Markets
London - The FTSE 100 fell 10.2 points to close at 5,062.93 on Friday, although this was well up on the session low which took the index below 5,000 for the first time since November. Energy stocks fell as investors feared drop in demand for crude. BP lost 4.2 percent as it fended off accusations that it had not fully disclosed the size of a month-old seabed leak billowing brown crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico in a spreading environmental disaster. Banks recovered from sharp losses, mirroring strength from their U.S. peers after the U.S. Senate approved a sweeping Wall Street reform bill. The mining sector was the main positive for the index, lifted by stronger metal prices and also given a boost by a positive note from HSBC.

Posted: May 24th, 2010 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 declined 84.95 points to 5,073.13 yesterday led by a drop in basic materials stocks and utilities, as the global selloff in equities continued. Rio Tinto slid 5.8% after the shares were downgraded by BofA Merrill Lynch. National Grid dropped 7% after saying it planned to issue new shares. Elsewhere, SABMiller, the world’s second biggest brewer by volume, slumped 6% after reporting profit that missed estimates.

Posted: May 21st, 2010 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 tumbled 149.26 points to 5,158.08 yesterday following Germany’s move to ban certain short selling. Miners dropped as base metals tumbled. Both Xstrata and Rio Tinto finished more that 6% lower. Banks were also among the biggest faller with Barclays and RBS falling more than 4%. British Airways fell 3.8% after the airline cancelled more flights today, while Rolls Royce slid 4.6% after CEO John Rose sold 400,000 ordinary shares. This morning the index has rebounded 65.59 points to 5,223.67.

Posted: May 20th, 2010 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - Banks and commodity stocks pushed UK stocks higher on Tuesday, as euro zone debt fears ebbed, and Man Group recouping the previous session’s losses. The FTSE100 closed 44.8 points higher at 5307.34, retreating from an earlier session high of 5341.41. Sentiment, which had been buoyed early in the session as EU finance ministers met in Brussels to fine tune Europe’s rescue package, improved further as Greece received loans from the EU and can now repay its immediate debt. Adding to that, economic data in the euro zone and US suggested inflation was under control despite historically low interest rates. Euro zone consumer prices rose 1.4 percent year on year in March, though the overall gain fell short of market expectations and price growth is seen subdued this year.

Posted: May 19th, 2010 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 slipped 0.31 points lower to 5,262.54 yesterday. Rio Tinto and Kazakhmys led declines among basic resource shares as copper slumped more than 6%. Man Group tumbled 8.9% after announcing a deal with GLG that values the shares at about $1.6 billion. Prudential retreated 1.5% after saying it will sell new shares at 104p to help fund the purchase of AIG’s main Asian unit. Credit Suisse gave the overall market a boost after recommending clients boost their holdings of European stocks following recent declines.

Posted: May 18th, 2010 under Asset Management.
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