Markets
London - The FTSE 100 climbed 31.87 points to 5,677.89 yesterday as higher metals prices and a weaker U.S. dollar boosted raw-materials companies. BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group led mining companies higher. Vodafone Group Plc advanced after rival France Telecom SA said earnings increased more than analysts predicted. AstraZeneca Plc, the O.K. second-biggest drug maker, dropped
3.3% after saying third-quarter profit fell.

Posted: October 29th, 2010 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 dropped 61.28 points to 5,646.02 yesterday as a fall in raw-material prices weakened mining shares. Copper dropped for a second day as the dollar strengthened and on speculation that users in China deem the recent rally as excessive given ample domestic supplies. Rio Tinto, the world’s third-largest mining company, slid 2.6% while BHP Billiton Ltd. declined 1.5%. Outside of the top 100 index, Soco International lost 11% after the U.K. energy explorer in Africa and Southeast Asia said a second well in the Democratic Republic of Congo failed to find recoverable oil and gas in the main target area. Carpetright Plc, the U.K.’s biggest carpet retailer, slumped 7.3%. The company said revenue fell as it shut stores and fewer customers bought carpets and floor coverings.

Posted: October 28th, 2010 under Asset Management.
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London - The FTSE 100 dropped 44.68 points to 5,707.3 yesterday as declines in ARM Holdings Plc and Cairn Energy Plc overshadowed faster than estimated economic growth. Gross domestic product rose 0.8% in the three months through September after increasing 1.2% in the previous quarter, the Office for National Statistics said. Economists had forecast a 0.4% gain on average. ARM, whose shares have more than doubled this year, slid 5.9% to 366.2 pence, their biggest drop since August 3rd, even after reporting higher earnings. ARM said operating expenses increased 23% last quarter from a year earlier as the dollar declined. About 95% of the company’s invoices are denominated in the U.S. currency. Cairn Energy tumbled 7.2% to 382.5 pence, the biggest drop since March 2009. The Edinburgh-based oil explorer said it will have to write off the $185 million cost of two wells off Greenland after they failed to make any commercial discoveries. Cairn plugged and abandoned the wells as the island’s summer drilling season finished on September 30th.

Posted: October 27th, 2010 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 rose 10.61 points to 5,751.98 yesterday after Group of 20 finance chiefs pledged to avoid “competitive devaluation” as they sought to calm fears of a global trade war. G-20 finance ministers and central bankers ended talks in South Korea on Oct. 23 saying they will refrain from “competitive devaluation” and let markets have more say in setting foreign-exchange values. The dollar weakened as the pledge failed to dispel speculation the Federal Reserve will debase the currency by announcing more bond purchases

Posted: October 26th, 2010 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 fell 16.49 points to 5,741.37 on Friday as analysts downgraded mining companies and Reckitt Benckiser Plc announced the departure of its Chief Financial Officer. Vedanta, which is planning to buy a controlling stake in Cairn India Ltd., fell 1.9% as BofA-Merrill Lynch lowered its recommendation for the copper producer to “neutral” from “buy.” Lonmin Plc fell 1.6% as a gauge of mining companies trimmed two days of gains. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. downgraded the platinum producer to “sell” from “neutral,” citing valuations. Reckitt dropped 4.6%, the biggest drop since February 2009, after the company said Chief Financial Officer Colin Day will leave after 10 years to focus on “non- executive positions and other career interests.” Day, alongside Chief Executive Officer Bart Becht, is regarded as being instrumental in the company’s growth. Since he joined in 2000, sales have almost tripled and operating profit has risen about six-fold. Elsewhere, Betfair surged 19% to 1,550 pence on is first day of trading after the British Internet gambling site raised £221 million in its London initial public offering.

Posted: October 25th, 2010 under Asset Management.
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