Wednesday paper round-up: EADS, Barclays, Google
10th Mar 2010 06:34
Lord Mandelson has tried to head off a transatlantic trade war by expressing concern at Washington's handling of a $35bn Pentagon procurement project that could spark European retaliation. At the centre of the row are allegations made by EADS that the Pentagon has skewed the terms of a competitive
Read moreLondon open: Footsie rising again
5th Mar 2010 08:47
UK equities have opened firmly helped by another good session on Wall St and more gains for the banks. Schroders, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Standard Chartered lead the financials higher, while Fresnillo, Lonmin and Xstrata are strong among the miners. Swiss group Glencore International
Read moreLondon close: Blue chips surge forward
26th Feb 2010 16:52
Footsie surged forward and closed in buoyant mood as buyers returned across a number of sectors despite disappointment with Lloyds Banking's results. Serco remains the best performer among Footsie stocks. The outsourcing group increased the dividend by a quarter as it ramped up profits by almost a
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks belcamed at higher levels
26th Feb 2010 14:23
Leading shares traded sideways over the lunchtime session, lacking any sort of lead from Wall Street, which is expected to open mixed as traders struggle through the snow storm engulfing New York to get into work. Serco remains the best performer among Footsie stocks. The outsourcing group increase
Read moreLondon midday:Stocks off the top
26th Feb 2010 12:22
Hopes that Footsie would claw back all of yesterday's losses look less likely to be realised after share prices came off the top late in the morning, though most stocks are still trading in positive territory. Serco remains the best performer among Footsie stocks. The outsourcing group increased t
Read moreLondon open: Footsie makes bright start
26th Feb 2010 08:50
London's blue chips have made a bright start after the late pick-up on Wall Street overnight, even though there is some disappointment with the figures from Lloyds Banking. The state-controlled bank joined sector peers Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland in reporting better than expected figures.
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stellar gains ahead
26th Feb 2010 07:37
London's blue chips are expected to open sharply higher, with banking shares likely to be in focus after Lloyds reported full-year figures. Traders anticipate a 60 points gain when the market opens. Lloyds Banking joined sector peers Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland in reporting better than expe
Read moreLloyds trims 2009 loss
26th Feb 2010 07:02
Lloyds Banking joined sector peers Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland in reporting better than expected full-year figures. The part-nationalised lender reported a pre-tax loss of £6.3bn in the year ended 31 December compared with £6.71bn last time. Total income rose to £23.96bn from £21.36bn last
Read moreHSBC to scrap pay rise for CEO
24th Feb 2010 09:30
HSBC, Britain's biggest bank, is expected to scrap a pay rise of almost 40% for its chief executive Michael Geoghegan following shareholder protests. The board will make a final decision on Friday, before HSBC publishes 2009 results on Monday, according to press reports. It is understood that the
Read moreLloyds Banking boss gives up bonus
22nd Feb 2010 16:52
Eric Daniels, chief executive officer of loss-making lender Lloyds Banking Group, has bowed to public pressure and waived his right to a bonus this year. Daniels, who was instrumental in driving through the disastrous merger with HBOS which saw the traditionally conservative Lloyds become contamina
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie falls as miners switch sides
3rd Feb 2010 14:32
Mining stocks headed south over the lunch time session, taking the blue-chip index with them. Antofagasta is the worst performer in the mining sector. The copper miner produced 442,500 tonnes of the red metal in 2009, ahead of its original forecast of 433,000 tonnes but lower than the 477,700 tonne
Read moreLondon midday: Merrills takes a shine to banks
3rd Feb 2010 12:08
Footsie ended the morning at an intra-day high, driven by a strong performance from financial stocks and miners. Standard Life is the top riser after it announced a 'significant increase' in flows and sales in the fourth quarter. Life and pensions net inflows more than tripled to £1.3bn from £0.4bn
Read moreLondon close: Strong finish for FTSE 100
29th Jan 2010 16:38
Footsie gave up a recent weak spell to finish the week with good gains. Whitbread was the star performer. Following an investor day yesterday, Barclays Capital raised its price target on the Costa Coffee and Premier Inn owner to 1,700p from 1,600p. The broker thinks Whitbread will benefit from new
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks and miners recover
29th Jan 2010 15:34
The FTSE 100 index is recovering today with banks and miners leading the way. Negative broker comment has not hampered the banks. FBR Capital Markets has been running its rule over UK banks and has cut its price target for HSBC from 893p a share to 800p a share "to reflect a similar level of conse
Read moreLondon midday: RBS unit sued for $8bn
29th Jan 2010 12:10
After a mid-morning dip blue-chips are on the rise again, though it is not the sort of advance that is likely to change investors' view that January was a month to forget. For once, the miners are not moving in lock step with each other. Sector giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are firmer, while go
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