Diamond family fund sinks £1m into Barclays
13th Dec 2010 16:30
Bob Diamond's family trust has invested nearly £1m in Barclays shares. The Barclays chief executive elect is a connected person to the Diamond Family Foundation, which has bought 363,179 shares at an average price of 273.97p a share. The total cost was £995,000. Diamond, who takes over as chief
Read moreLondon close: Footsie clings to lead
9th Dec 2010 16:40
A weak morning session on Wall Street did London no favours Thursday, although the big banks helped the leading index to only its second close above 5,800 in over three weeks. Barclays, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland were top of the pile. HSBC also did well, but fellow Asia-focused player Stand
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks help index advance
9th Dec 2010 14:42
A mostly better banking sector, gains for some of the mining heavyweights and a decent start on Wall Street are offsetting losses among the big retailers. Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays are going well following a good session in overseas markets, though Asia-focused Standard Chartered
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie keeps climbing
7th Dec 2010 12:18
Footsie has been moving steadily upward as higher commodity prices boost resource stocks after a US tax cut extension improved optimism on global economic growth. US president Barack Obama has said that he will agree to a two-year extension on tax-cuts from the Bush era, while on this side of the A
Read moreLondon open: Blue chips firmer
7th Dec 2010 08:47
London's blue-chips have opened firmer with resources stocks in demand and a solid update from Tesco providing some encouragement for buyers. Miners and oil stocks lead the risers with the price of crude edging up towards the $90 per barrel mark. Essar, Fresnillo and Antofagasta are the best of the
Read moreLondon close: Market jumps 125 points
2nd Dec 2010 16:33
Blue chips staged an impressive late rally to finish more than 100 points higher for the second day running. There was no big bond repurchase programme today from the European Central Bank, but a decision to extend the current one for three months was enough to get buyers in a lather again. "We ex
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: TUI tops the list as profit grows
2nd Dec 2010 14:37
TUI Travel leads the risers Thursday after it increased underlying pre-tax profit by 4% to £337m during the year to September. Profit growth was driven by integration synergies, the recovery of scheduled flying losses in Germany and the strategic venture in Canada. Sage Group, the blue chip accoun
Read moreLondon afternoon: ECB inaction deflates market
2nd Dec 2010 14:28
The absence of any mention of plans to launch a bond purchase in the European Central Bank (ECB) press conference this afternoon has taken some of the glow off equities. "We expect the governments to follow what they are committed to, they all have their adjustment and stabilisation programmes," E
Read moreUK banks received one third of US bail-out funds
2nd Dec 2010 12:16
UK banks borrowed a third of the $3.3trn lent by the US Federal Reserve to keep the banking system afloat during the credit crunch, with Barclays alone borrowing over $860bn. News of the loans were revealed by disclosures under the newly introduced Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act. The Fed detaile
Read moreBarCap to axe hundreds of jobs
2nd Dec 2010 11:54
Barclays is getting rid of several hundred wealthy investment bankers following a big drop in revenues at its "casino" arm. A 90-day consultation process has been kicked off at Barclays Capital (BarCap), run by Bob Diamond who takes over as chief executive next March. Third-quarter profit fell 14
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Spain, Ireland, BP
2nd Dec 2010 06:07
Spain and Ireland are set to launch large-scale privatisation programmes as they fight to preserve market faith in their turnaround plans. The Spanish government is looking at auctioning stakes in its national lottery operator and airports, while Ireland will look at privatisations in its electricit
Read moreLondon close: Triple digit gains for FTSE 100
1st Dec 2010 16:56
Footsie was posting triple-digit gains at trading's close as markets across the globe roared in approval at talk that the European Central Bank may take more measures to deal with the debt crisis. Shares here got an extra boost from news that activity in the manufacturing sector hit levels not seen
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie jumps 120 points
1st Dec 2010 14:17
After a strong morning session leading shares kicked on some more over the lunch time period, as worries over the eurozone debt situation subside. Talk that the European Central Bank may take more measures to deal with the debt crisis has buoyed European markets, with banks bouncing back more than
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Jitters for financials
30th Nov 2010 14:42
Financials continue to be weak on eurozone debt worries. Banks, such as Barclays and RBS, are vulnerable to further problems in the eurozone but other financials, such as Standard Life, are also lower. Vedanta Resources has decided to put off the flotation of Konkola Resources until 2011. Brit
Read moreLondon close: Shares slump as eurozone saga continues
29th Nov 2010 16:45
The leading share index closed with triple-digit losses Monday as jitters over the eurozone debt situation continued to plague the markets. Financial markets are still betting either Portugal, Spain, or both, will need a rescue deal similar to the €85bn Irish bail-out, rubber-stamped over the weeke
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