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    October 29, 2007

    Miners gain, house builders see declines

    Filed under: Companies, Anglo American, Kazakhmys, BHP Billiton, Aquarius Platinum, Hammerson, Bovis Homes Group, Barratt Developments, Daejan Holdings, Taylor Wimpey, Talvivaara Mining Company

    In London on Monday, the FTSE 100 gained 0.67 percent to 6,076 and the FTSE 250 added 0.38 percent to 11,552.8.

    Miners saw gains after JPMorgan Chase upped its target share prices on BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; ASX: BHP; NYSE: BHP) and Anglo American (LSE: AAL).

    BHP, with its target share price hiked to £20.71, was 1.4 percent higher on the session to £18.68, while Anglo American jumped 3.3 added to £33.52 on a new target share price of £32.84.

    Elsewhere in the sector Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ) gained 3.42 to £15.14, Vedanta Resources (LSE: VED) was up 3.43 percent to £22.30.

    Over on the 250, Finland-based miner Talvivaara Mining Company (LSE: TALV) added 6.16 percent to 297.25p while Aquarius Platinum (LSE: AQP; ASX: AQP; JSE: AQP) had the best day on the 250 as it jumped 7.05 percent to £19.12.

    The big losers on the session were house builders and property developers.

    On the 100, Hammerson (LSE: HMSO) dropped 2.83 percent to £10.29 while Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV) was down 3.07 percent to 631p. Taylor Wimpey (LSE: TW) had the worst day on the 100, falling 3.56 percent to 230.5p.

    Over on the 250, Daejan Holdings (LSE: DJAN) was 3.26 percent lower to £34.14 and Bovis Homes (LSE: BVS) dropped 3.43 percent to 634p.





    September 21, 2007

    Banks mixed in London

    Filed under: Companies, Northern Rock, Tullow Oil, PartyGaming, British Energy, Alliance & Leicester, London Stock Exchange, National Grid, Randgold, Vedanta Resources, Kelda, JJB Sports, Kingfisher, Daejan Holdings

    London’s markets saw gains Friday, with the FTSE 100 up 0.43 percent to 6,456.7 and the FTSE 250 gaining 0.73 percent to 11,094.7.

    Banks were mixed.

    While Northern Rock (LSE: NRK) added 4.91 percent to 194.3p, Alliance & Leicester (LSE: AL) dropped another 2.45 percent to 737p.

    Energy-related shares were mixed as well.

    Electricity generator British Energy (LSE: BGY) turned in the best performance on the 100 with a gain of 6.55 percent to 520.5p, but electric power transmitter National Grid (LSE: NG) was 2.38 percent lower to 759p.

    Elsewhere, water utility Kelda Group (LSE: KEL) fell 3.08 percent to 864.5p.

    Miners were also mixed.

    Vedanta Resources (LSE: VED) added 3.39 percent to £21.35 on the 100, while over on the 250 gold miner Randgold (LSE: RRS; NAS: GOLD) was the worst performer on the 250 with a decline of 4.34 percent to £15.21.

    Back on the 100, do-it-yourself retailer Kingfisher (LSE: KFG) fell 3.48 percent to 174.7 for the worst day on the blue-chip index.

    Sports retailer JJB (LSE: JJB) was also lower, dropping 3.01 percent to 145p.

    PartyGaming (LSE: PRTY) was up 9.47 percent to 26p for the best performance on the 250.

    The London Stock Exchange (LSE: LSE) was up 6.7 percent to £18.

    Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW; OTC: TUWLY) was also higher, with a gain of 5.84 percent to 607p.

    Property developer Daejan Holdings (LSE: DJAN) jumped 6.38 percent to £40.17.





    August 24, 2007

    Sage Group tops FTSE 100

    Filed under: Companies, BG Group, Standard Chartered, Rio Tinto, British Energy, J Sainsbury, Barclay's, Northern Foods, Man Group, Sage, Henderson Group, Daejan Holdings, 3i, Rathbone Brothers, Assura Group

    London’s markets were higher Friday.

    The FTSE 100 added 0.37 percent to 6,220.1, while the FTSE 250 gained 0.22 percent to 10,969.5.

    Software maker Sage Group (LSE: SGE) was the best performer on the 100 with a gain of 3.21 percent to 233.25p.

    But financial services groups crowded the top of the loser board on the 100.

    Man Group (LSE: EMG) was 2.55 percent lower to 477.5p. Barclay’s Bank (LSE: BARC; NYSE: BCS; TYO: 8642) dropped 2.63 percent to 611p, while Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN; SEHK: 2888) was the worst performer on the 100 as it fell 4.9 percent to £14.94.

    3i Group (LSE: III) was 4.26 percent lower to £10.34. Rounding out the top five decliners on the 100 was British Energy Group (LSE: BGY) with a decline of 2.67 percent to 446.75p.

    Miners and the oil sector saw gains.

    Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) was up 2.36 percent to £33.39, while BG Group (LSE: BG; NYSE: BG) added 2.74 percent to 769.5p.

    Retailer Sainsbury gained 2.16 percent to 544.5p.

    The best performer on the 250 was Assura Group (LSE: AGR), with a gain of 13.85 percent to 160.25p.

    Property developer Daejan Holdings (LSE: DJAN) was 5.08 percent higher to £36.00.

    Financial services groups didn’t fare much better on the 250 than they did on the 100.

    Asset manager Henderson Group (LSE: HGI; ASX: HGI) was 2.52 percent lower to 135.25p, while investment managers Rathbone Brothers (LSE: RAT) dropped 2.55 percent to £12.23.

    But the worst performer on the 250 was food processor Northern Foods (LSE: NFDS) with a drop of 2.86 percent to 102p.





    August 20, 2007

    Power generators see gains in London

    Filed under: Companies, Prudential, Kazakhmys, Rio Tinto, British Land, BHP Billiton, Scottish & Southern Energy, British Energy, BAE Systems, Old Mutual, Drax Group, Reed Elsevier, SEGRO, Daejan Holdings, Meggitt, Southern Cross Healthcare

    In London on Monday the FTSE 100 added 0.24 percent to 6,078.7 while the FTSE 250 was 0.16 percent higher to 10,703.8.

    Power generators had a good day in London.

    Drax Group (LSE: DRX) gained 1.9 percent to 634.5p, while electricity generator British Energy (LSE: BGY) was up 4.58 percent to 451.25p for the best performance on the 100.

    Electricity transmitter Scottish & Southern Energy (LSE: SSE) was 1.7 percent higher to £14.44.

    Miners also did well after metals prices advanced.

    Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) gained 3.22 percent to £30.78, while Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ) added 4 percent to £11.70 and BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; NYSE: BHP; ASX: BHP) was 4.17 percent higher to £12.75.

    The aerospace sector was up with BAE Systems (LSE: BA; OTCBB; BAESY) 3.48 percent higher to 431p and Meggitt (LSE: MGGT) adding 4.73 percent to 298.75p.

    The best performer on the 250 was care homes operator Southern Cross Healthcare (LSE: SCHE), which gained 6.93 percent to 470.5p.

    Insurers were mixed.

    Prudential (LSE: PRU; NYSE: PUK) was up 1.1 percent to 657.5p, but Old Mutual (LSE: OML; JSE: OLOML) dropped 2.16 percent to 149.4p.

    Property developers and investors were lower on the session.

    British Land (LSE: BLND) had the worst day on the 100 as it fell 3.46 percent to £11.98. SEGRO (LSE: SGRO) fell 2.66 percent to 513p, while Daejan Holdings dropped 4.86 percent on the 250 to £33.30.

    Publisher Reed Elsevier (LSE: REL; Euronext: REN; NYSE: ENL; NYSE: RUK) dropped 2.61 to 578p.





    August 16, 2007

    FTSE 100 closes below 6,000 level

    Filed under: Companies, Northern Rock, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Standard Chartered, Anglo American, Kazakhmys, Antofagasta, Lonmin, International Power, British Energy, Vedanta Resources, Man Group, Drax Group, Premier Oil, Daejan Holdings, Greggs, Invesco

    London’s equities markets saw significant losses on Thursday.

    The FTSE 100 fell 4.1 percent to 5,858.9, the first time it had closed below the 6,000 level since March, while the FTSE 250 closed at 10,462.6 for a drop of 3.92 percent.

    There were no winners on the 100 on the session, and miners were the five worst performers there after metals prices declined.

    Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ) dropped 8.38 percent to £10.71, while Vedanta Resources (LSE: VED) fell 8.44 percent to £14.98.

    Anglo American (LSE: AAL) was 9.36 percent lower to £24.70, Lonmin (LSE: LMI) was down 9.41 percent to £27.92 and Antofagasta fell 10.98 percent to 608p for the worst performance of the day on the 100.

    The oil sector declined as well, as the price of crude oil dropped.

    BP (LSE: BP; NYSE: BP; TYO: 5051) was down 4.06 percent to 520p, while Royal Dutch Shell’s (LSE: RDSA, RDSB; NYSE: RDS.A, RDS.B) A shares dropped 4.43 percent to £17.69.

    On the 250, Premier Oil (LSE: PMO) was down 9.19 percent to 914.5p for the worst performance of the day on that index. The financial services sector was much lower.

    Northern Rock (LSE: NRK) was 4.2 percent lower to 659p after Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) dropped its target share price from £11.30 to 913p and JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) reduced it from 830p to 690p.

    Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN; SEHK: 2888), with substantial exposure in Asia, fell 7.55 percent to £14.44.

    Investment manager Invesco (LSE: AVZ; NYSE: IVZ) was 6.53 percent lower to 551.5p, while hedge fund Man Group (LSE: EMG) dropped 8.31 percent to 446.75p.

