Friday newspaper round-up: Greek bailout, Ukraine gas, National Rail
27th Feb 2015 07:04
Germany is expected to approve a new bailout deal for Greece on Friday, The Telegraph reported. Ukraine has refused to pay for more gas deliveries to Russia, arguing that Gazprom only supplied 40% of the order it promised, The Times wrote. National Rail chief executive Mark Carne has condemned the
Read moreSector movers: Banking sector falls as HSBC disappointment offsets gains elsewhere
23rd Feb 2015 14:56
A 5% drop in the share price of HSBC pushed the banking sector firmly into the red on Monday even though shares of other lenders were making gains. Lloyds and RBS were still in positive territory in afternoon trade and Barclays was more or less flat, but given HSBC's size the whole sector was regis
Read moreMorgan Stanley picks Lloyds and Barclays as banks play "catch up"
20th Feb 2015 15:53
Morgan Stanley thinks European banks might now "start to play catch up" after an unusual period of underperformance in an improving macroeconomic environment. Although Greek concerns remain, the US investment bank believes some concerns about the banking sector are easing, such as deflationary risks
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Investment banking probe, British Gas, Bank mis-selling
20th Feb 2015 06:52
Investment banks in the UK are facing a competition probe by the Financial Conduct Authority, according to the Financial Times. The regulator "could force banks to stop selling products and be more transparent about how they charge clients", the paper said. Centrica's British Gas has said it might r
Read moreBarclays, Lloyds and RBS cutting bonuses by 15%
19th Feb 2015 14:18
Three British banks are planning to reduce their bonus pot for 2014 by 15% compared with previous years, according to reports. Barclays, Lloyds Banking and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will award combined bonus pot worth £2.8bn. While Lloyds and RBS will collectively give £875m in bonuses, Barclays
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Wood Group, HSBC
18th Feb 2015 12:56
Investors should be wary of yesterday's surge in the shares of oil field services group Wood Group. The company reported a strong set of figures despite the recent drop in oil prices. However, one must keep in mind that most of that decline occurred towards the end of the year. That flattered the ou
Read moreMorgan Stanley still sees upside at Barclays despite investors' concerns
10th Feb 2015 09:45
Morgan Stanley has reiterated its 'overweight' position on UK banking group Barclays, saying that the value of its non-core operations are "under-appreciated" by the market. The US broker last week upgraded its stance on Barclays from 'equalweight', saying the "the market does not fully recognise th
Read moreLondon close: Greek fears rattle stocks, but miners limit downside
9th Feb 2015 16:35
London's FTSE 100 had trimmed losses by the end of the session but still finished in the red as ongoing concerns about the future of Greece weighed on market sentiment. "Eurozone equities are being ground down by Greek fears, and financial stocks across the EU are bearing the brunt of the sell-off,"
Read moreSantander UK to replace Barclays as 'Boris bikes' sponsor
5th Feb 2015 16:46
Santander UK could soon replace Barclays as the backer of London's cycle-sharing scheme. According to Sky News, the lender is close to seal a £50m deal to replace its sector peer as sponsor of the British capital's cycle scheme. Santander and Coca Cola have been locked in a race to replace Barclays
Read moreBarclays, HSBC, RBS have ratings cut by S&P
3rd Feb 2015 17:41
Standard & Poor's has downgraded a number of UK and European banks on Tuesday. Barclays and Lloyds were lowered by two notches to 'BBB', while Royal Bank of Scotland was downgraded two notches to 'BBB-' and S&P cut HSBC by a notch to 'A'. Standard Chartered was downgraded one level to 'A-', while t
Read moreBroker tips: Mining stocks, CRH, Barclays
2nd Feb 2015 11:38
The recent re-rating in mining stocks and weak commodity prices has prompted Liberum to downgrade its recommendations on sector giants BHP Billiton, Glencore, Anglo American and Rio Tinto. The broker lowered its ratings on all four from 'sell' to 'hold' and slashed target prices, saying that copper
Read moreInvestec says Barclays still cheap despite recent outperformance
2nd Feb 2015 10:02
A currency tailwind at Barclays, owing to a weaker pound-dollar exchange rate, has prompted broker Investec to reiterate its positive stance on the banking stock. The broker maintained a 'buy' rating and 295p target price, saying that "Barclays remains our preferred UK bank". "Although the London-l
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Chinese data boosts commodities and retail, Unilever sinks on dissapointing growth
20th Jan 2015 13:57
Fast-moving consumer goods giant Unilever was among the fallers after revealing slower-than-expected growth in 2014. Underlying sales were up 2.9%, faster than the markets they operate in but lower than analyst forecasts, with volumes higher by 1% and prices advancing by 1.9%. The company's core
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Tesco, Flotations, ECB
5th Jan 2015 02:29
Tesco will scrap the system of rebates and penalty fees it uses to extract money from suppliers, the Sunday Times said. In a trading statement due on January 8th, Chief Executive Dave Lewis will replace the complex arrangements with a simple scheme based on sales volumes. The change will put pressur
Read moreSmall businesses activity in 2014 strongest for more than a decade
2nd Jan 2015 13:41
Last year small businesses' credit turnover, or income, grew at its strongest rate since 2000, research by Barclays found. The value of payments into the current accounts of the lender's small business customers was up 20% from 2000, according to the bank's Small Business Income Index. "This reflec
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