London midday: RBS leads the way
21st Jan 2011 12:08
Royal Bank of Scotland is leading the top share index higher after the FT reported that bank executives and officials at the Treasury are talking about ways for the bank to exit the toxic asset scheme. Fellow bank Lloyds is also going well. Weather conditions in Australia have improved enough to
Read moreLondon open: Footsie recoups losses
21st Jan 2011 08:53
London's leading shares have claw backed a small proportion of yesterday's heavy losses, encouraged by the late rally on Wall Street yesterday. Royal Bank of Scotland is leading the way forward after the FT reported that bank executives and officials at the Treasury are talking about ways for the
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks set to bounce back
21st Jan 2011 07:35
London's leading shares look set to claw back a small proportion of yesterday's heavy losses, encouraged by the late rally by Wall Street yesterday. City traders expect the Footsie will open around 17 points up from last night's close. Weather conditions in Australia have improved enough to allow
Read moreClose Brothers on track
21st Jan 2011 07:16
Close Brothers remains on course for a 'satisfactory' outcome this year despite a pick-up in bad debts, though it had flagged this previously. The merchant bank arm increased lending by 10% to £3.2bn in the five month period to December, with net margins holding up. Bad debts as a percentage rose
Read moreFriday preview: Close Brothers, retail sales
20th Jan 2011 16:59
Merchant bank Close Brothers is set to announce a pre-close trading statement on an otherwise quiet day for company results. The bank put in a solid performance in the three months to end-October, with the group enjoying continued strong capital and funding positions. The bad debt ratio took a turn
Read moreFriday tips round-up: Derwent London, Close Brothers, Centrica...
19th Nov 2010 06:40
Derwent London, the office landlord, joined the chorus of commercial property companies singing the praises of London's buoyant market yesterday. It is encouraged by the continued improvement" of the market in the heart of the capital, despite economic conditions remaining "uncertain". Rentals are
Read moreClose Brothers hails solid first quarter
18th Nov 2010 09:34
Merchant bank Close Brothers hailed a solid overall performance in the three months to end-October, with the group enjoying continued strong capital and funding positions. The group's banking division saw good loan book growth and a strong net interest margin reflecting continued demand for its len
Read moreHargreaves Lansdown founder raises £58m from share sale
7th Oct 2010 16:39
Hargreaves Lansdown founder Stephen Lansdown has sold nearly 3% of the company. Lansdown sold 13.56m shares at 429p each, which raised £58.18m. That leaves Lansdown with 20.1% of the financial adviser. Wealth management firm Hargreaves Lansdown reported a record year to June 2010 despite tough m
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Unilever, Centrica, Thomas Cook...
29th Sep 2010 06:45
Unilever shares have underperformed of late, although they have started to bounce from recent lows. However, they are still more than £2 below their recent high of £20.15 seen in December. They hit a low of £16.88 at the end of August. The long-term growth will come from emerging markets, where mor
Read moreLondon close: Footsie rebounds as Wall Street recovers
28th Sep 2010 16:53
An upturn in the US buoyed sentiment on this side of the Atlantic too, helping Footsie to finish in the blue after a choppy day. The day started badly for London's leading share index but it. gradually recovered throughout the morning only to fall back after a poor start on Wall Street then rebound
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie becalmed
28th Sep 2010 14:12
Expectations of a firm start on Wall Street have lured buyers back into the market in London and the blue-chip index ended the lunch time session barely changed on the day. Hedge fund manager Man has been usurped as worst performing FTSE 100 stock by weapons systems developer BAE Systems. Defence f
Read moreLondon midday: Man leads London lower
28th Sep 2010 12:22
Confirmation that the UK economy grew 1.2% in the second quarter, its fastest pace in nine years, has done little to quell concerns about future economic growth, both here and abroad, and that prompted a subdued mood in London in the morning session. Hedge fund manager Man is the weakest of the bl
Read moreLondon open: Poor start for blue chips
28th Sep 2010 08:47
London is heading lower led by Thomas Cook after a gloomy update, while miners and banks are also under pressure after a weak finish on Wall Street overnight. Tour operator Cook said it has now started a review of its UK cost base after softer than expected business over the summer and in view of t
Read moreClose Bros bank makes record profit
28th Sep 2010 07:42
Close Brothers has had a "good" result for the full-year, driven by strength at the banking business, and the merchant bank expects a "satisfactory" outcome for 2011. Adjusted operating profit from continuing operations rose 7% to £121.3m in the year ended 31 July. Operating profit before tax was u
Read moreTuesday preview: Man, Close, Game, JJB, GDP
27th Sep 2010 16:51
Hedge fund manager Man Group gives a pre-close trading update and as usual most of the attention will be on how well the "black box" used by its flagship AHL fund has been doing in predicting market movements. The fund has pulled out of a slump in recent months though the Japanese government's unc
Read more