Markets
London - UK stocks closed lower on Thursday, rallying late on with a turnaround on Wall Street after US existing home sales data, with firmer oils offset by weak drug makers and banks. The FTSE100 closed 4.83 points lower at 5547.08. Weak drug makers were the main drag on the index, with AstraZeneca and Shire down 1.1 and 0.8 percent, respectively, after Exane BNP Paribas cut ratings for both in a sector review. The broker upgraded its stance on GlaxoSmithkline but the stock still fell 1 percent on concerns that US and European regulators were set to pull its controversial diabetes drug Avandia off the market. Banks were also big blue chip fallers, with Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays off 1 and 0.3 percent respectively, as uncertainty over what steps governments will need to take to sustain the economic recovery weighed. Debate on the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee is in a particularly aggressive and vigorous phase as policymakers struggle to assess the relative strength of upside and downside risks to inflation, Bank of England Chief Economist Spencer Dale said on Wednesday. Miners saw some support led by gold miner Randgold Resources up 1.1 percent, while Xstrata and Vedanta Resources both added 0.9 percent. Oil services stocks stood out after recent bid activity in the sector, supported by a bullish note from JPMorgan Cazenove. The broker said it sees signs of a broad and sustainable earnings upgrade rend for pan European oilfield services. Petrofac was the top blue chip riser, up 2.1 percent, while Amec gained 1.8 percent. Schroders was also a blue chip riser, up 17 percent helped by rumours of sector consolidation moves. Aberdeen Asset Management gained 2.4 percent on talk Japan’s Mitsubishi might be interested in upping its current 10 percent stake in the firm. Henderson Group fell 5 percent, after Citigroup cut its rating to hold.

Posted: September 24th, 2010 under Asset Management.
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Market
London - UK stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the FTSE giving up a brief rally on an uncertain day’s trading in the wake of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s nervous comments on the US economic prospects on Tuesday. Similar sentiments to those expressed by Bernanke appeared in minutes released by the Bank of England today from its MPC meeting earlier this month. The MPC voted 8-1 in favour of keeping interest rates at a record low of 0.5 percent. Mining stocks were higher, with Antofagasta, Kazakhmys and Rio Tinto overtaking gold miners such as African Barrick, Fresnillo and Randgold, which raced ahead in the morning session as the price of gold hit a new high. Xstrata was also higher after announcing it has successfully negotiated a $4bn multi currency revolving credit facility to replace its existing $5.5bn facility, which matures in October 2011. BHP Billiton shareholders will demand success from chief executive Marius Kloppers this year after it emerged that the company paid him $11.3m in 2009. Kloppers received a base salary and bonus of $4.4m, with chunky pension, dividend and share based payments making up the rest. Imperial Tobacco proved a draw as the company assured the market it is still on track to meet forecasts for the year, though growth in tobacco revenues has slowed slightly over the last six months. Imperial Tobacco expects net revenues to be up around 3 percent in the year to 30 September compared with a 4 percent gain to £3.4bn for the six months to 31 March.

Posted: September 23rd, 2010 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 lost 26.35 points to 5,576.19 yesterday. Xstrata Plc led a retreat among mining companies as metals prices declined in London, falling 2%. Although Cairn Energy bucked the trend, climbing 2.3% after saying an exploration well being drilled in Greenland has found its first pockets of oil as well as gas. Banks, which enjoyed good gains in the previous session, declined as investors looked towards the Fed’s rate announcement. RBS, Lloyds and HSBC all fell between 0.7% and 1.3%. Elsewhere, Carnival rose 0.7% after posting higher quarterly earnings.

Posted: September 22nd, 2010 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 jumped 94.09 points to 5,602.54 yesterday, led by energy companies as crude oil snapped a four-day losing streak and BP Plc permanently plugged the source of the world’s largest accidental oil spill. BP led a gauge of oil and gas companies to the highest level in more than four months as crude rallied above $75 a barrel. Hammerson Plc rose amid speculation that the company and Oman may try to sell their jointly owned office and retail site in London. Lloyds Banking Group Plc led a rally in banks while Brit Insurance NV jumped after Apollo Global Management and CVC Capital Partners Ltd. made a sweetened offer for the insurer.

Posted: September 21st, 2010 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 lost 31.69 points to close at 5,508.45 on Friday following the drop in US consumer confidence. Barclays dropped 3.2% as UBS analysts cut its earnings estimates on the shares by 8% for this year and by 13% and 20% for the subsequent two years, respectively, to reflect less investment banking business. On the upside, Invensys Plc rallied 3.2% as it announced an alliance with CSR Corp. of China to sell train controls and railway signalling in the world’s second-largest economy.

Posted: September 20th, 2010 under Asset Management.
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