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London midday: Footsie still flat

Wed, 08th Jul 2009 12:02

On another directionless day with little in the way of company news to guide sentiment, Footsie sits just in the blue.Heavily weighted miners are limiting the extent of the fall on Footsie after positive broker comment this morning. Investec has upgraded Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, advising its clients to take advantage of recent share price weakness to buy the stocks. US bank Citigroup sings a similar tune and now rates BHP Billiton a "buy".Outside of miners, defensive stocks are about the only other stocks in favour with utilities such as Scottish & Southern Energy, Severn Trent and Pennon, tobacco stocks IMPs and BATs plus pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline defying the weaker trend.In contrast, the retreat by global stock markets is hurting the big life assurance stocks such as Aviva and Legal & General.Shareholders at Marks & Spencer are expected to vent their frustration at executive pay and Sir Stuart Rose's dual role as chairman and chief executive at the food and clothes retailer's annual meeting this afternoon.Oil stocks are weak as the price of crude retreats on fears the US economy may be turning down again. Tullow Oil is a prominent faller. An update today stated that it expects annual production to average 58,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) following a 16% drop in output during the first half. Struggling private equity group 3i halved its debt in the three months to June, largely due to its £732m rights issue. Realisation proceeds outweighed new investment as it stopped putting money into its portfolio companies. Net debt at end June was £961m, compared with £1.91bn at March 2009.Support services group Carillion remains on track to deliver 'materially enhanced' earnings for the full year after good performances across its divisions.The support services division continues to make the largest contribution to operating profit, the firm said.Oil and gas firm Melrose Resources is proceeding as expected at its oil and gas fields in Egypt, although recent government elections have held things up in Bulgaria. Production averaged approximately 16,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) on a net entitlement basis versus current guidance of 15,700 boepd.Facilities and energy management solutions provider GSH Group warns that larger than expected non-recurring costs will leave full-year profit even further below forecasts. The company, which also confirmed it will de-list its shares on 10 August, said closure costs linked to a restructuring would likely double to £3m.Pure Circle, the maker of high intensity sweeteners used in a range of well known soft drinks, expects to report an 85% jump in sales in 2009 after gaining several high profile customers.Cash and carry group Booker said profits and net debt remain in line with expectations after seeing total sales rise by 7.8% in the 12 weeks to 19 June.FTSE 100 - RisersNext (NXT) 1,544.00p +1.71%Randgold Resources (RRS) 3,802.00p +1.63%Balfour Beatty (BBY) 301.00p +1.60%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,086.50p +1.59%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 117.30p +1.38%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,315.50p +1.19%Inmarsat (ISAT) 544.00p +1.02%Cobham (COB) 178.70p +0.96%Serco Group (SRP) 420.75p +0.96%BP (BP.) 472.00p +0.90%FTSE 100 - FallersLegal & General Group (LGEN) 51.96p -4.66%Aviva (AV.) 316.25p -4.46%Land Securities Group (LAND) 424.00p -3.36%Fresnillo (FRES) 449.50p -2.97%British Land Co (BLND) 367.00p -2.91%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,286.00p -2.72%Prudential (PRU) 384.50p -2.66%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,396.00p -2.65%Barclays (BARC) 288.75p -2.45%Petrofac Ltd (PFC) 645.00p -2.27%FTSE 250 - RisersBrown (N.) Group (BWNG) 221.75p +4.85%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 175.75p +3.38%Carillion (CLLN) 255.75p +2.71%Fidessa (FDSA) 1,177.00p +2.35%Premier Foods (PFD) 36.50p +2.10%Restaurant Group (RTN) 146.50p +2.09%Croda International (CRDA) 551.50p +2.04%Michael Page International (MPI) 239.50p +2.02%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 208.00p +1.96%SDL International (SDL) 307.75p +1.90%FTSE 250 - FallersPV Crystalox Solar (PVCS) 73.75p -6.94%Tomkins (TOMK) 146.50p -6.39%Novae Group (NVA) 301.75p -4.66%Debenhams (DEB) 79.50p -4.22%Helical Bar (HLCL) 300.00p -4.00%DS Smith (SMDS) 62.25p -3.86%GKN (GKN) 77.75p -3.72%Dana Petroleum (DNX) 1,274.00p -3.63%SIG (SHI) 87.75p -3.57%Cookson Group (CKSN) 231.50p -3.54%
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25 Feb 2010 05:54

Thursday tips round-up: Henderson, Moneysupermarket, Melrose

Investors have applauded Henderson's New Star deal, more than doubling the share price from 50½p in January 2009 to yesterday's close of 122.1p. The price has eased since January amid predictions of a forthcoming market correction and renewed worries that a double-dip recession will weaken consumer

