May 2014

The FTSE 100 (FTSEINDICES: ^FTSE) is currently trading less than 2% below its all-time high of 6,930, which it hit in 1999, at the peak of the tech boom. Does this make the index expensive — or do fifteen years’ earnings growth and inflation mean that today’s level of around 6,800 is actually pretty cheap? Read More

By Sudip Kar-Gupta LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s top equity index made little progress on Wednesday, as a fall in the shares of HSBC bank and credit data firm Experian added to signs of weak corporate earnings that have stalled the market’s rally. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed down by 2.12 points – flat in Read More

* FTSE 100 down 0.4 pct * HSBC takes most points off index after profits fall * Cautious outlook hits Experian (Other OTC: EXPGF – news) ‘s shares By Sudip Kar-Gupta LONDON, May 7 (Reuters) – A fall in the shares of HSBC bank and credit data firm Experian pushed down Britain’s top equity index Read More

By Tricia Wright LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s top shares fell on Wednesday after a sell-off on Wall Street unsettled investors, with credit checker Experian leading the UK market lower on concerns about headwinds facing the company. The FTSE 100 was down 22.57 points, or 0.3 percent, at 6,775.99 points by 0937 BST, having shed 0.4 Read More

* FTSE 100 down 0.3 percent * Experian (Other OTC: EXPGF – news) top faller after results * Ex-divs knock 6.8 points off index * Heavily shorted Sainsbury (Berlin: SUY1.BE – news) gains after profit beat By Tricia Wright LONDON, May 7 (Reuters) – Britain’s top shares fell on Wednesday after a sell-off on Wall Read More

* Index falls 0.1 percent * Aberdeen Asset Management (Other OTC: ABDNF – news) down after results * Barclays (LSE: BARC.L – news) slips after Q1 profits drop 5 percent * Housebuilders recover, helped by Countrywide (LSE: CWD.L – news) update By Tricia Wright LONDON, May 6 (Reuters) – Britain’s top share index retreated from Read More

On 30 December 1999, the FTSE 100 (FTSEINDICES:^FTSE) index reached 6950.6. The day I am writing this article, 5th May 2014, the FTSE 100 stands at 6822.4. Over the course of some 15 years (practically a lifetime in investing terms), the stock market has never surpassed its 1999 high. Now this gives critics of equity investing plenty of ammunition. “How Read More

By This Is Money Reporters Published: 02:52 EST, 6 May 2014 | Updated: 11:42 EST, 6 May 2014 17.15 (close): Increasing tensions in Ukraine and disappointing earnings figures from Barclays led the London market to give up some of the gains it made last week. The FTSE 100 Index ended the session 23.7 points lower Read More

By This Is Money Reporters Published: 02:52 EST, 6 May 2014 | Updated: 09:42 EST, 6 May 2014 15.30: London shares hovered close to their lows for the session in late afternoon trade as US stocks started cautiously as tensions in Ukraine remained high and following recent weak manufacturing data from China. With an hour Read More

By Tricia Wright LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s top share index retreated from a nine-week high on Tuesday, knocked by weak results from Aberdeen Asset Management and Barclays. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down 9.54 points, or 0.1 percent, at 6,812.88 points by 1048 GMT, after hitting 6,838.17 on Friday, its highest level since late Read More