Share Prices News Page 5

Miner BHP Billiton said that output of iron ore for the second three months of the year had increased by 15 per cent. Production for the year was 159 million tonnes which is a record for the firm. The second quarter growth comes even though there are concerns that China’s demand continues to weaken. The company previously said that it was...

JPMorgan Chase has extended its estimated recent trading losses to $5.8 billion. However, the company’s shares rose on news that last quarter profits hit a better than expected $4.96 billion. Friday’s trading in New York saw the firm’s share price rise by 5.8 per cent. Originally JPMorgan said that its losses were estimated to be $2...

A decision by the central bank of South Korea to slash interest rates has resulted in a share price drop across Asia. The shares index of the South Korea Kopsi fell by 2.2 per cent as interest rates were reduced from 3.25 per cent to 3 per cent. The decision has caused analysts to suspect that the economic situation in the country has...

Burberry, the fashion group, has announced that a growth of sales in the Asian market has led to a boost in revenues for the last quarter. For the three months ending in June the company said it had increased revenue by 11 per cent to £408 million. However, Burberry shares have fallen in value by 7.4 per cent because the growth fell short...

Marks and Spencer has posted a second-quarter sales drop which was in part blamed on stock issues at the start of the year and unseasonably poor weather. It has also announced a management shake up which will see Kate Bosworth step down from her position as head of general merchandise. Like-for-like sales in the UK between April and June...

Alcoa, the American aluminium producer, has posted a second-quarter loss of $2 million. The announcement comes as the price of aluminium drops to its lowest level in two years. The price of the metal is currently 18 per cent lower than it was last year which has caused Alcoa to see a loss compared to a $322 million profit in the same quarter...

Unimpressive jobs data in the US has caused shares to slip. Figures for June showed that 80,000 new jobs had been created which was 20,000 short of the figure required by the Federal Reserve to announce that the job market is stable. The Dow Jones fell 1 per cent on the report. Although President Barack Obama said the jobs figures were...

Insurance firm Aviva has announced that it is to increase its target for cost saving and implement a broad disposal plan in an effort to turn its share price around. According to executive chairman Jon McFarlane the moves should mean that the company will not have to reduce its dividend or issue new shares. Aviva recently embarked on a...

Stock prices in the EU have declined as investor attention turns towards a meeting of the European Central Bank. Shares in energy firms have seen a decline as oil prices retreat from Tuesday’s five-week high. In London, Tullow Oil lost 1.9 per cent and Statoil, the Norwegian gas and oil group, shed 1.6 per cent. The banks have also seen...

Shares at Barclays seem to have steadied following the announcement that Bob Diamond, the bank’s chief executive, is stepping down. According to analysts his resignation will help to take some of the heat currently focused on Barclays because of the libor-fixing scandal away. In a statement Mr Diamond said he had taken the decision to...