FTSE 100 close: A stable end to a miserable week May 26, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 showed tentative signs of recovery on Friday, after a turbulent week that saw numbers from the Office for National Statistics reveal far higher levels of inflation, all but sealing further interest rate hikes. The blue-chip index started higher before settling in flat, and then closing at 7,627, up 0.74 per cent, helping [...]
Cladding repair bill hits £1.5bn as Redrow and Barratt latest builders to sign up to fire safety pledge April 6, 2022 The total cost for cladding works for the big nine listed housebuilders has hit £1.5bn, as London-listed firms sign up to a government fire safety pledge. According to analysis from AJ Bell, the country’s biggest builders are planning to set aside another £802m in total to tackle unsafe buildings in the wake of the Grenfell [...]
The Notebook: Victoria Scholar on falling house prices, global travel’s acceleration and Netflix’s Sackler drama August 22, 2023 Today, Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, takes the City A.M. notebook pen The only thing being built is negative momentum Rising interest rates, high inflation and the cost of living crisis are starting to take a serious toll on the UK housing market. Just this week, data from Rightmove pointed to a [...]
What are the best FTSE 100 dividend stocks for September 2022? August 30, 2022 In this new inflationary reality, the best FTSE 100 dividend stocks are not just those which are highest yielding, but also those which are most likely to continue to pay their dividends through what could become a severe recession. The FTSE 100 is by its nature defensive, down a mere 1% year-to-date. But with the downturn almost [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index kicks off new week softly ahead of expected Bank of England rate hike January 30, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 kicked off a new week in soft style today, with gains held lower by investors sweating over a string of big central banks raising interest rates this week. The capital’s premier index jumped 0.25 per cent to 7,784.88 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the [...]
Mark Kleinman: Glazers could see biggest ever football club sale November 25, 2022 It was Sir Alex Ferguson who coined the phrase “squeaky bum time” in reference to those anxious moments at the end of seasons when Champions League and Premier League titles and FA Cups hung in the balance. Fergie’s employers for the last eight years of his reign, the Glazer family, are about to undergo their [...]
Persimmon forward sales up 9 per cent from pre-pandemic levels August 18, 2021 Housebuilding business Persimmon reported a 64 per cent leap in profits in the six months to June 30th, posting £480.1m in earnings up from £292.4m in the same period last year. The company expects a “good” forward sales of £2.23bn, up 9 per cent compared to £2.05bn from the same period in 2019. Forward sales [...]
Housebuilders tank on stock market with investors ‘nervous’ about mortgage rates June 20, 2022 Housebuilders lead the London Stock Exchange’s top fallers today, after the latest house price data cautioned the tightening of purse strings amid a cost of living crisis. Barratt Developments and Berkeley Group led the descent, falling a little over four per cent each. While Persimmon dove 3.7 per cent, Ashtead slipped 2.8 per cent and [...]
FTSE 100 rises but Wall Street falls again on job data September 4, 2020 The FTSE 100 reversed yesterday’s losses, closing in on the 5,900 point level this morning despite last night’s ferocious sell-off of US tech stocks dragging markets down overnight. By the early afternoon London’s premier index was 0.7 per cent up at 5,888.96. The FTSE 250 index of mid caps also rose 0.2 per cent. However, [...]
FTSE 100 close: London ends week flat after house price slump and US payroll figures September 1, 2023 London's FTSE 100 index started Friday in the green on a quiet results day, as investors look to US payroll figures after lunch for signals of more rate hikes.