Shares News

Spam messages that tout stocks and shares can have real effects on the markets, a study suggests. E-mails typically promote penny shares in the hope of convincing people to buy into a company to raise its price. People who respond to the "pump and dump" scam can lose 8% of their investment in two days. Conversely, the spammers who buy low-priced stock before sending the e-mails, typically see a return of between 4.9% and 6% when they sell. The study recently published on the Social Science  ...

U.S. stock futures are pointing to a slightly higher open Friday ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, but a spike in oil prices fueled by concern a storm could hit the vital Gulf of Mexico region will likely put a cap on gains. Dow futures were up 5 points at 11,306, Nasdaq 100 futures inched up 1 point to 1,558.23 while S&P 500 futures rose 1.10 points to 1,297.20. ...

By Michael Smith LONDON (Reuters) - Low-cost carrier Ryanair said on Friday it had submitted a claim for just over 3 million pounds in compensation from the government after stepped-up airport security forced it to cancel flights. Ryanair lodged the claim which it said reflected losses from cancellations and lost bookings over the week of August 10 to 16, the airline said in a statement. However, the Department for Transport said Ryanair had no legal grounds to seek compensation. Other airlin ...

LONDON (AFX) - UK blue chips hovered around the flat-line at midday, reversing earlier good gains, as a mixed mining sector and indications of a weaker opening on Wall Street outweighed firm banking stocks, dealers said. By 12.10 pm, the FTSE 100 was 1.8 points lower at 5,867.3, well below an earlier peak of 5,893.6. All the broader FTSE indices, however, remained in positive territory. And vol ...

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) -- J. Crew Group Inc. said late Thursday that its second-quarter loss widened over last year's as the heavy costs of debt and preferred dividends outweighed double-digit gains in sales and operating income, but raised its fiscal-year earnings expectations. In its first filing since going public last month, the New York-based apparel retailer said it lost $2.8 million,  ...

LONDON (AFX) - UK small caps remained higher at midday, underpinned by the wider market and iSoft, where contract news, partnered with relief that its bankers are backing the troubled healthcare software group, triggered a sharp recovery in the stock, dealers said. By midday the FTSE Small Cap index was up 3.8 at 3,409.3 with the wider market also in the blue. Shares in iSOFT staged a welcome ra ...

LONDON (AFX) - Lombard Medical Technologies PLC today dashed hopes of a speedy roll-out of its key product, a stent graft used to treat aneurysms, when it revealed that Boston Scientific Corp has chosen not to take up an option to exclusively distribute the device outside the US. The loss of the US medical devices giant was seen as a blow to the AIM-listed company, and its shares were marked down ...

LONDON (AFX) - The following is a compilation of UK smaller company results due out in the 2 weeks to Sep 8. WEDNESDAY AUG 30 Ongoing problems at two of Filtrona PLC's factories are likely to leave interim profits only slightly ahead, but investor focus will be on FractureCode, the track and trace security printing technology, according to Andrew Darke of Evolution Securities. The early optimis ...

By Michael Smith LONDON (Reuters) - Low-cost carrier Ryanair said on Friday it had submitted a claim for just over 3 million pounds in compensation from the government after stepped-up airport security forced it to cancel flights. Ryanair lodged the claim which it said reflected losses from cancellations and lost bookings over the week of August 10 to 16, the airline said in a statement. However, the Department for Transport said Ryanair had no legal grounds to seek compensation. Other airlin ...

PARIS (AFX) - Shares were flat at midday, awaiting direction from the US as corporate news in France remained fairly thin, dealers said. At 12.22 pm, the CAC-40 index was up 1.24 points or 0.02 pct at 5,114.09. Of the 39 stocks currently in the index as it awaits a replacement for Arcelor, 18 were down, 16 were up and five were unchanged. Volume remained slow at 854 mln eur. Among the broader  ...