London close: Miners, banks finish strongly
28th Jun 2011 16:33
The Footsie was bolstered by a decent start on Wall Street, as US house prices rose for the first time in eight months. Furthermore, global market sentiment was buoyed ahead of a critical vote in Greece to approve austerity measures, vital for the country to receive financial aid. French president
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks wanted as Greek fears ease
28th Jun 2011 14:35
The banking sector was lifting the FTSE 100 on Tuesday, as fears over the Greek situation eased. French president Nicolas Sarkozy announced an agreement with French banks to refinance holdings of Greek sovereign debt. "We concluded that by stretching out the loans over 30 years, putting (interest r
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Man Group leads financials lower
27th Jun 2011 14:35
Financials are among the worst performers of the day, helping to drag the FTSE 100 below the 5,700 level. Hedge fund manager Man Group is the heaviest fallers, losing nearly 4% as of 14:40 on Monday afternoon.RBS and Barclays are trading 1.7% and 1.2% lower, respectively. The mining sector has bee
Read moreSector movers: Miners make gains after yesterday's sell-off
24th Jun 2011 15:20
Miners, on the whole, are wanted, recovering from the broad sector sell-off experienced on Thursday. Blue chips Antofagasta, Xstrata, ENRC, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Randgold Resources are among the big gainers. Antofagasta, the best performer, is being helped higher as copper futures have ris
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners recover after yesterday's sell-off
24th Jun 2011 14:40
Miners, on the whole, are wanted, recovering from the broad sector sell-off experienced on Thursday. Blue chips Antofagasta, Xstrata, ENRC, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Randgold Resources are among the big gainers. Rolls-Royce is a high riser after it secured - along with Daimler - full control of
Read moreLondon close: Footsie finishes well below 5,700
23rd Jun 2011 16:39
The Footsie steadily declined to finish below the 5,700 level on Thursday after last night's message from the Federal Reserve which highlighted its caution over the economic recovery in the US. While also cutting his forecasts for US growth, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke signalled the end of its second
Read moreLondon close: Stocks end flat ahead of Fed statement
22nd Jun 2011 16:44
After a poor start, the Footsie was pulled into positive territory for a brief moment but ended flat ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision over the interest rate and a possible QE3. Expectations are for the rate-setting committee to announce few changes, but one never knows for sure. There is now
Read moreSector movers: Speculation of Comet sale boosts retailers
22nd Jun 2011 16:06
The general retail category was among the best performing sectors on Wednesday afternoon, with FTSE 250-peers Kesa Electricals and Dixons Retail providing a lift. Weak trading at its UK chain Comet held back sales at Kesa Electricals in the year to 30 April, the firm said today, adding that trading
Read moreLondon close: Greek concerns weigh on financials
20th Jun 2011 16:43
The Footsie finished moderately lower on Monday afternoon as Greek debt crisis dragged on. Financials were among the fallers over concerns of a possible Greek default, as Europe's finance ministers remain at loggerheads over dishing out a chunk of the €110bn bailout money agreed last year for the c
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: RBS leads financials lower
20th Jun 2011 16:01
Financials are among the fallers over concerns of a possible Greek default, as Europe's finance ministers remain at loggerheads over dishing out a chunk of the €110bn bailout money agreed last year for the country. RBS, Man Group, Hargreaves Lansdown and Schroders were the worst four performers as o
Read moreLondon close: Miners dominate fallers as global worries continue
16th Jun 2011 16:45
Global growth worries dampened the markets on Thursday as all but a few constituents on the FTSE 100 finished in the red. While the Footsie edged higher in the late afternoon, it still closed under the 5,700 level, a level not seen since mid-March. FTSE 100 closed down 44 at 5,699. A lack of clarit
Read moreBarclays aims to boost revenue by 20%
16th Jun 2011 09:18
Barclays said it aims to boost its revenue by up to 20% before 2013, primarily by generating additional income under a revamped cost cutting plan. Ben Diamond, the bank's chief executive, outlined on Wednesday his plan to generate an additional income of between £4.3bn and £6.4bn by 2013, relative
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Greek bailout, Pandora, Northern Rock
16th Jun 2011 06:06
Britain is under pressure to commit hundreds of millions of pounds to a second bailout for Greece after another day of violent protest in Athens. With the €110bn (£96bn) package agreed last year set to run out, Germany is leading calls for the entire EU, not just the 17 eurozone countries, to contri
Read moreBritish banks face ring-fence between retail and investment arms
15th Jun 2011 10:36
British banks are to be forced to ring-fence their retail and investment operations. The idea is to protect high street bank customers losing their savings if investment bankers suffer heavy losses, as they did during the financial crisis of 2008. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, i
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: Inflation, strikes, Southern Cross
14th Jun 2011 06:04
Inflation has hit poorer families much harder than the rich, the latest research shows - and the trend is set to deteriorate. The independent Institute for Fiscal Studies says that for a decade the pattern of price rises has meant that the least well-off families, especially pensioners, have been hi
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