Shares News

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 ...

FRANKFURT (AFX) - Shares were slightly higher in midday trade as Commerzbank soared on fresh takeover speculation, which emerged on the back of expectations of a merger between Italy's Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI, though a rise in oil prices limited gains for the blue-chips, dealers said. At 11.58 am, the DAX 30 index was 5.05 points or 0.09 pct higher at 5,819.13, having moved between 5,808.05 ...

By Mark Potter LONDON (Reuters) - ISoft (IOT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday it had secured financing for the next 15 months, reviving its shares and giving fresh hope for a massive, but much delayed, upgrade of computer systems for the NHS. ISoft has contracts to provide software to Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Accenture (ACN.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , two firms leading a 6.2-billion-pound revamp of technology for Britain's National Hea ...

LONDON (AFX) - UK blue chips turned weaker in thin midmorning trade, reversing earlier good gains following as expected UK GDP data, although banks remained in demand on the back of revived M&A speculation, dealers said. At 10.18 am, the FTSE 100 was 2.8 points lower at 5,866.3, just off a session low of 5,866.0, well below an earlier peak of 5,893.6. All the broader FTSE indices, however, h ...

LONDON (AFX) - Smaller companies are increasingly considering a switch from the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) to a full listing on the London Stock Exchange as they seek to attract more institutional fund money, according to Catherine Stanley, manager of the F&C UK Smaller Companies Fund. "AIM has been an incredible success story," she said. "Its flexible listing requirem ...

SHANGHAI (XFN-ASIA) - A-shares in Shanghai and Shenzhen closed flat with investors remaining cautious ahead of the compensation plan to be issued by China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) (SHA 600028; HK 0386; NYSE SNP) covering the restructuring of its state share holdings on Monday, dealers said. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A- and B-shares listed on the Shan ...

PARIS (AFX) - Market data at 9.54 am: Major indices: CAC-40 up 18.41 points or 0.36 pct at 5,131.26 SBF-80 up 33.05 points or 0.58 pct at 5,705.02 SBF-120 up 15.81 points or 0.43 pct at 3,707.70 Volume: 260 mln eur 22 CAC-40 stocks up 16 CAC-40 stocks down 1 CAC-40 stock unchanged (CAC-40 index has 39 stocks pending replacement for Arcelor) Major gainers: Safran, up 1.30 eur or 8.92  ...

SHANGHAI (XFN-ASIA) - B-shares in Shanghai and Shenzhen closed slightly higher on trade in blue chip stocks, with property developers gaining following their A-share peers, dealers said. The Shanghai B-share Index rose 0.19 points to 90.22 on turnover of 78.60 mln usd and the Shenzhen B-share Index was up 0.16 points at 286.29 on turnover of 773.56 mln hkd. "Property companies with a low de ...

(Updating with full company details) LONDON (AFX) - Leading shares traded higher in early deals, with Lloyds TSB among the top gainers on the back of M&A speculation and with mining issues offering support following a fresh rise in commodity prices, dealers said. At 8.53 am, the FTSE 100 traded 19.5 points to the better at 5,888.6, while the broader indices also managed moderate gains. Volu ...

LONDON (AFX) - UK small caps opened higher, underpinned by the wider market and iSoft, where contract news and relief that its bankers are backing the troubled healthcare software group triggered a sharp recovery in the stock, dealers said. The FTSE Small Cap index was 1.6 up at 3,407.5 by 9.09 am, while the FTSE 100 was 19.4 ahead at 5,888.5. Shares in iSOFT staged a welcome rally, bouncing bac ...