April 2012 UK Share Price and Stock Market News Archive

As reported by the BBC, shares in Hon Hai, owner of Foxconn, fell after the electronic parts maker announced weaker-than-anticipated profits for 2012’s first quarter. Its shares dropped by about 7% during early trading. Last Saturday it reported making a net profit of about NT $14.9 billion ($511 million, or £314 million) during the...

As reported by the BBC, automobile giants Chrysler, Fiat and Volkswagen have all announced surges in first-quarter profits while the world car market recovers. Chrysler, which is now managed by Italy's Fiat, reported net profits of $473 million, its highest quarterly profit in thirteen years. This pushed Fiat’s overall net profits up by...

According to the BBC, IT giant Apple has reported that its profits nearly doubled in January, February and March of 2012. The firm said its net profit reached at $11.6 billion (£7.2 billion), a rise from $6 billion from the same period in 2011 and far better than what was previously expected. The firm sold 35 million iPhones during the...

As reported by the BBC, EU shares have slightly improved from Monday's abrupt falls as investors recuperate from worsening projections of Greek economic contractions and rising Spanish bond yields. Meanwhile, Holland and Italy were forced to pay higher rates to borrow money. France's Cac40 went up by 2.3%, the UK's FTSE 100 rose 0.8%, and...

As reported by the BBC, stock markets have dropped after weak manufacturing figures and political uncertainty in the Netherlands and France hit investor confidence. German shares dropped 3.4%, French stocks fell by 2.8%, UK stocks slid down 1.9%, while Wall Street fell 0.8%. Last Sunday, President Nicolas Sarkozy lost narrowly to...

As reported by the BBC, twin brothers from the UK are facing US civil charges for supposedly swindling investors out of $1.2 million (£745,000) through a sham stock-picking robot. Thomas and Alexander Hunter, from Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, were just 16 when, in 2007, they invented the robot scheme, dubbed Marl, report US officials. The...

As reported by the BBC, Goldman Sachs has reported that its profits dropped 23% in the last quarter, but still defeated analyst expectations. Net income dropped to $2.1 billion (£1.3 billion) during the first three months of 2012, from $2.7 billion during the same period in 2011. The bank said that staff salaries and bonuses were $4.4...

As reported by the BBC, during a rare demonstration of investor discontent, Citigroup shareholders have gone against granting top executives a higher pay deal. The deal, which had raised CEO Vikram Pandit's salary to $15 million (£9 million), was backed by only 45% of shareholders. The board of Citigroup said it would meet with...

As reported by the BBC, struggling Internet company Yahoo has watched its profit climb 28% during the first three months of 2012. The California-based company reported a net income of $286 million for revenue of about $1.08 billion in the quarter. Yahoo has around 700 million users, but has failed to compete with Google in the search...

As reported by Business Week, although Apple had been propelling the Nasdaq forward for most of the year, it has been doing just the opposite during the past few days. The Nasdaq composite index, in which Apple accounts for 12%, was down on Monday afternoon, and dragged lower by the company’s fifth straight day of regression. This was a...

As reported by Market Watch, the American stock market’s recent drop may cause a full-fledged correction during the days ahead while the first-quarter earnings season goes into full swing. However, earnings may also be the vehicle for a rebound. Phil Orlando, who is chief equity market strategist for Federated Investors, says earnings...

As reported by the BBC, Myanmar is to have a new stock exchange, as Daiwa Securities and the Tokyo Stock Exchange received preliminary authorization to help establish it. A Daiwa spokesperson says it will work with Myanmar’s central bank to set up the exchange before 2015. Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is seeking to lure more...

As reported by the BBC, US shares gained value on Wednesday after a losing streak of five sessions in row. The Dow Jones index also went up 0.7%, helped by positive results from the aluminium maker, Alcoa, which caused a 6% increase in its shares. EU markets also went higher on Wednesday, making a small recovery from Tuesday's big losses....

As reported by the BBC, Japanese stocks dropped for the seventh session in a row as new fears about the health of the global economy initiated a global sell-off. Shedding 0.8% was the Nikkei 225 index, while Australia's ASX 200 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng also dropped by 1%. Worries about the EU debt crisis and the American economic recovery...

As reported by Arab News, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has called for tough new measures against any potential manipulation of the stock market. The move was much welcomed by Saudi-based shares analysts yesterday. A spokesperson at the Capital Market Authority (CMA) has refused to comment on allegations that its Chairman Abdulrahman...

As reported by the BBC, world stock markets have dropped on fears over the health of the US and EU economies. In Europe, shares dropped after a unsatisfactory Spanish bond sale. French and German shares fell nearly 3%. The European Central Bank says it will not roll back austerity measures to tackle the EU debt crisis, which is adding to...

As reported by the Guardian, fast food giant Burger King, which is overhauling its stores and menus, has announced its intentions to be relisted on the NY stock exchange before July. The New York-based investment company 3G Capital stated it was selling a 29 percent stake in the globe’s second biggest burger chain for $1.4 billion (£880...

As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, European debt worsened again as a worry over Wall Street drove stocks to their biggest loss in a month. The Dow Jones industrial lost 125 points, while the price of gold plummeted to its lowest since January. This is the second time in 2012 the Dow has seen a triple-digit decline, with the average...

As reported by the BBC, the proprietor of British Airways, IAG, has been approved for the business takeover of BMI from present owners Lufthansa. European authorities confirmed the deal after IAG decided to relinquish landing spots at Heathrow airport. IAG, which owns Iberia as well, and BMI would have together controlled 53% of landing...

As reported by the BBC, Game Group has announced that OpCapita has purchased 333 of its shops in the UK. The deal will safeguard the positions of nearly 3,200 Game Group staff members. A few people from head office, who had previously been made redundant, may also be get their jobs back. OpCapita, an investment firm that specialises in...

As reported by The Advertiser, the stock market has just seen its best first quarter performance in 14 years. The optimistic figures have sent Wall Street analysts, many of whose predictions seemed too sunny about three months ago, hurrying to raise their approximations for the year. Robert Doll, who is chief equity investment manager with...