London close: Weaker German business confidence, stress tests weigh on stocks
27th Oct 2014 16:14
UK-listed stocks closed lower on Monday, with banks and mining stocks providing a drag in the aftermath of the results of the latest EU bank stress tests and alongside a weak reading on German business confidence. The FTSE closed down 24.92 points at 6,363.81 after falling early on. Stocks were dra
Read moreSector movers: Lloyds leads banks lower as stress-test success underwhelms
27th Oct 2014 14:10
Investors of the UK's biggest high street banks were left underwhelmed on Monday by the news that Britain's lenders had all passed the latest stress tests in Europe. Lloyds, HSBC, RBS and Barclays were all trading firmly in the red in afternoon trade. Results from the European Banking Authority's (
Read moreUK top four banks respond to stress test success
27th Oct 2014 08:16
Britain's four main banks have released statements following their stress test success. The test is meant to assess each bank's capital adequacy against a 5.5% common equity tier 1 (CET1) capital benchmark. The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) claimed that its improvement "reflected actions taken to re
Read moreRoyal Bank of Scotland will continue Ulster support, responds to stress test success
26th Oct 2014 15:55
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is rumoured to firmly back Irish counterpart Ulster Bank after a recent upswing in value, despite reports that RBS was looking to "seek a sale or outside investment", according to the Sunday Telegraph. The bank's chief executive Ross McEwan has hinted that he would l
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: SFO, EU, BP
23rd Oct 2014 18:49
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has been forced to ask the government for an additional £26.5m because of ongoing fraud investigations into Barclays, Rolls-Royce and Libor rigging, the Guardian reported on Friday. SFO chief David Green said that the agency was handling the "most demanding caseload th
Read moreSociete Generale to move London offices to Canary Wharf
23rd Oct 2014 17:02
French bank Societe Generale is set to join some of its competitors in Canary Wharf, one of London's main financial districts. On Thursday, the lender, which has currently six offices in London, announced it had signed a contract to lease eight of the 26 floors of a new building at One Bank Street,
Read moreBanks are starting to look like utilities, Brewin Dolphin says
20th Oct 2014 15:59
Britain's banks are becoming more like utilities as they focus on traditional retail banking rather than "casino" investment banking after the financial crisis, according to broker Brewin Dolphin. The banks are increasingly adopting characteristics common among defensive stocks like utilities, such
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 drops another 1.8% as sell-off resumes
16th Oct 2014 11:39
In spite of an initial 'dead cat bounce' in early deals, London's FTSE 100 tanked again on Thursday morning with the index sinking to levels not seen since June 2013 The UK benchmark index was down 1.8% at 6,099 by lunchtime, having earlier touched a high of 6,282.95, with banking shares sinking sha
Read moreUK bank reforms negative for bondholders, Moody's says
13th Oct 2014 10:31
Recent proposed structural reforms released by the UK's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) are negative for all large bank bondholders, Moody's warned in a note published on Monday. "The proposed hanges are credit negative for all bondholders of large UK banks because they remove some key obstacl
Read moreThursday tips round-up: TSB, Virgin,Marston's
9th Oct 2014 07:21
The long list of challenger banks, both those who have recently floated as well as those which are waiting in the wings to do so, enjoy some important advantages over their big four rivals (HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, RBS). Namely, they lack the legacy problems which are dogging their competitors and th
Read moreFidelity Worldwide Investment appoints ex-Barclays executive as UK boss
8th Oct 2014 11:28
Fidelity Worldwide Investment (FWI) has appointed a former Barclays senior executive as the new boss of its UK business. Fidelity said Peter Horrell would become managing director of its £70bn UK arm, which provides professional investors, financial intermediaries, employers and personal investors w
Read moreLondon midday: UK stocks rise despite weak economic data
6th Oct 2014 11:37
Weak economic data from Germany and the wider Eurozone failed to deter bullish investors on Monday as UK stocks continued to bounce off a 10-month low reached last week. London's FTSE 100, spurred by gains in the banking, airline and supermarket sectors, was trading nearly 0.4% higher at 6,550 by mi
Read moreLondon open: Banks, supermarkets give FTSE 100 a lift
6th Oct 2014 08:37
Decent gains from banking and supermarket stocks gave the FTSE 100 a boost on Monday morning as the UK's benchmark index continues to recover after hitting a 10-month low last week. The Footsie was trading 0.4% higher at 6,554 early on, rising for the second straight day after falling to 6,446.39 la
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Tesco, Supermarkets, BP
5th Oct 2014 17:19
Tesco is planning a boardroom purge after a string of profit warnings and the revelation of a £250m hole in its accounts, the Sunday Times said. The retailer was planning to unveil up to three non-executive directors 10 days ago but the accounting problem put the announcement on hold. Patrick Kenned
Read moreMade in Britain labels could generate £2.1bn extra for UK exporters
3rd Oct 2014 09:38
New research undertaken by Barclays Corporate Banking has revealed that international customers will pay more for products carrying a "Made in Britain" label. The firm estimates that UK exporters could increase their revenue by more than £2bn. According to the survey, 64% of new and emerging markets
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