London midday: Footsie heads lower
30th Apr 2010 11:55
Footsie's morning has moved from lacklustre to disappointing, with the blue-chip index now firmly in the red. Banking giant Barclays is dragging the index lower, despite the group reporting a 47% increase in first quarter profits. Concern over the retail business has offset bumper profits from Barc
Read moreLondon open: Rig disaster weighs on BP
30th Apr 2010 08:56
London's top stocks have made only modest gains so far despite the big rise on Wall St overnight. BP and Barclays are weighing on the index. The oil spilling out of the damaged rig in the Gulf of Mexico is now starting to come ashore in Louisiana and the scale of disaster has sent BP shares lower a
Read moreLondon pre-open: Small gains ahead
30th Apr 2010 07:33
London's top stocks are expected to open marginally higher, with traders forecasting a 3 point rise after the open. A big surge in business at Barclays Capital and decline in impairments had profit at Barclays bank up 47% in the first quarter of 2010. Profit before tax from continuing operations le
Read moreBarclays makes £1.8bn in Q1
30th Apr 2010 07:02
A big surge in business at Barclays Capital and decline in impairments had profit at Barclays bank up 47% in the first quarter of 2010. Profit before tax from continuing operations leapt to £1.82bn from £1.24bn in the first three months of 2009. Investment banking arm, Barclays Capital, raked in £1
Read moreFriday preview: Barclays' turn to defend exec pay
29th Apr 2010 16:54
Barclays shareholders will be rocking up to the Royal Festival Hall on London's Southbank tomorrow to question bosses about excessive pay and bonuses. President and head of investment banking Bob Diamond's wage deal could see the American pocket £20m over three years. Other chiefs are also in line
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Positive oils can't stop fall
28th Apr 2010 15:25
Strong figures from Royal Dutch Shell have also boosted the share price of fellow oil company BP but this has not been enough for FTSE 100 to hang on to positive territory. The banks, which were the worst performers earlier in the day, have recovered the majority of their earlier losses but remain
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie in positive territory
28th Apr 2010 14:40
The FTSE 100 is now in positive territory as heavily weighted index constituents such as Shell, BP, HSBC and Glaxo make headway, but the FTSE 250 index remains in the red. Higher oil prices helped Royal Dutch Shell post a sharp rise in earnings in the first quarter of 2010. Profit jumped to $4.9bn
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks off the bottom
28th Apr 2010 12:13
Blue-chips are beginning to recover their poise, helped by demand for heavyweight oil stocks in the wake of better than expected results from Shell, and a positive reaction to results from Glaxo, released at noon. Higher oil prices helped Royal Dutch Shell post a sharp rise in earnings in the first
Read moreFSA raps knuckles of UK banks
28th Apr 2010 09:49
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has found evidence of what it terms 'unacceptable standards' in the way some British banks handle complaints, and has instructed five unnamed UK banks to make changes to their customer complaints procedures as a result. Two of the five banks face possible fine
Read moreStandard Chartered buys Barclays' African custody arm
27th Apr 2010 14:40
Standard Chartered has agreed to buy Barclays' custody business in Africa for an undisclosed sum. The sale is expected to be completed in 2010, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. Barclays African custody business had gross assets of £1.9m and assets under custody of £3
Read moreLondon open: Minimal gains posted
23rd Apr 2010 08:28
London's leading shares are showing slight gains as a late recovery on Wall Street boosts investor sentiment. Banks are amongst the early movers with RBS, Barclays and Lloyds all higher, while utilities such as Severnt Trent, National Grid and United Utilities are at the bottom end of the market.
Read moreWednesday paper round-up: IMF proposes two new global bank taxes
21st Apr 2010 06:33
The IMF is proposing a double-tax regime for banks that would fund future bailouts and penalise both the profits and pay of lenders. The proposal emerged in a leaked confidential document prepared for the G20 meeting of finance ministers to be held this week in Washington. The IMF wants two separat
Read moreLondon open: Air travel woe dominates
19th Apr 2010 08:46
Travel problems continue to dominate the market with the UK flight ban extended to tomorrow at the earliest. More than 100,000 customers of TUI Travel due to return home yesterday were left stranded by the ongoing flight ban imposed after the eruption of the volcano in Iceland last week. Currently,
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Arriva, Goldman Sachs, Barclays
18th Apr 2010 14:11
Deutsche Bahn, Germany's state owned transport group, is getting ready to wheel out an agreed £1.6bn bid for Britain's bus and rail group, Arriva, according to the Sunday Times. City sources expect it to table an offer of between 750p and 775p a share, valuing Arriva at £1.6bn. Elsewhere in the t
Read moreLondon close: Markets dive
16th Apr 2010 16:21
Along with other global markets, London's benchmark was sideswiped by news that Goldman Sachs has been charged with fraud on subprime mortgages by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Stocks nosedived around 70 points in the final hour of trading as the news emerged. The banking sector had be
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