CMA extends deadline for retail banking investigation
7th Mar 2016 09:50
(ShareCast News) - The Competition and Markets Authority has decided to extend the deadline for its investigation into the UK retail banking sector, which it believes is not competitive enough. The CMA said the extension to 12 August from May is necessary to allow enough time to take full and proper
Read moreBarclays slips on Deutsche Bank downgrade
7th Mar 2016 09:25
(ShareCast News) - Deutsche Bank downgraded Barclays to 'hold' from 'buy' and cut its price target to 180p from 255p, saying the stock was more now more of an investment case for 2017-18 rather than 2016. It said that Barclays' strategic update, whilst necessary to strengthen the capital position an
Read moreThursday newspaper share tips: Virgin Money, Challenger banks
3rd Mar 2016 16:40
(ShareCast News) - Homes are not always a safe repository of value, as property busts show, but at the moment they are the safest corner of the UK banking space. That was reflected yesterday in Virgin Money's full-year figures for return on tangible equity, which at 10.9% easily trumped those of the
Read moreMastercard said to plan £1bn Vocalink takeover bid
3rd Mar 2016 13:02
(ShareCast News) - US-based credit card issuer Mastercard has reportedly drawn up secret pans for a takeover of international payment systems provider Vocalink. According to Sky News, Mastercard has approached the board of bank-owned Vocalink about a deal that could be worth more than £1bn. More th
Read moreWednesday broker round-up
2nd Mar 2016 16:45
(ShareCast News) - Just Eat: JP Morgan reiterates overweight with a target price of 393p and Investec reiterates buy with a target price of 479p. Capital & Counties Properties: Morgan Stanley downgrades to underweight with a target price of 330p. Rightmove: Jefferies upgrades to hold with a target
Read moreUBS trims Barclays's target price but keeps at 'buy'
2nd Mar 2016 13:07
(ShareCast News) - Barclays's share price might be heading into rough waters, but the course set by its new management was the correct one, UBS said. Due to the bank's improved capital position, as reported by the lender on 1 March, and new management in place, the Board's decision to accelerate the
Read moreBarclays confirms sale of Africa business as annual profit falls
1st Mar 2016 07:56
(ShareCast News) - Barclays confirmed plans to sell its African business on Tuesday as it announced a drop in full year profit and a cut to the dividend. For the year to 31 December, adjusted pre-tax profit slipped 2% to £5.4bn and the bank announced a £1.45bn provision for PPI misselling. Analysts
Read moreTuesday preview: Barclays full year results in the spotlight
29th Feb 2016 13:54
(ShareCast News) - Barclays will take centre stage on Tuesday as it reports its full year results. UBS has pencilled in an underlying pre-tax profit of £6.84bn, compared to £5.50bn a year earlier. However, at the stated level the analyst sees the bank reporting a loss before tax of £2.016 in the fo
Read moreBarclays evaluating options for Africa business
29th Feb 2016 07:41
(ShareCast News) - Barclays noted recent media speculation regarding a potential sale of its shareholding in Barclays Africa Group Limited and said it was evaluating its strategic options. The bank, which owns about 62.3% of Barclays Africa, said it expects to update the market on Tuesday with its 2
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: retailers, Sports Direct, BT, Brexit
29th Feb 2016 07:03
(ShareCast News) - Britain's retailers predict that almost 1m jobs in the sector - a third of today's total - will disappear by 2025 as technology and the rising minimum wage reshape the industry. Retailers currently employ one in six British workers - about 3m people - and the sector accounts for a
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Pound, GSK, Sainsbury's, HSBC
28th Feb 2016 17:29
(ShareCast News) - Sterling will fall to $1.28 by the end of 2016, its lowest level against the US dollar in three decades, currency strategists have cautioned. If Britain votes to leave the European Union the fall will be even worse, the Sunday Telegraph reported that Deutsche Bank analysts saw a f
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Lloyds leads index back over 6,000
25th Feb 2016 14:15
(ShareCast News) - The FTSE 100 was back over 6,000 on Thursday, erasing losses from the previous two days. The blue-chip index was up 146.76 points (2.50%) to 6,013.94 by mid-afternoon. Lloyds Banking Group was the big riser, after it saw underlying profit increase 5% to £8.1bn during the year, wi
Read moreLloyds tops PPI complaints list at financial ombudsman
23rd Feb 2016 08:50
(ShareCast News) - Complaints about payment protection insurance continue to be made against major high street banks, data from the financial ombudsman showed, with Lloyds Banking Group a serial offender. Of the total new cases referred to the ombudsman in the six months to 31 December, 56% were
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: SuperGroup, Google, Sainsbury's, Barclays
12th Feb 2016 07:13
(ShareCast News) - Jamie Dimon has tried to put out a fire in financials stocks, spending more than $26m to buy half a million shares in JPMorgan Chase, the bank he has run for a decade. The purchase - confirmed in a filing on Thursday evening - is the first big open-market purchase Mr Dimon has mad
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banking shares drive index down
11th Feb 2016 14:37
(ShareCast News) - The FTSE 100 resumed its slide on Thursday, with the blue-chip index dropping 80.51 points (1.42%) to 5,591.79 points by mid-afternoon. Banking shares were under pressure, with Barclays and Standard Chartered among the top fallers, after Societe Generale's profit warning added to
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