Goldman bankers cap pay at £1m
25th Jan 2010 08:25
Goldman Sachs is capping the total pay of its top 100 employees in London at £1m in an effort to appease the British government, keen to try and rein in bankers' salaries. The Wall Street bank's most senior staff over here are exercising restraint in response to calls from chancellor Alistair Darli
Read moreLondon close: Banks lead third day of declines
22nd Jan 2010 16:36
Footsie rallied off its low but still finished in the red for the third day in succession on worries over US President Obama's bank bashing policies. Comments from Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman that appeared to lend support to President Obama's hard line stance against excessive risk tak
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks slide as Brown sides with Obama
22nd Jan 2010 14:43
Barely more than a dozen FTSE 100 constituents are showing rises as the market looks set to slide for the third day in succession, after dipping sharply following comments from Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman that appeared to lend support to President Obama's hard line stance against excessi
Read moreLondon midday: Banks and shops drag Footsie lower
22nd Jan 2010 12:15
Footsie has turned down sharply with retailers joining banks in the doldrums after some subdued sales data from December. Retail sales volumes rose by much less than expected in December, as price rises kept the UK consumer away from the shops over the Christmas period. Sales were up by 0.3% from
Read moreBanks fall on Obama proposals
22nd Jan 2010 10:51
Shares in UK and European banks took a bashing Friday, in line with their US peers, as analysts considered the possible impact of US president Obama's tough series of measures to curb risk taking on Wall St. Royal Bank of Scotland, and Barclays, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and UBS
Read moreLondon open: Banks in early drop
22nd Jan 2010 08:11
Banking shares are dragging London's top stocks lower in early dealings on Friday, after President Obama revealed tough new measures to curb risk-taking among the big Wall Street banks. Obama proposed rules to limit bank mergers and consolidation, while also restricting involvement in hedge funds,
Read moreLondon close: Banks and miners drag Footsie lower
21st Jan 2010 16:30
Leading UK shares lurched lower in the afternoon as US shares weakened and investors waited nervously for President Obama's new bank reforms. The US President's proposals prohibit commercial banks from owning or investing in hedge funds or owning, investing or advising private equity funds, while a
Read moreSector movers: Utilities gush higher
21st Jan 2010 14:49
United Utilities has taken off today after the water company cut its dividend by less than expected to meet the requirements of the industry regulator's price review. It will rebase the dividend to 30p a share for fiscal 2010/11 from 34.3p this year. Experts had thought it might fall by 20-25%. Se
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks face 'tsunami' of pressure
21st Jan 2010 14:44
Leading shares traded sideways over the lunchtime session, albeit with a small dip at 1:30pm when the US market opened a tad lower. Banks and miners are impeding Footsie's progress, with the latter still friendless on concerns about demand from China. Pundits are predicting that the Chinese authori
Read moreFTSE movers: Miners head lower
20th Jan 2010 17:27
It is unusual for one sector to make up all of the top ten fallers in the FTSE 100 but this has happened to day as mining companies are hit by concerns about the Chinese government's attempt to cool down its economy. The worry is that this will lead to lower demand for metals. Eurasian Natural Res
Read moreLondon close: Footsie turns positive
19th Jan 2010 17:22
London's top stocks finished the day above the 5,500 mark after turning positive in afternoon trading. Luxury fashion label Burberry was the best performer of the day after saying it expects profits for the full year to be at the top end of expectations after seeing strong sales in the last three m
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Cadbury, International Power, US banks
17th Jan 2010 11:25
Cadbury's future hangs in the balance this weekend as Kraft, the American food giant, puts the finishing touches to raising its £10.5 billion bid for the chocolate maker. The new offer, which is expected to improve Kraft's bid from 771p per share to at least 820p, will test the resolve of Cadbury's
Read moreUK banks may face $10bn US tax bill, reports
15th Jan 2010 13:16
Three of the UK's biggest banks could face a $10bn (£6bn) tax bill from the US government as part of the Obama Administration's effort to recoup the losses on the $700bn cash advanced under the TARP rescue scheme, according to press reports. Part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland may have to hand
Read moreFriday paper round-up: RBS, Barclays, BT
15th Jan 2010 06:34
Three British banks may have to pay more than $10bn (£6bn) to the US Government as part of its crackdown on financial institutions bailed out by taxpayers. Royal Bank of Scotland, which is 84% owned by the Government, may be on the hook for almost $1bn to the US over the next decade under a stringe
Read moreBarclays beefs up NYSE market making ops
14th Jan 2010 07:39
UK banking giant Barclays is to acquire the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) designated market maker assignments of New York based LaBranche. Barclays is paying $25m cash in a deal that it said will enhance Barclays Capital’s position ‘as the leading DMM [designated market maker] at the New York Stoc
Read more