Banking Commission will consider bank splits
24th Sep 2010 08:00
A new body set up to examine how to improve stability and competiveness in the banking industry will ask 'hard questions' about how Britain's banks operate, its chairman said today in its first issue paper. The Independent Commission on Banking (ICB), which is chaired by economist Sir John Vickers,
Read moreHSBC chief to stand down in major shake-up
24th Sep 2010 07:17
A major shake-up of HSBC's senior management is on the way with chief executive Michael Geoghegan set to quit by the year-end and finance director Douglas Flint to take over as chairman. Stuart Gulliver, the head of the bank's investment division, will become chief executive after a week of boardro
Read moreLondon close: Stocks close lower as rally fizzles out
22nd Sep 2010 17:00
Footsie gave up a brief rally to close in the red on an uncertain day's trading in the wake of Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's nervous comments on US economic prospects yesterday. Shares in the US moved lower despite having rallied earlier. Similar sentiments to those expressed by Bernank
Read moreLondon afternoon: Miners shore up Footsie
22nd Sep 2010 14:45
Leading shares made steady progress over the lunch time session returning the blue-chip index more or less back to where it finished overnight. Mining stocks are primarily responsible for the Footsie's level position, with industrial metal miners such as Antofagasta, Kazakhmys and Rio Tinto now do
Read moreLondon midday: Gold stocks shine in dull market
22nd Sep 2010 12:11
The market has been absorbed in interpreting smoke signals from the US and UK central banks today. In the US, the Federal Reserve left interest rates at just above 0% and said yesterday it expects the recovery to continue, but added "the pace of economic recovery is likely to be modest in the near-t
Read moreLondon open: Banks behind weak start
22nd Sep 2010 08:51
Reports that the government is mulling a new bank windfall tax has unsettled share prices this morning. Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, will say in a speech today that bankers present more of a threat to Britain than trade unions, adding that the corporate world is "murky" and that the capita
Read moreLondon open: Footsie makes small gains
21st Sep 2010 08:54
Footsie has opened higher encouraged by yesterday's 145-point surge on Wall Street and some bullish company news. Online betting exchange Betfair must think the recent rally is sustainable. It is to take a punt on the market's appetite for new issues and float in London. No pricing details accompan
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Barclays, Tesco, Investec...
20th Sep 2010 06:41
Barclays is working on contingency plans to make radical changes in an attempt to head off more draconian government measures. The high street bank is looking at ways to ring-fence its deposits and is considering whether to put its investment banking arm Barclays Capital into a separate legal entit
Read moreSector movers: Balfour and Kier construct gains
17th Sep 2010 15:12
On a mostly dull day for stocks, Balfour Beatty is giving the construction and materials sector a lift after a consortium including the contractor was named the preferred bidder for a £250m road scheme in Ireland. The road runs Gort and Tuam in the west of the Republic. Elsewhere in the sector, ho
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Prudential, Betfair, Vodafone...
12th Sep 2010 10:26
A group of Chinese investors is in the early stages of considering a takeover offer for Prudential, Britain's biggest insurer. The billionaire entrepreneurs were among the Asian backers who wanted to throw their weight behind Prudential's failed $35bn (£22.8 billion) takeover bid for its Asian riva
Read moreLondon close: Sluggish Footsie limps higher
10th Sep 2010 16:38
Modest gains on Wall Street failed to spur London into action and the leading share index closed just a few points higher. US shares were boosted by economic figures showing wholesale inventories jumped by 1.3% in July, ahead of estimates, and sales at distributors rose by 0.6%. Among companies he
Read moreLondon close: Banks behind fresh surge
9th Sep 2010 16:38
Investors were back in love with banks Thursday which, coupled with a big session for the miners, pushed the leading index to a new four-month high. The FTSE 100 finished not far off its best levels above 5,500. It was the first tim eit had traded above the big figure since May 4. British lenders
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks lead index higher
9th Sep 2010 15:52
Banks are leading the Footsie's rise with Barclays and RBS topping the best performers. Lloyds is also boosted by the sale of its debt holding in housebuilder Crest Nicholson. Miners such as Xstrata and Vedanta are recovering even though metals prices are weak. Chip designer ARM continues to r
Read moreSector movers: Renishaw gives electronics a boost
9th Sep 2010 14:40
Precision engineer Renishaw is boosting the electronic and electrical equipment sector after saying trading in the first two months of the new financial year has been very positive after particularly strong demand from Japan and the rest of Asia. Banks are going well after Yves Mersch, a member of
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Barclays, Vodafone, BP
9th Sep 2010 06:29
John Varley, Barclays' outgoing chief executive, has shot to the top of the City's wishlist for some of the biggest jobs in corporate Britain just a day after announcing that he will hand over to his deputy Bob Diamond in March. Prudential is seen as the most likely option for Mr Varley but Vodafone
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