Barclays on course despite bad debt spike
10th Nov 2009 06:59
Barclays remains on course for a record-breaking year after third quarter profits came in close to market forecasts. For the three months to September, profits fell from £2.84bn to £1.56bn, giving a nine-month total of £4.54bn (2008: £5,595m), a decrease year on year of 19% (£1,053m). The underly
Read moreTuesday preview: HSBC, Barclays, Vodafone
9th Nov 2009 15:43
A barrage of big company results are due out Tuesday, with the biggest company by market value, HSBC, the heaviest of the heavyweights declaring figures. Third quarter results from the Asia focused banking giant should provide a stark contrast to the figures last week from part-nationalised lender
Read moreBroker snap: HSBC & Barclays preferred to RBS
9th Nov 2009 13:26
Nomura Securities continues to take a cautious stance on rescue case Royal Bank of Scotland and recommends clients should reduce exposure to the stock. 'We do not believe the group has surplus capital, as the apparently significant capital strengthening will be absorbed by further losses and involu
Read moreBroker tips: RBS, Prudential, Cadbury
9th Nov 2009 13:18
Insurance giant Prudential was one of the major risers on Monday morning after a price target upgrade from Dutch broking group ING. ING has upped its target price for the Pru from 392p to 584p, but maintains its 'hold' rating for the shares. The broker is not sold on all insurers, however. 'The re
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Cadbury, RBS/Lloyds, Vodafone
9th Nov 2009 06:18
Kraft, the American food company, is poised to initiate a hostile takeover bid for Cadbury today at or slightly above the offer it made in September, which valued the British confectioner at £10.2bn, according to a person familiar with the deal. Last night Kraft was finalising plans to go directly
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Barclays, Lloyds, Cadbury
8th Nov 2009 08:36
Gordon Brown yesterday threw his weight behind a "Tobin tax" on financial transactions as a way of taxing and reining in the banks, despite warnings that such taxes are unworkable. "We should discuss whether we need a better economic and social contract to reflect the global responsibilities of fi
Read moreLondon close: Shares shake off US blues
6th Nov 2009 17:15
The Footsie finished a see-saw day in positive territory, shrugging off concerns about the worse than expected US jobless figures, which revealed the US unemployment rate has risen above the 10% level. Banks enjoyed a day in the sun, helped by a positive response to results from Royal Bank of Scotl
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks slide on US jobless news
6th Nov 2009 14:04
Leading shares are retreating rapidly in the wake of worse than expected US non-farm payrolls data. October non-farm payrolls data showed the US unemployment rate rose to 10.2% from 9.8% in September. The number of jobs lost in October was 190,000, versus expectations of 175,000 job losses. So fa
Read moreLondon midday: Financials lead advance
6th Nov 2009 12:04
Banks and property stocks are leading the market higher, though the advance is being conducted at a leisurely pace. More huge write-offs sent Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) deep into loss over the past three months. Nine-month losses now total £2.06bn against a profit £1.8bn this time last year. Des
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Lloyds, Barclays, Stagecoach
4th Nov 2009 06:35
The Telegraph says investors in UK banks had a lot to digest on Tuesday, what with the confirmation of Lloyds' £13.5bn rights issue and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) coming back to the taxpayer cap in hand and the asset sales forced upon the banks by European regulators. The paper suggests existing
Read moreLondon close: Footsie down but above 5,000
3rd Nov 2009 16:24
London's blue chips ended off session lows and back above the 5,000 level, helped by positive reaction to announcements from Lloyds Banking and Legal & General. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) remained resolutely out of favour, however, as the market reacted negatively to the revised terms of its part
Read moreLondon afternoon: Market licking its wounds
3rd Nov 2009 14:11
The FTSE 100 index clawed its way back above the 5,000 level over the lunch-time session, helped by positive reaction to announcements from Lloyds Banking and Legal & General. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) remains resolutely out of favour, however, as the market reacted negatively to the revised ter
Read moreSeegers steps down as Barclays rejigs
3rd Nov 2009 12:27
Barclays has undertaken a major shake-up of its executive board with the departure of Frits Seegers, chief executive of the global retail and commercial arm, while Anthony Jenkins will head a new global retail division. Seegers has only been at Barclays for three years, having joined from Citigroup
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Lloyds Banking, Ryanair, British Airways
2nd Nov 2009 06:11
Lloyds Banking will on Tuesday unveil twin sweeteners to persuade existing bondholders to exchange their bonds for riskier investments that could convert into equity - the most innovative, and closely guarded, element of the part-nationalised bank's £25bn recapitalisation programme, the FT writes.
Read moreLondon close: Shares end near session high
29th Oct 2009 16:23
London's top stocks closed near its session high on news that the US economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter. Traders loved news that the US economy grew 3.5% annually in the last quarter, more than expected and the fastest rate of increase in two years. Part-nationalised bank Lloyd
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