Oil services company Petrofac (PFC) fell 5.6% as it laid bare the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the business and announced further cost cuts to help it weather the storm.The company lifted its cost cutting target while reiterating guidance for 'materially lower' profits in 2020 after the Covid-19 pandemic smashed crude markets.Revenue for the year through December is expected to be around $4

UK stocks closed lower on Monday as investors took new localised Covid-19 restrictions outlined by prime minister Boris Johnson in their strideThe FTSE 100 index ended 15 points lower at 6,001 with gains in financial companies offsetting weakness in energy and consumer stocks.As expected, Johnson announced a three-tier grading system - medium, high and very high - for restrictions that could force

UK stocks traded almost unchanged on Monday as investors braced themselves for the introduction of new local Covid-19 meaures to be outlined later in the day by prime minister Boris Johnson.The FTSE 100 index added 5 points to 6,022 with gains in financial companies offsetting weakness in energy and consumer stocks.Johnson is expected to announce a three-tier grading system for restrictions that c

Oil services firm Petrofac (PFC) nudged 1.2% higher to 199p despite suspending its dividend as part of its response to the coronavirus outbreak.Firms which provide goods, materials, tools and services to the oil industry are likely to see orders drop off a cliff as spending is deferred or cancelled amid the collapse in oil prices.Investment bank Goldman Sachs recently upgraded its recommendation o

After US markets traded at all-time highs yesterday, and Asian stocks surfed to 18-month highs earlier, it was the turn of UK stocks to take up the running.However screens were red at the open after prime minister Boris Johnson appeared to rule out any extension to the December 2020 Brexit deadline. The FTSE 100 index of leading stocks fell 0.3% at 7,498 while the FTSE 250 index dropped 0.8% to 21

Further weakness in oil prices has served to weigh on shares in the oil sector and by default pull down the FTSE 100, 54.5 points lower at 6,718.8 early on. Any movement in Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB), down 2.5% at £22.80 and BP (BP.), off 9.1p at 499.5p, have a direct influence on the direction of the blue chip index because they are among its largest constituents. The blue chip benchmark is suffer

The ability of oil services firm Petrofac (PFC) to secure lots of fresh work despite being under the cloud of a fraud investigation is impressive with order intake of $1.8bn in the year to date.However, investors appear to be somewhat concerned by a creeping increase in net debt from $0.6bn at the start of 2017 to $0.9bn and the shares are broadly flat at 534.2p.There are several other bright spot

London's blue chip FTSE 100 index is dragged lower by ailing commodities stocks, falling 0.3% to 6,371. Asian exchanges traded lower overnight with ongoing economic concerns on China and a potential December US interest rate hike weighing on Hong Kong in particular. The Hang Seng index fell 1.9%. Sterling weakness continues into the end of the week. Trading at $1.505 it is around 2 cents cheaper

Oil services firm Petrofac (PFC) slumps 12.2% to 890.5p as it reveals it expects to recognise a further $195 million loss on the Laggan-Tomore gas plant project in Shetland in 2015- effectively amounting to a substantial profit warning. But beyond the loss perhaps more relevant to investors' view of the stock is what it says about execution.A $230 million loss had already been recognised on Laggan

The sharp decline in the oil price since June has put commodities back on the mainstream news agenda as investors speculate where energy, metal and food prices are headed next. The direction of oil, copper, wheat and other commodities are hugely relevant to investors as they are key raw materials for companies around the world, not to mention a major influence on the cost of everyday living.Amid c

Industrial Metals & Mining has been the worst performing FTSE All-Share sector for two consecutive years after a slowdown in global economic activity and a sharp drop in the price of industrial commodities. We now rate the sector as a 'speculative buy' in the belief depressed share prices are bottoming out and there are small signs of economic strength in many parts of the world.December's HSBC Fl