London midday: Downward drift quickens
14th Oct 2010 11:56
US markets may be expected to open firmer but London is determined to go its own way today, heading lower, despite a buoyant mining sector. Metal prices are back on the rise as the dollar heads in the opposite direction. That is not enough to prevent gold miner African Barrick Gold taking a tumble,
Read morePPI point -of-sale ban confirmed
14th Oct 2010 10:34
Payment protection insurance (PPI) policies will not be allowed to be sold when a borrower takes out a loan, the Competition Commission confirmed today. The Commission was asked to look again at its decision to ban sales of PPI at the point-of-sale after Barclays objected to the ruling, arguing it
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Banks, Lloyds, airlines
14th Oct 2010 06:25
Britain's biggest banks have admitted for the first time that there was a problem with lending to small businesses and that they should offer greater support. In a wide-ranging report published last night, the banks - Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC, Santander and Stand
Read moreLondon close: Strong gains for FTSE 100
13th Oct 2010 16:36
Footsie moved up gear following a strong start on Wall Street, and was nearly posting triple-digit gains at trading's close. US stocks are going well following strong results from processor group Intel and banking giant JP Morgan and strong indications from the Federal Reserve that further stimulus
Read moreLondon afternoon: Still up over 1%
13th Oct 2010 14:45
The leading index broke above 5,750 briefly ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street, its highest since the end of April, led by a powerful mining sector. US stocks have started well - the Dow Jones is up almost 70 points - following strong results from Intel and JP Morgan and strong indications fr
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners stimulated by US hopes
13th Oct 2010 13:31
Xstrata, Vedanta Resources, Anglo American and Rio Tinto are higher on hopes of a fiscal stimulus in the US. Oil services group Petrofac is upgraded to 'overweight' from 'equal-weight' by broker Morgan Stanley, which thinks business opportunities in Britain, Iraq and Algeria will boost the company
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie boards the Fed express
13th Oct 2010 12:05
Hints from the US Federal Reserve that it will resume its bond buying programme sooner rather than later galvanised the UK market in the morning session with mining stocks going particularly well. Xstrata, Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Antofagasta are the pick of a mining sector buoyed by the pros
Read moreLondon open: Wall St rally boosts Footsie
13th Oct 2010 08:48
Last night's recovery on Wall St following the Federal Reserve's hint at further stimulus measures has boosted London early on despite a big bank cash call. Standard Chartered, the emerging markets focused bank, is preparing for stricter capital requirements for banks with a £3.26bn cash call. The
Read moreLondon close: Footsie rallies but falls short
8th Oct 2010 16:37
Footsie made a late charge for positive territory ahead of the close, in line with buoyancy in the US, but fell just short. The positive performance in the US was in spite of non-farm payrolls declining 95,000 in September when they had been expected to remain virtually unchanged. The 'glass half f
Read moreLondon afternoon: Shares rally on QE hopes
8th Oct 2010 14:37
US jobless data proved to be much worse than expected, with non-farm payrolls declining 95,000 in September when they had been expected to remain virtually unchanged, but the 'glass half full' optimists have taken the view that this makes a resumption of economic stimulus by the Federal Reserve more
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Broker changes move index
8th Oct 2010 13:18
Broker recommendations dominate the Footsie today. UBS has downgraded accountancy software supplier Sage from neutral to sell. Silver miner Fresnillo has also been downgraded, this time from neutral to underperform by Merrill Lynch. In contrast, HSBC has raised BAE Systems from neutral to overwe
Read moreLondon midday: Nervous wait for US jobs data
8th Oct 2010 12:25
The clock is ticking down on this afternoon's release of US non-farm payrolls data and the market is showing signs of nervousness, with the Footsie drifting back and in danger of slipping below 5600. Bank Barclays is down after PCP3, a vehicle linked to Man City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-N
Read moreLondon open: Quiet start ahead of jobs data
8th Oct 2010 08:52
London has opened quietly as traders focus on the US where September's non-farm payrolls numbers are due to be released this afternoon. Expectations are for a 5,000 increase in non-farm payrolls, while the unemployment rate is expected to nudge up to 9.7% from 9.6% in August. Until those numbers a
Read moreMan City owner sells Barclays stake
8th Oct 2010 08:24
One of the Middle Eastern investors who helped save Barclays during the darkest days of the financial crisis has sold a large chunk of his stake in the British bank. In a statement issued after the end of play in London last night, the PCP Gulf Invest 3 fund said it had completed a complicated der
Read moreBroker tips: Barclays, Halfords, Mulberry
7th Oct 2010 12:45
Nomura Securities has reiterated its neutral stance on banking giant Barclays , arguing that the potential for a re-rating remains limited while the bank faces regulatory pressures in the form of the Basel III guidelines for capital and banking regulations. By Nomura's reckoning Barclays Capital, t
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