London pre-open: FTSE to rise as UK outlook improves
9th Oct 2012 07:29
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 15 points from yesterday's close of 5,842, despite news that the International Monetary Fund has slashed global growth forecasts. The UK was not immune to the downgrades: the economy is now expected to contract by 0.4% this year, down from the previou
Read moreING takes loss on sale of online UK bank to Barclays
9th Oct 2012 07:05
Banking giant Barclays is to acquire the deposits, mortgages and business assets of ING Direct UK from Dutch finance house ING. Barclays will acquire a deposit book with balances of £10.9bn and a mortgage book with outstanding balances of £5.6bn, as at August 31st 2012. Reports suggest that Barclay
Read moreLondon midday: Worries over growth hit the miners
8th Oct 2012 11:41
- Global growth concerns weigh on cyclicals - Investors worries about Eurozone uncertainty - Evraz sinks after gloomy broker comments After a steep fall early on, the FTSE 100 traded sideways for most of the morning session with cyclical stocks (including the miners and banks) dampened by concerns
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Greece, BAE Systems, Britain´s banks
7th Oct 2012 18:06
Greece cannot have more time to repay its debt to the European Central Bank because it would be illegal and "illogical", board member Joerg Asmussen has said, as he shut the door on pleas for leniency from the bank. Mr Asmussen said that the ECB could not lengthen the time period for loans to Greece
Read moreThursday tips round-up: Marstons, British lenders, Dunelm
4th Oct 2012 07:08
The Times Tempus column tips Marston's, which is investing spare cash in new-build freehold pubs offering informal eating and drinking in a pleasant environment. The benefit of this strategy was evident in yesterday's pre-close trading update. Marston's revealed that a revaluation of its pub estate
Read moreWednesday broker round-up - UPDATE
3rd Oct 2012 09:06
African Barrick Gold: Westhouse Secuirites raises target from 464p to 495p. AG Barr: Panmure Gordon keeps hold rating and 440p target. AstraZeneca: Panmure Gordon downgrades from buy to hold, target cut from 3,100p to 3,000p. Barclays: UBS downgrades from buy to neutral, 235p target unchanged. B
Read moreLondon close: Spanish concerns dampen stocks
2nd Oct 2012 16:37
- Moody's to reveal Spanish review this month - Banks provide a drag on the Footsie - Bumi and Bank of Georgia are big movers on FTSE 250 After a morning rally into the blue, the Footsie had dropped back into negative territory by the close of trade on Tuesday with uncertainty surrounding Spain con
Read moreLondon close: Stocks surge after US data, Spanish stress tests
1st Oct 2012 16:45
- US data beats forecasts in September - Reports imply Germany may soften stance on Greece - Banks and miners rise strongly in London - Credit Suisse says Spanish stress test a "generally credible exercise" - Credit Suisse says larger top-down questions remain in stress tests Better-than-forecast m
Read moreSector movers: Banks, miners lead markets higher
1st Oct 2012 16:30
Increased risk appetite was benefitting the banking and mining sectors on Monday afternoon as benchmarks across Europe surged higher. Friday's release by Oliver Wyman on the Spanish financial sector was lifting sentiment on markets today. The independent auditor estimated that banks would need €59.
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Xstrata rises after agreeing to merger with Glencore
1st Oct 2012 14:46
The big news of the day was that the so-called merger of equals between commodities trader Glencore and mining titan Xstrata is back on after the independent directors of the latter agreed to Glencore's terms. Jefferies reiterated its positive stance on both stocks this morning, saying that while th
Read moreLondon midday: Strong start to Q4; Footsie up one per cent
1st Oct 2012 11:24
- Investors taking advantage of underpriced stocks, says analyst - Asian and UK data disappoints - Xstrata rises after agreeing terms with Glencore London's blue-chip index gained strongly in morning trading on Monday with increased risk appetite benefitting the banking and mining sectors as stocks
Read moreMonday broker round-up
1st Oct 2012 08:58
Barclays: Liberum Capital upgrades to buy, target lifted from 210p to 245p. British American Tobacco: Investec upgrades to buy. Capital & Counties: Seymour Pierce downgrades from buy to add, 233p target kept. Charles Stanley: Peel Hunt downgrades to hold. Electrocomponents: Panmure Gordon downgr
Read moreLondon open: Stocks shrug off disappointing Asian data
1st Oct 2012 08:34
- UK stocks make strong gains early on - Japanese, Chinese figures disappoint - Xstrata rises after agreeing terms with Glencore UK equities advanced on Monday morning in spite of some disappointing economic data from Asia as stock markets kicked off the fourth quarter on a positive note. The Bank
Read moreSeveral years hard LIBOR
28th Sep 2012 12:03
The Financial Services Authority's report into the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) scandal recommends that the British Bankers' Association (BBA) should have no further role in the setting of the key interest rate. FSA Managing Director Martin Wheatley, also told the BBC that, in future, bank
Read moreRegenersis CFO buys stake as firm unveils strong results
26th Sep 2012 15:56
Jog Dhody, the Chief Financial Officer of Regenersis, a consumer electronics repair specialist, bought a stake in the firm on Tuesday, opening his account on the same day it posted a 24 per cent rise in operating profits. Dhogy, who joined the board in March of this year, purchased 155,987 shares
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