London close: Stocks rally on US data as eyes turn to Fed
31st Jul 2013 16:39
After a cautious start, the FTSE 100 rallied strongly in afternoon trade following some strong economic data from the US, though markets pulled back slightly from their intraday highs by the close as investors awaited a key policy announcement from the Federal Reserve. London's benchmark index fini
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Investors toast solid annual results from Diageo
31st Jul 2013 15:11
Diageo, the beverages company behind the Guinness, Baileys and Smirnoff brands, was a high riser on Wednesday after delivering a solid five per cent increase in full-year net sales, driven by strength in the North American and spirits markets. Drinks company SABMiller was also making gains. Centric
Read moreLondon midday: Markets celebrate fall in Eurozone unemployment
31st Jul 2013 12:03
A fall in unemployment in Europe and some well-received corporate earnings pushed the FTSE 100 into positive territory on Wednesday morning, as traders showed optimism ahead of a policy announcement by the Federal Reserve later this evening. Some 24,000 fewer people were without a job in the Eurozo
Read moreLondon open: Markets flat as investors await FOMC, economic data
31st Jul 2013 09:06
Markets in the UK opened broadly flat on Wednesday morning as investors adopted a wait-and-see approach ahead of a policy announcement from the Federal Reserve. All eyes will be on the Federal Open Market Committee as its two-day meeting comes to a close this evening. While few actually think that
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Barclays, BNP-Paribas, JP Morgan
31st Jul 2013 06:42
The Bank of England has confessed to helping the Nazis sell gold plundered from Czechoslovakia months before the outbreak of the Second World War, The Telegraph revealed. Barclays plans to pay 511m pounds in new executive and staff bonuses along with raising 5.8bn pounds to address its capital sho
Read moreLondon close: Gains limited ahead of central bank decisions
30th Jul 2013 16:41
Caution ahead of a number of central-bank policy decisions kept gains on equity markets to a minimum on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 finishing slightly higher as traders digested a barrage of corporate earnings. The outcome of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting will be in focus on Wednesday, t
Read moreLondon midday: Markets rise on earnings, Gfk data
30th Jul 2013 11:39
Markets edged higher on Tuesday morning as traders reacted to a barrage of corporate earnings and data which showed that German consumers were at their most optimistic in six years. The GfK's forward-looking consumer confidence survey for Germany rose from 6.8 to 7.0 in August, its highest levels s
Read moreLondon open: Markets higher as traders digest mixed earnings
30th Jul 2013 08:50
Strong gains for GKN, ITV, Weir and Next helped push London's FTSE 100 into positive territory on Tuesday morning, offsetting weakness from the likes of Barclays and BP. Meanwhile, markets across Europe were also doing well early on as investors reacted to upbeat earnings reports from French heavyw
Read moreBarclays announces rights issue as profits slump
30th Jul 2013 08:07
Shares in Barclays dropped on Tuesday morning after the banking giant announced a series of actions, including an 5.8bn-pound rights issue, to reduce its capital shortfall. The move followed new regulations imposed by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) which introduced a 3.0% leverage ratio
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks seen higher, Barclays in focus
30th Jul 2013 07:40
The FTSE 100 is expected to open higher on Tuesday as markets react to earnings reports from a number of heavyweight banks across Europe, including UBS, Deutsche Bank and Barclays. Asian markets performed well overnight, but stocks on Wall Street broadly fell as investors turned cautious ahead of a
Read moreLondon close: Barclays weighs on the Footsie
29th Jul 2013 17:05
London equities finished the session slightly higher, up by 0.08% at 6,560.25 points or by 5.40 points. The benchmark came off earlier highs following a weaker than expected report on housing Stateside and after a report in the Financial Times said that Barclays may tomorrow announce a greater th
Read moreTuesday preview: Barclays to unveil capital raising plans
29th Jul 2013 14:28
Barclays will update the market on its capital raising plans on Tuesday when it reports its first-half results. The bank is exploring a greater than £5.0bn rights issue as part of a fundraising programme aimed at filling a capital hole thought to be as large as £7.0bn, according to The Financial Ti
Read moreBroker tips: Barclays, Aberdeen, Hiscox
29th Jul 2013 13:43
Analysts at Investec are quite critical of any attempt by Barclays to raise fresh capital - which they think the lender does not need - at current valuations. In their opinion that would be tantamount to capitulating to regulators´ demands. "How very disappointing!" they write to clients. In fact,
Read moreBroker snap: Investec likes Barclays despite capitulation
29th Jul 2013 11:33
Analysts at Investec are quite critical of any attempt by Barclays to raise fresh capital - which they think the lender does not need - at current valuations. In their opinion that would be tantamount to capitulating to regulators´ demands. "How very disappointing!" the write to clients. In fact,
Read moreBarclays to update market on possible capital raising tomorrow
29th Jul 2013 10:55
Barclays has issued a statement noting the "media speculation" about a possible equity capital raising. In that regard, they admit that the lender has been in discussions with the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) regarding its financial and capital management plans. Barclays will update the
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