London midday: Stocks extend gains and banks, miners advance
13th Feb 2012 11:40
- Stocks rise as Greece approves austerity package. - Banks miss 'Project Merlin' lending targets. - Vodafone confirms potential takeover of C&W Worldwide. The Footsie was trading a whole percentage point higher by midday, with banks and miners extending gains from the morning session, following
Read moreBroker tips: UK banks, Old Mutual, Entertainment One
13th Feb 2012 10:35
Nomura has today cut its ratings on UK banking peers Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) from neutral to reduce, saying that the recent strong recovery in the sector should be seen as a selling opportunity. "Both groups are banking sector restructuring stories and therefore geared to market ris
Read moreBroker snap: Nomura downgrades UK banks on weak outlook
13th Feb 2012 09:40
Nomura has today cut its ratings on UK banking peers Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) from neutral to reduce, saying that the recent strong recovery in the sector should be seen as a selling opportunity. "Both groups are banking sector restructuring stories and therefore geared to market ris
Read moreMonday broker round-up - UPDATE
13th Feb 2012 09:08
SAB Miller: Credit Suisse initiates at outperform and with a price target of 2,900p. Lloyds: Nomura downgrades from neutral to reduce, cuts target from 40p to 35p. Royal Bank of Scotland: Nomura downgrades from neutral to reduce, cuts target from 34p to 26p. Barclays: Nomura downgrades from buy
Read moreLondon close: Stocks drop as protests to Greece's austerity deal intensify
10th Feb 2012 17:01
- Another Greek minister resigns. - Miners drag Footsie lower as copper prices fall. - Barclays pares gains as profits drop. Stocks finished the session at their lowest levels of the day as the political situation in Greece took a turn for the worse with another minister handing in her resignation
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Barclays rises despite falling profits
10th Feb 2012 13:32
Barclays was topping the risers despite reporting falling profits and revenues in 2011. Of note, the bonus pool at Barclays Capital, its underperforming investment banking arm, was cut by 32%. Critically, however, the lender raised its dividend. That may have raised confidence in the lender´s abilit
Read moreLondon midday: Achtung! Greece missing debt-cutting targets
10th Feb 2012 11:36
- German Finance Minister says Greece missing targets-Bloomberg - Barclays rises after cutting bonuses, but profits fall. - Eurogroup fails to approve Greek package. - C&W Comms drops after profit warning. Stocks continued to fall by midday after Eurozone finance ministers last night refused to g
Read moreBroker tips: Barclays, Rio Tinto, InterContinental Hotels
10th Feb 2012 11:32
While Nomura notes that the Barclays full-year figures came in below expectations, owing to a shortfall in revenue, it maintains its buy rating and 268p target price for the UK lender. Nomura says that Barclays still represents a group with limited exposure to legacy risk positions and requires lit
Read moreBroker snap: Barclays numbers miss forecasts, but Nomura still says buy
10th Feb 2012 10:42
While Nomura notes that the Barclays full-year figures came in below expectations, owing to a shortfall in revenue, it maintains its buy rating and 268p target price for the UK lender. Adjusted pre-tax profit was £5.59bn, below consensus estimates of £5.8bn, while adjusted revenue missed forecasts
Read moreFriday broker round-up -UPDATE
10th Feb 2012 10:27
Ferrexpo: Rennaisance downgrades to hold. ICAP: Goldman Sachs downgrades to neutral from buy. Schroders: Goldman Sachs upgrades to buy from neutral. Next: Deutsche Bank upgrades to buy from hold. National Grid: JP Morgan downgrades to neutral from outperform. Barclays: Nomura maintains buy
Read moreLondon open: Footsie down after Eurogroup, but Barclays rises
10th Feb 2012 08:34
- Barclays rises after cutting bonuses, but profits fall. - Eurogroup fails to approve Greek package. - BCC welcomes BoE's QE boost. UK stocks opened cautiously with Eurozone finance ministers last night failing to approve the latest round of Greek aid. Yesterday afternoon, Greek Prime Minister Lu
Read moreLondon pre-open: Greek deal worries spark lower start to the day
10th Feb 2012 07:29
Converns over possible shortfalls in the Greek bailout deal, unveiled yesterday, have prompted City sources to predict that the market will open as much as 27 points lower that its close of 5,895 on Thursday. Profit before tax at UK lender Barclays fell 3% and short of expectations in 2011, while
Read moreBarclays cuts BarCap bonuses as group income drops 8% - UPDATE
10th Feb 2012 07:03
UK lender Barclays slashed its Barclays Capital (BarCap) bonus pool in 2011, after the investment banking unit helped push down full-year group income by 8%. Total income excluding an own credit gain of £2,708m (£391m in 2010) and gains on debt buy-backs of £1,130m (nil in 2010), fell 8% from £31,
Read moreFriday preview: BarCap and bonuses in focus (as usual) at Barclays
9th Feb 2012 17:24
The waiving of executive bonuses has suddenly become fashionable but no one is holding their breath for Bob Diamond, Chief Executive Officer of Barclays, to announce he is forgoing his bonus when the bank announces its fourth quarter results on Friday. In terms of the boss's full-year remuneration,
Read more2012 to be a tough year for UK, but Citi still overweight on banks
8th Feb 2012 16:29
In spite of what Citi believes will be another tough year for the UK economy, the US investment bank has reiterated its overweight position on UK banks. 2012 will be another difficult year, the broker says, with "continued emphasis on balance sheet repair after the surge in private and public debt
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