The City rumour mill seems stuck on repeat. Today, gossips' favourite Smith & Nephew was once again the focus of vague takeover talk, despite ex-suitor Johnson & Johnson choosing to dig into its pockets for Swiss medical devices maker Synthes instead... more
Market Round-up: As the bosses at Dana Petroleum try to squeeze more cash out of KNOC, traders are already scrabbling round to work out which oil explorer will next attract a suitor... more
Market Round-up: The British high street faces a gloomy Christmas and a miserable 2011 as shoppers turn Scrooge in response to Government spending cuts... more
Market Round-up: The adventures of Cairn Energy in Greenland are kicking off, providing relief to some investors who feared the Gulf of Mexico disaster might force the campaign to be delayed... more
What's cooking at J Sainsbury? Investors have long been waiting for signs of action from the supermarket chain’s biggest shareholder, the Qatari sovereign wealth fund... more
J Sainsbury looked set for a bumper Christmas today, as it shrugged off talk that it is losing market share and posted a sharp rise in sales and profits ... more
J Sainsbury whetted City speculators’ appetites today as revived talk of a takeover added almost £1 billion to the stock market value of the UK’s third-biggest food retailer... more
Even allowing for a spot of profit-taking today, mining shares remain at the top of most investors’ shopping lists with a little help from top broker Goldman Sachs ... more
BP may finally have got its man, but a number of other companies remain chairmanless amid fears that the role at some of Britain's biggest companies may have become just too unpalatable.... more
The UK's well-run supermarket chains have also often been admired for their defensive qualities in times of trouble. But perhaps not for much longer.... more
Retail: Tesco profits are poised to smash through £3 billion this year despite the smallest rise in Christmas sales at its UK stores since the early 1990s... more
The fallout from the banking crisis and stock market collapse continues to shake investors who remain sellers of everything connected with the financial sector... more
J Sainsbury was the focus of intense City gossip after it emerged that Iranian property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz has offloaded his stake in the supermarkets chain... more
Supermarkets are facing the threat of fines totalling tens of millions of pounds over the alleged price-fixing of shopping-basket staples and big-brand items... more
Exclusive: After high-profile allegations this season, Charlton's manager is pleased the issue is now being addressed but says the authorities still have plenty of work to do
Morning:
8°c
