Markets
London - The FTSE 100 is currently 79.94 points lower at 4,388.47. Cable & Wireless tops the fallers’ board, down 10.6%, after releasing its full year results. ICAP follows, off 6.6%, after Numis Securities said it expects profits, on a currency basis, to decline by 16% this year. British Land loses 4.8% after posting a 64% decline in full-year net asset value per share. Land Securities falls in sympathy, down 3.8%.

Posted: May 21st, 2009 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 is currently 19.16 points higher at 4,501.41. Miners are stronger, rising in line with metal prices. Lonmin tops the risers board, up 4.95%. Keeping gains in check are a whole raft of stocks that have begun trading without the right to the next dividend. These include Sainsbury (-2.75%), Home Retail (-2.7%), Unilever (-2.25%), Thomson Reuters (-1.77%) and HSBC (-1.75%). Lloyds Banking Group tops the board though, down 24.5%, after investors no longer qualified for the right to buy more shares at a substantial discount.

Posted: May 20th, 2009 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 is currently 20.69 points higher at 4,467.14 this morning. ICAP tops the risers’ board, up 5.4%, after posting a 4.2% rise in fiscal 2009 net profit. Miners rise in line with base metal prices, including Xstrata, up 5.3% and Kazakhmys rising 4.6%. Banks are higher after the Financial Times reported the UK government has begun talks with sovereign wealth funds and other investors about selling stakes in part-nationalised British banks as it seeks to tap a revival in confidence in financial stocks. Royal Bank of Scotland gains 4.1%, Lloyds Banking Group gains adds 3.1% and Barclays rises 2.8%. Marks & Spencer leads the fallers, down 7%, after cutting its dividend by a third. Rolls-Royce loses 2.2% after UBS downgraded the stock to Sell from Neutral.

Posted: May 19th, 2009 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 is just 13.24 points higher at 4,361.35. Lloyds Banking Group helps the blue chip index erase an early decline, topping the risers’ board up 8.1%. Other risers of note include Thomas Cook, up 6.6% and Standard Chartered, rising 3.9%. Miners top the fallers’ board as base metal prices decline. Xstrata and Kazakhmys are down more than 3% as copper dropped on concern that supply may outpace demand in China. Rio Tinto drops 4% after Exane BNP Paribas downgraded the stock.

Posted: May 18th, 2009 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 is currently 17.92 points higher at 4,380.50. Barclays tops the risers’ board, up 8.1%, following rumours that the company is still in talks to sell its asset management unit. Rio Tinto adds 1.73% after saying it will proceed with a plan to raise money from Chinalco, rather than a rights issue. Lonmin drops 3.7% after going ex-rights.

Posted: May 15th, 2009 under Asset Management.
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