Banking 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
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: TUI soars on strong first half results, supermarkets lower
25th Mar 2015 13:54
TUI topped the risers after the group's first half trading update had surpassed last year's trading figures. The group's full year guidance of underlying operating profit growth of 10% to 15% was reiterated, based on the strength of current trading, as online bookings for hotel resorts and cruises s
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 rangebound as market lacks clear direction
25th Mar 2015 12:01
UK equities traded in a narrow range on Wednesday, unable to pursue a firm direction as markets continue to be conflicted with mixed signals. At 1212 GMT, the FTSE 100 index was flat at 7020. On Tuesday, a slide on Wall Street which caused the S&P500 to close 13 points lower pressured Asian share m
Read moreBarclays downgraded to 'hold' over at Investec Securities
25th Mar 2015 10:18
British bank Barclays had its rating downgraded to 'hold' from 'buy' over at Investec Securities on Wednesday. The broker said the main plank of its investment case for buying Barclays over the past year has been its extreme relative and absolute cheapness, reinforced by an absolute cost reduction s
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE fluctuates around 7,000 as Greek concerns weigh
23rd Mar 2015 11:42
UK stocks retreated slightly from a record high on Monday morning on the back of uncertainty in Greece, though decent gains from banking, oil and mining stocks were providing some support. The FTSE 100 was down 0.09% at 7,016 by midday, pulling back after setting a new all-time closing high of 7,022
Read moreBroker tips: Standard Chartered, HSBC, RSA Insurance
18th Mar 2015 11:43
Shares in Standard Chartered were surging on Wednesday after analyst at both Barclays and Bernstein raised their rating on the banking stock. Barclays analysts, which lifted their stance on StanChart from 'equal weight' to 'overweight', said they expect the recent appointment of Bill Winters as chie
Read moreBarclays and Citigroup close to settling Forex lawsuit with private investors
17th Mar 2015 18:09
Citigroup and Barclays will reportedly settle a lawsuit with private investors who say the banks manipulated foreign-exchange rates within the week. The Banks are expected to pay up to a combined $800m to settle the lawsuit, considerably larger payments than those made by JP Morgan and UBS who have
Read moreUS prosecutors could revoke settlements in currency-rigging investigations
17th Mar 2015 15:58
The US Justice Department is considering revoking years-old settlements to open fresh probes into banks alleged to have rigged interest rates. According to sources cited by Bloomberg, prosecutors could decide to scrape the agreements with each lenders, if they're found guilty of having committed cri
Read moreMorgan Stanley expects UK bank capital ratios to rise further to meet regulatory standards
9th Mar 2015 17:41
US heavyweight banking titan Morgan Stanley took note of the rising capital demands for UK banks in its latest note to clients and now expects that over 13% of Common Tier Equity 1 (CTE1) ratios to become the new baseline for the sector. "We see more evidence that the seemingly relentless march upwa
Read more