Financial News

Strong financial sector earnings could not sustain European equity markets on Tuesday as US data showed consumer confidence had fallen in Europe’s largest export market and last week’s feverish enthusiasm for utilities consolidation cooled. // The Eurofirst 300 index shed 1.4 per cent or 19.24 points to 1,344.49, slipping back from Monday’s fresh 4½ year high. AXA, the French insurer, hit a fou ...

The contrasting fortunes of two high street banks were a stand-out feature as leading London equities endured their worst day of the year on Tuesday. // Alliance & Leicester was the biggest faller, down 5 per cent to £10.69, as investors punished the lender for its badly-received annual figures on Monday. Michael Helsby, analyst at Fox-Pitt, Kelton, said A&L management had given a “very  ...

Italian politicians are considering countering the proposed French merger of Suez with state-owned Gaz de France by creating an even bigger Italian national champion in the energy sector. // The proposal would fuse Eni, the oil and gas group, with Enel, Italy’s dominant electricity operator, in what would become one of Europe’s biggest companies. The Italian state is the main shareholder in both  ...

Italy is turning up the heat after French firms Suez and Gaz de France unveiled plans to form Europe's second biggest energy firm after France's EDF. On Tuesday, Italy held talks with its own energy champion, Enel, which had also been a possible suitor for Suez. Rome also dispatched a senior minister to Brussels to lobby the EU on concerns Enel was unfairly blocked from growing in France by the planned merger. Brussels has indicated the Paris-driven merger broke no rules. Round of meetings  ...

By Tony Barber in RomePublished: February 28 2006 16:15 | Last updated: February 28 2006 16:15Italian politicians are considering countering the proposed French merger of Suez with state-owned Gaz de France by creating an even bigger Italian national champion in the energy sector. The proposal would fuse Eni, the oil and gas group, with Enel, Italy's dominant electricity operator, in what would b ...

Michael Clarke, This is Money28 February 2006 DANIEL Hanbury is regarded as one of the fund world's rising stars and has recently taken over Investec's UK Alpha Fund after finding success with the UK Smaller Companies Fund. WANT TO KNOW MORE? ADVICE & TIPS: Investing DEALFINDER: Share dealing POLL: Where will the FTSE 100 finish at the end of 2006? OTHER STORIES Market report: T ...

By Miyoung Kim LONDON (Reuters) - Alliance UniChem (AUN.L: Quote, Profile, Research) , which is in the process of merging with beauty products retailer Boots Group, reported a 10 percent rise in 2005 pretax profit and said it was confident of future growth. Alliance UniChem, Europe's second-biggest drugs distributor behind Germany's Celesio AG (CLSG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) , expected growt ...

By Miyoung Kim LONDON (Reuters) - Alliance UniChem, which is in the process of merging with Boots, reported a 10 percent rise in 2005 pretax profit and said it was confident of future growth. Alliance UniChem (AUN.L: Quote, Profile, Research) , Europe's second-biggest drugs distributor behind Germany's Celesio, expected growth in the retail market to rebound to 4 percent this year from 1.5 perce ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Alliance UniChem, which is in the process of merging with Boots, reported a 10-percent rise in 2005 pretax profit on Tuesday, helped by solid growth in its drug retail division. "Anticipated growth in the UK market in 2006 ... should continue to counter the effects on the group of regulatory reviews, particularly in France, as governments continually strive to contain costs at  ...

The Japanese stock market eked out another increase on Tuesday, with rises in many domestic sectors counterbalancing falls among commodity companies. // The Nikkei 225 managed its fourth straight rise, though there was little sense of triumph, with an increase of only 0.1 per cent to 16,205.43. The Topix was up 0.2 per cent to 1,660.42. The banking sector rose 1.1 per cent as expectations conti ...