Sector 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
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks firmer as policy makers move to buttress growth
7th May 2013 11:49
Investor sentiment seems to have firmed a little in the first half of the session. That comes after a cautious start higher after the long weekend and as traders continued to debate about how much further the current push higher in equity markets has to go. Be that as it may, the latest data from t
Read moreLondon open: Buying interest on the rise in commodity space
7th May 2013 08:40
Investors in London have come back from the long weekend with a slightly cautious attitude, as traders continue to debate whether the current push higher in equity markets will be sustained or not. In that regard, Gary Parkison, from The Times, warns today on the recent sharp rise seen in the numbe
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: RBS, Barclays, Shell...
3rd May 2013 06:26
"Royal Bank of Scotland is poised to send the clearest signal yet that it is ready for the government to begin reprivatising its majority stake," writes the Financial Times. The paper says that the bank is expected to announce plans for a share sale that could start as soon as next year. According
Read moreBarclays corporate bank needs five years to meet RoE target
2nd May 2013 15:44
Barclays will take another five years to reach its corporate bank's return on equity (RoE) target as bad loans in Spain drag on its performance, according to head of the unit John Winter. The bank is working to achieve a RoE above its cost of equity, which is 11.5%, by 2015. However, Winter said t
Read moreBroker tips: Barclays, Sage, United Utilities
26th Apr 2013 12:49
Tradenext has recommended investors to pick up shares of banking giant Barclays at current levels, highlighting the company's M&A business and 'Transform Programme'. Barclays' shares dipped below 290p on Friday morning after rising to an intraday high of 305p on Wednesday after its first-quarter re
Read moreBroker snap: Tradenext highlights buying opportunity at Barclays
26th Apr 2013 12:31
Tradenext has recommended investors to pick up shares of banking giant Barclays at current levels, highlighting the company's M&A business and 'Transform Programme'. Ronnie Chopra, the Head of Strategy at Tradenext, noted the recent news that Barclays was advising Dish Network on its $22.5bn offer
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: UKFI, Barclays, Bank of Japan...
26th Apr 2013 06:43
The Telegraph says Jim O'Neil, head of the UK Financial Investments (UKFI) which manages the government's investments in RBS and Lloyds, has resigned, "deal[ing] a blow to the government's hopes of selling the stakes in the near future". Barclays Chairman Sir David Walker promised investors that he
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