31.10.07
Mixed opening in London ahead of Fed statement later
30.10.07
Lower open for Footsie as positions are squared
29.10.07
Another strong start as Footsie follows Far Eastern gains
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After an early jump, shares in the FTSE 100 index settled back on a quiet day for corporate news, but once again the main focus was on Northern Rock. The shares were up 6% mid-morning on press reports that another two private equity firms were looking at a possible bid. Blackstone and Apollo Management both looked at Rock last week according to the reports, to join JC Flowers and Cerberus Capital that were also said to be considering moves. At the bottom end of the list, Kazakhmys dropped 3.6% after it said that a flood at its South Mine in the Zhezkazgan complex would hit its copper cathode production this year.
There was a setback in the property sector this morning which set the FTSE 100 index back a few points, although some buying elsewhere kept the index just in positive territory mid-morning prior to today’s important US payroll figures. British Land said it had failed to sell its Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield because of the credit crunch, and this hit it shares by almost 5% aswell with Land Securities, Liberty and Hammerson also down sharply. Against this there was a recovery in the mining sector following a rebound in gold, with Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Anglo American are all ahead, although Kazakhmys led the way.
It was a tale of two halves in London this morning with an early markdown led by the mining sector offset by a surge of buying in financial stocks. Once again the early runner is Northern Rock on continuing reports that a rescue bid may be imminent, and there were press reports that Citigroup is ready to provide over £5bn in financing to ease the way for a takeover. Other banks were also strong, with Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds and HSBC well ahead. Bringing up the rear was ICAP, with the shares down 3% despite it seeing pre-tax profits for the full-year at the upper end of current forecasts as it benefited from higher volatility in the interest rate, foreign exchange, energy and credit markets.
28th September – Another warning from Tate & Lyle sends them down 20% What looked to be a fairly uneventful session was livened up by a poor statement from Tate & Lyle, with the shares down over 20%. It said its sugar business was now set for a small half-year loss, the weak dollar would hit profits while significantly higher maize costs in Europe would, if sustained, have an increasingly severe effect on the profitability of the ingredients division. There was also an element of profit talking in the mining sector, after UBS downgraded some of the sector's heavyweights following recent outperformance and overall the FTSE 100 index is down 25 points mid-morning.
