Financial News

Asian stocks gained Friday after healthy economic data and a U.S. rally helped boost Japanese shares including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Honda Motor, while Shanghai's index hit its highest level in nearly two and a half years. Japan's Nikkei 225 Averagefinished the day up 0.6% to 16,127.6. The broader Topix index closed up 0.5% at 1,610.7. Japanese government data showed industrial  ...

NEW YORK (AFX) - In a week that saw the Dow briefly hit a record high, shares of Acorda Therapeutics Inc. shares of a drug developer Acorda Therapeutics saw some record activity of their own after the company announced the success of a late-stage clinical trial. On Monday, shares of the Hawthorne, N.Y., biotech nearly quadrupled, after it said its treatment for multiple sclerosis improved the wal ...

WASHINGTON (AFX) - Moody's Investors Service said Friday that it is placing its credit ratings for chicken processor Pilgrim's Pride Corp. under review for a possible downgrade in response to Pilgrim's $1 billion hostile takeover bid for its smaller rival Gold Kist Inc. Moody's also said that it was reviewing Gold Kist's credit ratings for possible upgrades. In addition to its $1 billion bid for ...

By Michael Taylor LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 index finished down on the last trading day of the quarter, as weaker commodities cancelled out takeover-inspired gains and investors hedged their bets before the weekend. The index earlier broke through the 6,000-point psychological level for the first time since mid-May, but then dropped back with Wall Street largely flat on Friday. The FTSE 100 closed down 10.5 points or 0.18 percent, at 5,960.8. The banking sector featured amongst the hig ...

(Updating with full report) LONDON (AFX) - The FTSE 100 closed lower today, hit by profit taking after breaching the 6,000 level this morning, with a reversal in commodity stocks and an uncertain start by Wall Street making investors nervous ahead of the weekend, dealers said. The FTSE 100 index closed 10.5 points lower at 5,960.8, after climbing to 6,002.9 in early deals, its highest levels sin ...

MUNICH, Germany (AFX) - The German mobile-phone unit of Taiwan's BenQ Corp. filed for insolvency Friday, endangering 3,000 jobs and drawing a suggestion from former owner Siemens AG of legal action against the Taiwanese electronics company. An administrative court in Munich, where the BenQ unit is based, said it received the application for insolvency protection on Friday morning and was examinin ...

LONDON (AFX) - The FTSE 100 remained slightly lower in midafternoon deals, weighed down by profit taking after breaching the 6,000 level this morning, with a reversal in commodity stocks and weakness in Standard Chartered all weighing, dealers said. By 15.30 pm, the FTSE 100 index was down 1.7 points at 5,969.6, after climbing to 6,002.9 in early deals, its highest levels since May. The broader  ...

PARIS (AFX) - Share prices were higher in late afternoon trade, boosted by end-of-quarter window dressing and after the US bellwether DJIA index hit record levels not seen since Jan 2000, but were off highs as Wall Street made a slow start, dealers said. At 3.40 pm, the CAC-40 index was up 14.62 or 0.28 pct at 5,264.63. Volume was 2.1 bln eur. On the Matif, October CAC-40 futures were trading up ...

Tom Nicholls, Evening Standard29 September 2006 Is the £5.7bn bid for Anglian Water Group coming? The company's shares advanced 3p to 1531p today after a trading statement saying it had shrugged off the effects of this year's socalled drought and performed materially above management expectations in the half year to the end of September. OTHER STORIES BA staff to work 10 years l ...

By Lincoln Feast LONDON (Reuters) - Solid profits, expensive alternative investments and confidence that the U.S. Federal Reserve has ended more than two years of rate hikes will push European equities ahead in the fourth quarter, strategists said. While global growth is expected to slow, led by a cooling U.S. economy, the landing is likely to be soft and is already discounted in relatively attractive valuations across much of the market, they said on Friday. Equities have seen a strong three ...