    Electricity generators also had substantial losses.

    Drax Group (LSE: DRX) fell 4.04 percent to 605p, while International Power was 6.23 percent lower to 383p and British Energy dropped 7.98 percent to 417.75p after it said that core profit was down 12 percent in its fiscal first quarter after trouble shut down two facilities.

    There were some gainers on the 250, where property group Daejan Holdings (LSE: DJAN) gained 6.57 percent to £35.22.

    Publisher Euromoney Institutional Investor (LSE: ERM), which is 70 percent owned by Daily Mail and General Trust (LSE: DMGT), added 1.93 percent to 580p, while retail baker Greggs (LSE: GRG) gained 0.41 percent to €48.50.





    August 14, 2007

    Wm Morrison lower after e. coli outbreak

    Filed under: Companies, BA, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Lonmin, BT Group, Wm Morrison, Scottish and Newcastle, Johnson Matthey, Rexam, Yell, Daejan Holdings, Capita Group, Kier Group

    Markets in London were lower as well, with the FTSE 100 down 1.21 percent to 6,143.5 and the FTSE 250 at 10,998.6, a decline of 1.52 percent.

    Food retailer Wm Morrison (LSE: MRW) was 2.8 percent lower to 258.5p after it removed sliced cold meats from two stores in Scotland after an outbreak of E. coli that resulted in one death.

    Miners were mixed on the day.

    Lonmin (LSE: LMI) led gainers on the 100 as it added 1.7 percent to £31.14, but Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) fell 1.4 percent to £31.75 and BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; NYSE: BHP; ASX: BHP) was 3.71 percent lower to £12.98.

    The worst performance on the 100 came from publisher Yell Group (LSE: YELL), which was down 3.81 percent to 454.4p.

    Beverage can maker Rexam (LSE: REX) dropped 3.54 percent to 504.5p, while chemicals group Johnson Matthey fell 3.73 percent to £16.27.

    Two other individuals were reported to be in hospital.

    Decliners on the 250 included property developer Daejan Holdings (LSE: DJAN), which was down 5.56 percent to £34.00.

    Construction firm Kier Group (LSE: KIE) had the worst day on the 250, with a decline of 6.15 percent to £18.76.

    British Airways was 0.5 percent higher on the 100 to 403p.

    Human resources specialist Capita Group (LSE: CPI) added 0.75 percent to 739p, while in the telecommunications sector BT Group (LSE: BT.A; NYSE: BT) gained 0.81 percent to 310.5p.

    Brewer Scottish & Newcastle (LSE: SCTN) was 1.31 percent higher to 580p on the possibility that it could be acquired by Danish brewer Carlsberg (OMX: CARL A, CARL B), which has been reported to have said it is in the market to purchase another beer maker.

    Neither Carlsberg nor Scottish & Newcastle would comment on the reports.





    July 25, 2007

    CSR drops over 11 percent on 250

    Filed under: Companies, Northern Rock, GlaxoSmithKline, Rio Tinto, Antofagasta, Bradford & Bingley, British Energy, BAE Systems, CSR, Severfield-Rowen, Daejan Holdings, Close Brothers Group, Renishaw

    Equities markets were lower in London on Wednesday.

    The FTSE 100 dropped 0.68 percent to 6,454.3, while the FTSE 250 was down 1.46 percent to 11,415.2.

    Pharmaceutical group GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK; NYSE: GSK) topped the 100, adding 2.33 percent to £12.75 on an unexpected increase in second quarter profits based on greater demand for its Advair asthma treatment.

    GSK also announced an expansion of its share buy-back program.

    Meanwhile on the 250, electronics and engineering group Renishaw (LSE: RSW), which makes gauges and meters, was the top performer with a gain of 14.33 percent to 684p/

    Other gainers on the day included the banking sector.

    On the 100, Northern Rock (LSE: NRK) added 1.87 percent to 817p, while on the 250 Bradford & Bingley (LSE: BB) gained 0.97 percent to 416.75p and Close Brothers Group (LSE: CBG) was up 1.93 percent to 845p.

    Defense aerospace group BAE Systems (LSE: BA; OTCBB: BAESY) was 1.63 percent higher to 435.25p.

    On the losing side, British Energy had the worst day on the 100, dropping 5.21 percent to 483.5p on a broker downgrade.

    The worst performer on the 250 came from the semiconductors sector, where CSR (LSE: CSR) fell 11.28 percent to 770.5p.

    The mining sector declined on copper prices that were lower.

    Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO) was 2.47 percent lower to 723p, while Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) was down 3.65 percent to £35.90.

    On the 250, property developer Daejan Holdings (LSE: DJAN) fell 5.75 percent to £38.86, while builder Severfield-Rowen (LSE: SFR) dropped 5.69 percent to £22.36.





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