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24 Feb 2010 10:31

Oil production rise cheers Melrose

Shares in Melrose Resources gushed higher after the oil and gas explorer and producer gave an update of its daily production in 2009 that was slightly ahead of guidance. Output during the year amounted to 38.6m barrels of oil a day (Mboepd), compared with guidance of 38.5Mboepd. This is an 8.6% in

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24 Feb 2010 10:13

FTSE 250 movers: Melrose oil production impresses

Shares in Melrose Resources gushed higher after the oil and gas explorer and producer gave an update of its daily production in 2009 that was slightly ahead of its latest guidance. Output during the year amounted to 38.6m barrels of oil a day (Mboepd), compared with guidance of 38.5Mboepd. Price co

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17 Dec 2009 16:34

London close: Banks spooked by higher capital call

Banks sank on a call for tougher capital requirements and coupled with a weak mining sector it meant a poor day in London. Lloyds Banking took a pasting, while Standard Chartered and Barclays were also among the worst performers. The Basel Committee of central bankers and supervisors called for st

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17 Dec 2009 13:55

London afternoon: Barclays hit by lawsuit

Footsie remains deep in negative territory, and with US markets set to open lower, there is no prospect of a boost from Wall Street. Banks and miners are responsible for much of the blue-chip index's fall. Lloyds Banking is leading the fallers, while Standard Chartered and Barclays are also among t

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19 Nov 2009 06:12

Thursday tips round-up: Capita, Mothercare, Vodafone

It is too soon to tell whether the City's underlying fear ? that Capita's years of consistent double-digit growth are ending ? will be realised. However, in the interim, professional investors may prove unwilling to pay 721¾p, or 17 times 2010 earnings, if that trajectory is in doubt. For that reaso

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18 Nov 2009 16:33

London close: Flat finish for FTSE 100

There was no shortage of market moving news today, but with stocks moving in both directions, Footsie finished little changed. It was day for high profile board room appointments, with the share prices of Marks & Spencer and ITV both responding well to an end to uncertainty over leadership issues.

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18 Nov 2009 14:05

London afternoon: Hershey & Ferrero size up Cadbury

It has been a day for high profile board room appointments, with the share prices of Marks & Spencer and ITV both responding well to an end to uncertainty over leadership issues. Retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has poached Marc Bolland, chief executive of supermarket chain Morrisons, to be its new b

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18 Nov 2009 12:02

London midday: Market cheers M&S appointment

Retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) moved to the top of the news agenda this morning after it announced it has poached Marc Bolland, chief executive of supermarket chain Morrisons, to be its new boss. While Marks & Spencer's shares responded positively to the appointment, shares in Morrisons fell back o

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18 Nov 2009 08:48

London open: Early gains for Footsie

London's top stocks have opened higher following yesterday's drop, which brought a 4-day winning streak to an end. Troubled broadcaster ITV has confirmed the appointment of former Tory party MP Archie Norman as its new non-executive Chairman. He will take up the role in January 2010, when current e

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18 Nov 2009 07:33

London pre-open: Shares to turn positive again

London's top stocks are expected to open around 10 points higher following yesterday's drop which brought a 4-day winning streak to an end. Troubled broadcaster ITV has confirmed the appointment of former Tory party MP Archie Norman as its new non-executive Chairman. He will take up the role in Jan

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18 Nov 2009 07:02

Melrose ups production forecast

Oil and gas firm Melrose Resources has raised its estimate of average daily production for the year after a productive third quarter. Production in the third quarter was around 25% higher than in the third quarter of 2008, reflecting high output from the company’s existing Egyptian fields and also

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9 Nov 2009 13:48

FTSE 250 movers: IMI motors higher

Shares in IMI have jumped after the engineer said it expects earnings this year to come in "materially higher" than previously forecast as higher margins have offset a sharp fall in revenues. JKX Oil & Gas is higher after saying oil and gas production levels were both higher in the third quarter. T

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6 Nov 2009 08:35

Melrose gets approval for Bulgarian gas field

Melrose Resources said it has received approval from the Bulgarian government to develop the Kavarna gas field, which contains estimated reserves of 24 billion cubic feet. The group said it has also formally received approval from the Romanian National Agency of Mineral Resources to conduct petrole

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17 Sep 2009 12:11

FTSE 250 movers: Broker boost lifts Easyjet

Easyjet is flying high after Morgan Stanley lifted its rating on the budget airline to 'overweight' from 'equal-weight'. It also lifted its target price on the group, to 460p from 340p. Among the fallers is building and civil engineering contractor Kier Group, which reported annual pre-tax profit

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