Markets
London - The FTSE 100 slid 52.13 points to 5,246.98 yesterday. Commodity related shares dragged the index lower on concerns that gains had been overdone. Kazakhmys and Tullow Oil were among the stand out loses, off 3.2 and 3.1% respectively. BG Group was the biggest blue chip faller though, after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to “neutral” from “buy” on valuation grounds in a Europe-wide review of the energy sector. BP continued to slide, hitting a 13 year low and taking the total drop since the oil spill started to 50%. Carnival Corp dropped 5% after projecting weaker than expected third quarter results. Banks were mixed following George Osborne’s emergency budget as analysts weighed up who would be most affected. Many finished off lows though after Osborne said the expected levy on the sector would generate £2 billion a year, instead of the expected £3 billion. Retailers were buoyed by the budget after the widely forecast hike in value added tax to 20 percent from 17.5 percent was delayed until January 4th 2011. Supermarkets Morrison, Tesco and Sainsbury all finished higher.

Posted: June 23rd, 2010 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 jumped 48.27 points to 5,299.11 yesterday. Miners rallied following China’s decision to un-peg the yuan. Kazakhmys, Kazakhstan’s largest copper producer jumped more than 2% as copper advanced the most in a month in London. Tullow Oil rose in line with crude which climbed above $78 a barrel. However, BP continued to slide after it said the cost of its response to the worst spill in US history accelerated to $2 billion. The Sunday Times reported that the company is seeking to raise $50 billion to cover the total cost of the spill.

Posted: June 22nd, 2010 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 fell 3.05 points to 5,250.84 on Friday longest stretch of gains for the benchmark since July 2009. BT Group paced declining shares, falling 2% to 136.8p as Standard & Poor’s lowered its recommendation for the phone company to “sell” from “hold.” Glaxo shares lost 1.6% to 1,196p as European drugmakers retreated. Roche Holding AG said patients showed hypersensitivity to an experimental diabetes treatment, while Sanofi-Aventis SA fell on renewed concern that one of its drugs may be linked to an increased risk of cancer. On the upside, Fresnillo climbed 3.4% to 1,060p as gold futures rose to a record $1,262 an ounce on demand for a haven amid Europe’s fiscal woes and dimming prospects for the U.S. economy.

Posted: June 21st, 2010 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - UK stocks closed higher on Thursday, for the seventh straight day, led by BP after its compensation deal with the White House, but gains were held in check by weak US jobs data hitting commodity linked stocks. The FTSE100 closed 15.97 points higher at 5253.89, its highest since May 18, but off the session high of 5293.76. BP was the top gainer, jumping 6.7 percent and adding almost 17 points to the index, after the oil company agreed to set up a $20bn fund for oil spill related damage claims and suspend its dividend. But other energy and mining stocks struggled along with commodities after US jobs data cast doubt over the speed of the recovery of the US economy.

Posted: June 18th, 2010 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 rose 20.10 points to 5,237.92 yesterday. The index has now closed higher for the last six sessions – its longest streak for nine months. Aggreko and Shire led gains after analysts recommended the shares. Energy stocks were generally higher after crude touched its highest level since mind-May, although Bp slipped a further 1.5% ahead of its meeting at the White House. On the downside, Schroders led the fallers after being downgraded by Citigroup. Man Group also declined, after reporting a 3.1% decline in the net asset value of its flagship Man AHL Diversified Futures.

Posted: June 17th, 2010 under Asset Management.
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