Shares News

By Mark Potter and Julien Ponthus LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Mittal Steel (MT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) expects to launch a long-awaited offer for Arcelor within days, it said on Friday, even as Arcelor unveiled its latest attempt to thwart a tie-up of the world's biggest steel makers. Mittal, global number one, said it expected to open its cash-and-share offer for Arcelor (CELR.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) , currently worth 20.8 billion euros (14.2 billion pounds), early next week -- mo ...

By Michael Kahn SANTA CLARA, California (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on Thursday he has a five-year target to gain a bigger slice of the lucrative online advertising market dominated by Google Inc. (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and Yahoo Inc. (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Speaking at a business luncheon in Silicon Valley, Ballmer said he did not enjoy trailing the two Web advertising leaders but predi ...

This is Money12 May 2006 A YOUNG entrepreneur has become a multi-millionaire after selling an internet business he started as a teenager. WORTH MILLIONS: Andrew Michael is now worth more £40m WANT TO KNOW MORE? TAKE A LOOK: Fasthosts.co.uk READER SERVICES: Buy a small business GUIDES: Starting your own business OTHER STORIES Brown and Blair in pensions pact Personal info sellers face jail Market report: Friday 12.00 Takeover of Ottakar's gets green light A lic ...

This is Money12 May 2006 A YOUNG entrepreneur has become a multi-millionaire after selling an internet business he started as a teenager. WORTH MILLIONS: Andrew Michael is now worth more £40m WANT TO KNOW MORE? TAKE A LOOK: Fasthosts.co.uk READER SERVICES: Buy a small business GUIDES: Starting your own business OTHER STORIES Forget catalogues, try a blog Give us a voice and then listen Could you be a winner? Kick the habit for better returns Windfall for small ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Today's mobile, property-rich retirees have relocated to the south, but the next generation is looking north for value, according to a new survey. Currently Southern England contains the UK's top three retirement hotspots -- Christchurch in Hampshire, Rother in East Sussex and West Somerset. Almost a third of their populations are made up of men and women above retirement age, compared to a national average of 19 percent. However, the next wave of later-life havens is begin ...

Investors bought shares in clothing retailer Next on Friday after Deutsche Bank upgraded the clothing chain to buy, citing recent positive performance in the retail sector. Nextshares rose 0.8% in London's FTSE 100 index, making it one of the top gainers in a lower benchmark. "Given (their) low valuation, we think Next's shares will rise usefully over the next few weeks," the bank said. It n ...

U.K. shares broke below the key 6,000-point level at midday Friday, pressured by declines from commodity-price-sensitive mining and oil companies. The benchmark FTSE 100 indexdeclined 1.5%, or 88.60 points, to trade at 5,953. The FTSE hasn't ended below 6,000 since the end of March. European markets were also under pressure after a sell-off overnight in the U.S. as higher commodity prices st ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Property company Land Securities is expected to post a 4 percent rise in annual profit on Wednesday when investors will be looking for comment on the company becoming a REIT. British property companies' share prices saw big gains in March after the government announced flexible terms for the introduction of tax-efficient Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) next year. On Frid ...

LONDON (Reuters) - National Grid is expected to unveil a 9 percent rise in full-year profit on Thursday from good U.S. growth and higher income from UK gas capacity auctions, analysts say. Lower finance costs, better exchange rates and more efficiency gains are also expected to bolster a strong full year performance for the gas and electricity network operator. Nine analysts polled by Reuters predict a pretax profit before exceptional items of between 1.81 billion pounds and 2.09 billion pound ...

By Keiron Henderson LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 slid 1.5 percent to its lowest level in six weeks as dollar earners such as Amvescap and Wolseley dropped with the U.S. currency, joining a big retreat by resource stocks. Anglo-U.S. fund manager Amvescap (AVZ.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and plumbing equipment maker Wolseley (WOS.L: Quote, Profile, Research) , both heavily reliant on U.S. earnings, slid around 4 percent. The dollar hit 1-year lows against the pound and euro, raising the pr ...