Barclays accelerates Africa strategy
6th Dec 2012 09:03
Barclays bank and its subsidiary Absa Group have agreed to combine the majority of Barclays Africa operations with Absa. The banking giant hopes that the plan will position it as the "go-to bank" on the continent and is expected to bolster plans to expand corporate banking, market activities and ba
Read moreLondon open: Stocks edge higher ahead of rate decisions
6th Dec 2012 08:26
Stocks started Thursday's session with moderate gains on the back of hopes that US politicians are nearing an agreement on the 'fiscal cliff', as markets looked ahead to policy announcements in both the UK and Europe. "European headline shares opened vigilantly today as a raft of economic data due
Read moreTuesday broker round-up UPDATE
4th Dec 2012 07:35
Anite: Panmure Gordon moves target price from 163p to 165p; buy recommendation kept. Canaccord Genuity raises target price from 143p to 169p and maintains a buy recommendation. Ashtead: Seymour Pierce raises target price from 400p to 460p and reiterates its buy recommendation. Barclays: Credit Sui
Read moreLondon close: Stocks pare gains after US ISM data
3rd Dec 2012 16:52
- US manufacturing sector in contraction - Chinese and India data lifts markets early on - Banking fall after BoE FLS details The FTSE 100 index was set to finish Monday's session with decent gains until a worse-than-expected reading of US manufacturing caused markets across Europe to trim gains by
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks fall after BoE lending scheme underwhelms
3rd Dec 2012 15:38
UK banking group Lloyds was under the weather after the release of the details of the Bank of England's (BoE's) Funding For Lending (FLS) scheme in the third quarter. The BoE revealed that Lloyds, along with RBS, had cut net lending by £2.77bn and £642m, respectively, in the three months to the en
Read moreLondon midday: Markets rise after manufacturing data
3rd Dec 2012 11:35
- Chinese and Indian PMIs improve - UK manufacturing PMI beats forecasts - Miners provide a lift in London The Footsie had held on to gains by Monday lunchtime after some decent manufacturing figures from China and India, though the mood was cautious on the back of uncertainties surrounding the US
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
30th Nov 2012 07:24
Aggreko: Berenberg initiates with a target price of 2010p and a hold recommendation. APR Energy: Berenberg starts with a target price of 610p and a sell recommendation. Babcock International Group: Berenberg initiates with a target price of 1180p and a buy recommendation. Barclays: UBS raises tar
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Direct Line, British banks, The Independent takeover...
30th Nov 2012 07:00
Direct Line has announced another 236 jobs cuts as the newly-floated insurance giant moves towards slicing costs by 100 million pounds by the end of 2014. The fresh round of streamlining comes on top of previously-announced plans to shed 970 jobs across the group's UK operations, which employed abou
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: BP, Brazil, Comet...
29th Nov 2012 07:00
BP has been blocked from seeking new contracts with the US government because of the oil company's lack of business integrity' during the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, the Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday. The temporary order bans BP from competing for new oil leases in the Gulf of Mexi
Read moreLondon close: Markets pare gains as investors digest Greek deal
27th Nov 2012 16:39
- Europe grants Greece more aid - OECD cuts growth estimates - Footsie comes off day's highs by the close After a solid start for the Footsie following last night's Greek bailout deal, gains were pared by the close of trade on Tuesday with some saying that the agreement just kicks the can down the
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks give FTSE boost
27th Nov 2012 15:21
Banking peers Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds and Barclays were registering decent gains as investors built positions in 'riskier' assets. RBS was benefitting this morning from an rating upgrade by UBS to 'buy'. Meanwhile, Barclays Capital raised its target price for both RBS and Lloyds, helping prov
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks hold on to gains despite gloomy OECD forecast
27th Nov 2012 11:28
- Greek aid deal lifts stocks - OECD cuts growth forecasts - UK Q3 GDP growth confirmed at one per cent Stock markets across Europe were trading firmly in positive territory on Tuesday morning following last night's Greek aid deal; however the bounce was only moderate with analysts saying that the
Read moreLondon open: Footsie gains after Greek deal
27th Nov 2012 08:25
Banks and mining stocks were providing a lift to equity markets on Tuesday morning as risk appetite increased on the back of last night's Greek bailout deal. After countless delays, Eurozone finance ministers finally inked out an agreement on Greece, giving the green light to the disbursement of th
Read moreLondon close: Stocks dragged into the red by Barclays
26th Nov 2012 16:25
- Osborne names Canadian as new Bank of England chief - Agreement on Greece a real possibility tonight - Barclays leads bank stocks lower UK equities ended the day firmly lower, with banks weighing heavily on the Footsie after Deutsche Bank AG and Goldman Sachs agreed to sell as many as 303.3m sha
Read moreSector Movers: Banks become biggest fallers, dragged by Barclays
26th Nov 2012 15:44
Barclays shares dropped five per cent after Qatar disposed of its remaining warrants in the bank, pulling the entire banking sector lower. Even a boost from JP Morgan, which raised its target price from 250p to 320p and upgraded the stock to overweight, was not enough to stop the group from fallin
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