London open: Markets pause ahead of BoE and ECB decisions
6th Jun 2013 08:34
Markets opened broadly flat on Thursday morning as traders paused for breath following the heavy sell-off the day before, with all eyes on the Bank of England (BoE) and European Central Bank (ECB) as they prepare to announce their latest monetary policy decisions this afternoon. The FTSE 100 lost 2
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 down one per cent as volatility continues
31st May 2013 11:26
The volatile trade seen over the past week continued on Friday with investors turning nervous ahead of another raft of economic indicators from the US later on. "European markets have taken a leg lower this morning as traders look to scale back risk heading into the month's end, with the central ba
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Darty, UK banks, German banks...
29th May 2013 06:40
Electricals retailer Darty could slash jobs in an effort to cut costs in its core French region as it copes with a weaker economy, The Independent reports. The Guardian says that Britain's 'Big Four' banks - comprised of Lloyds, HSBC, RBS and Barclays - will have cut 189,000 jobs worldwide in just
Read moreLondon close: Stimulus hopes drive triple-digit gains for FTSE 100
28th May 2013 16:49
While hopes have now faded for a long-term continuation of stimulus measures in the US, speculation surrounding continued monetary easing in Europe and Japan sparked a huge surge on equity markets on Tuesday. After reaching a 13-year high on Wednesday, the FTSE 100 dropped sharply in the latter par
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks bounce back after recent sell-off
28th May 2013 11:20
UK markets were registering impressive gains on Tuesday morning with hopes of continued monetary easing in the Eurozone lifting sentiment as stocks bounced back following last week's sharp sell-off. After reaching a 13-year high on Wednesday, the FTSE 100 dropped sharply in the latter part of last
Read moreLondon open: Stocks surge as markets play catch up after long weekend
28th May 2013 08:30
UK markets surged in early trading on Tuesday with traders wasting no time in playing catch up as they returned to their desks following the three-day weekend. After reaching a 13-year high on Wednesday, the FTSE 100 dropped sharply in the latter part of last week on fears of a scaling back of stim
Read moreLondon close: Markets tumble as stimulus hopes fade
23rd May 2013 16:20
The recent bullish mood on equity markets quickly faded on Thursday as mixed messages from the Federal Reserve and a slowdown in China sparked a heavy sell-off on the FTSE 100, which lost more than two per cent of its value. Answering questions in Congress last night was Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke w
Read moreSector movers: Miners and banks fall as risk appetite wanes
23rd May 2013 15:12
Growth concerns hammered markets across the globe on Thursday, with banking and mining stocks bearing the brunt of the sell-off in London as the impressive year-to-date rally ran out of steam. As such, there were no sectors in the UK in positive territory by the afternoon, with every category eithe
Read moreLondon close: Bernanke's dovish tone sparks surge late on
22nd May 2013 17:12
After a relatively subdued start on the FTSE 100, stocks surged in afternoon trade as comments from the Chairman of the Federal Reserve pushed the index to fresh 13-year highs. The benchmark index extended its impressive year-to-date rise to nearly 16% today after Ben Bernanke initiated a dovish to
Read moreBankers' bonus cap to hit up to 10 times as many employees
20th May 2013 09:58
PricewaterhouseCoopers has said the European Union (EU) is to significantly extend the reach of the bankers' bonus cap to include 10 times as many employees than previously expected. Officals from the European Banking Authority will this week cap financial sector pay at 0.5m euros, PwC has said.
Read moreBroker snap: UBS upgrades banks to 'overweight' as conditions improve
17th May 2013 10:59
UBS has lifted its rating for the global banking sector from 'underweight' to 'overweight', saying that the operating environment is beginning to improve. In a research report titled 'Post-crisis banking', UBS said that the tone of its Global FID conference earlier this week was "neutral to slightl
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Banks, Petropavlovsk, Glencore Xstrata
14th May 2013 07:10
Authorities attempts to create a challenger to the main established lending groups - RBS, Lloyds, Barclays, HSBC - are in a state of disarrray after Moody´s six notch downgrade of Co-op last week. Simply put, creating a large new lender is far more difficult and risky than many appreciate. In any ca
Read moreBroker snap: Investec downgrades HSBC after recent outperformance
13th May 2013 16:14
Shares of HSBC Holdings are currently close to five-year highs and further upside is limited, according to Investec which has cut its recommendation from 'buy' to 'reduce'. The broker said it was "perfectly comfortable" with HSBC's first-quarter results last week which saw sharply lower impairments
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks snap winning streak as Chinese data disappoints
13th May 2013 11:51
Disappointing economic data from China on Monday put an end to a seven-day winning streak in London which lifted the FTSE 100 to a five-and-a-half-year high last week. London's benchmark index reached a closing price of 6,625 on Friday afternoon, a level not seen since late 2007, meaning that it ha
Read moreLondon open: Markets pause after strong run last week
13th May 2013 08:48
Weakness in the financial sector meant that the FTSE 100 was in the red on Monday morning, with investors pausing for breath after the index reached fresh multi-year highs last week. London's benchmark index reached a closing price of 6,625 on Friday afternoon, a level not seen since late 2007, mea
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