2011 BRITISH American Tobacco’s (BAT) resumption of its share buyback programme and an upbeat 2011 outlook yesterday failed to offset concerns about declining cigarette volumes. Shares in the London-based maker of Kent, Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall cigarettes, fell 1.5 per cent despite the £750m share buyback plan and BAT saying the worst of the [...]
BAT triggers buyback but shares drop February 24, 2011 BRITISH American Tobacco’s (BAT) resumption of its share buyback programme and an upbeat 2011 outlook yesterday failed to offset concerns about declining cigarette volumes. Shares in the London-based maker of Kent, Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall cigarettes, fell 1.5 per cent despite the £750m share buyback plan and BAT saying the worst of the [...]
FTSE finishes flat despite late rally March 8, 2011 Investors concerned over the long-term impact of Libyan violence shied away from risky stocks and left the FTSE flat today. Aside from a brief rally mid-morning when Kuwait’s oil minister said OPEC was considering boosting production, the FTSE 100 spent much of the day declining. However, a brief rally at the end of the day [...]
Weak demand for commodity and bank shares drag on FTSE March 9, 2011 WEAK commodity and bank stocks dragged Britain’s leading shares index lower yesterday as oil prices climbed after intensified fighting in Libya. At the close, the FTSE 100 was down 37.46 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 5,937.30, having hit a low for the week at 5,922.66 in the afternoon before recovering. “Only a dyed-in-the-wool optimist [...]