UK's four major banks face further £19bn in litigation charges, S&P reveals
27th Apr 2015 12:19
The UK's four largest banks are expected to have £19bn more of litigation costs this year and next, said credit agency Standard & Poors, which said the quartet's credit ratings were safe for now. Although the credit agency said it thought the worst period for charges relating to payment protection p
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Conservative campaign, Russia, Barclays
24th Apr 2015 07:28
Business leaders have become frustrated at the tactics and tone of the Conservative election campaign, amid concern in British boardrooms that Ed Miliband is mounting a stiffer challenge for Number 10 than expected. Twenty FTSE 100 and other business leaders have told the Financial Times they are an
Read moreBanks are technologically two decades behind, says Barclays data chief
23rd Apr 2015 14:39
Banks' technology is old but their size makes adopting innovation a long and complicated process, Barclays chief data officer, Usama Fayyad said on Thursday. Speaking at a business conference in London, Fayyad said the banking industry was at risk of becoming a "boring business". "Banks are 10 to 2
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Pace, Petrobas, IG Group
23rd Apr 2015 06:53
Set-top box maker Pace has agreed to a £1.4bn takeover by sector peer Arris, reports The Times. The company will hold its annual general meeting on Thursday, at which it will present the recommended deal to shareholders. Brazilian oil group Petrobas, under investigation for a corruption scandal, has
Read moreLondon close: Stocks drop 0.9% in volatile session amid Greek worries
17th Apr 2015 16:38
UK stocks dropped sharply on Friday with the FTSE 100 finishing below the 7,000 level for the first time in seven sessions, after a terminal blackout and changes in Chinese trading regulations. After a positive start, the Footsie ended 65.82 points lower (-0.93%) at 6,994.63, its lowest finish since
Read moreTuesday broker round-up
14th Apr 2015 17:12
Marks&Spencer: UBS reiterates buy and lifts target price to 625p from 590p. HSBC: Credit Suisse reiterates underweight stance and Investec its recommendation to sell. Barclays: Credit Suisse reiterates neutral and 250p target. Tesco: Deutsche reiterates buy and 275p target price. Royal Dutch Shel
Read moreFriday tips round-up: UK Banks, Cranswick
10th Apr 2015 17:27
The loan loss ratio for UK banks stood at 0.14% at the end of 2014 according to Standard&Poor's, versus 0.69% in 2013 - a rare positive for the sector. It is a reflection of faster economic growth, low interest rates, higher property prices, banks' sale of dodgy property loans, lending deemed proble
Read moreUK banks paid 60% of profits in fines, KPMG says
7th Apr 2015 07:25
The UK's largest banks have collectively paid 60% of their profits since 2011 towards regulatory fines and reimbursing customers for mis-selling, according to KPMG. In a new report published on Tuesday, the global advisory firm estimated that such costs, including repayments related to Payment Prote
Read moreBanking stocks rise with Morgan Stanley upbeat about QE impact
1st Apr 2015 14:01
Shares of UK domestic lenders were making gains on Wednesday after upbeat comments from analysts at Morgan Stanley in a note issued after the US bank's conference on the financial sector last week. Morgan Stanley named British banks Barclays and Lloyds among its most preferred stocks in the European
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Shell boosted by Alaskan exploration approval, banks higher
1st Apr 2015 13:19
Oil major Shell was making gains after being given the green light by the US government to restart an exploration campaign in the Alaskan Arctic. Imperial Tobacco rebounded from Tuesday's losses, which were driven by concerns that the Lorrillard-Reynolds merger will fall apart. Banks such as Barcla
Read moreSpecialist UK bank Shawbrook rallies in stunning stock market debut
1st Apr 2015 08:14
Specialist British bank Shawbrook made a stunning stock market debut on Wednesday in London with shares rallying to 305p, well above the top of its preset price range of 290p. Shawbrook is seen as a new breed of British bank entering a market dominated by big institutions like Royal Bank of Scotland
Read moreMonday broker round-up
30th Mar 2015 18:40
Carnival: Numis upgrades to add with target price of 3,600p, Credit Suisse keeps at outperform, while Jefferies stays at underperform with 2,300p target. Barclays: JP Morgan Cazenove reiterates overweight. WPP: UBS reiterates buy, ups target to 1,700p from 1,500p. Marks&Spencer: Credit Suisse impr
Read moreBank of England unveils plan for 2015 'stress tests' on UK banks
30th Mar 2015 14:13
The Bank of England on Monday outlined fresh plans to assess the UK's banks in the event of another global economic crisis. The new plan will be applied to the largest UK banks and building societies. The BoE said the purpose of the test is to ensure that the UK banking system can withstand a sever
Read moreGoldman Sachs beats JP Morgan to commodities trading top spot
27th Mar 2015 07:26
Goldman Sachs has beaten investment banking rival JP Morgan to claim the accolade of the largest bank by commodities revenue, after the latter divested its raw materials business. According to London-based analytics firm Coalition, JP Morgan was ranked second in 2014, followed by Morgan Stanley. In
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 pulled below 7000 by declines on US markets
25th Mar 2015 16:51
London's FTSE 100 accelerated in the red by the end of Wednesday's session with declines in US markets offering direction to the downside. Late in Europe, Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 1.1% in New York and the S&P500 is off 0.9% in low volume trade with markets cutting exposure following poor
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