Wednesday newspaper round-up: Banking reforms, News Corp, Intel
14th Sep 2011 06:30
Proposals for sweeping reforms to Britain's banks have reignited speculation that some big lenders may move their operations abroad. HSBC and Barclays have been given an incentive to shift all or part of their businesses overseas after the recommendations in Sir John Vickers' report on banking, anal
Read moreLondon close: Miners, banks unwanted as Footsie falls 1.6%
12th Sep 2011 16:28
Despite finishing over 1% down, the FTSE 100 managed to pull back slightly despite a broad sell-off across Europe and a mixed start on Wall Street. Concerns over Europe's sovereign debt crisis were escalated today on speculation that Greece is headed for a default. Meanwhile, Greece's prime ministe
Read moreHSBC to sell non-life insurance business
12th Sep 2011 13:16
HSBC, the largest European bank, has launched the sale of its non-life insurance business, according to sources cited by Reuters. That report places the value of the business, which in 2010 generated a pre-tax profit of about $1bn at that same level. HSBC's 16% stake in Ping An Insurance (Group)
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks stuck lower but Lloyds bucks trend
12th Sep 2011 12:03
The top share index is stuck firmly in negative territory as worries over the Eurozone crisis and possible effects on global growth continue. The UK has its own concerns though after the government-appointed Independent Commission on Banking has said British banks should separate their retail bank
Read moreLondon open: Stocks tumble after banking report
12th Sep 2011 08:24
Footsie has dived more than 100 points at the outset as the markets get to grips with the details of the Vickers report from the Independent Commission on Banking. British banks should separate their retail banking and investment banking divisions, the government-appointed Independent Commission o
Read moreLondon pre-open: Triple digit fall as market digests ICB report
12th Sep 2011 07:32
The Footsie is set to dive more than 100 points at the outset as the markets get to grips with the details of the Vickers report from the Independent Commission on Banking. British banks should separate their retail banking and investment banking divisions, the government-appointed Independent Com
Read moreUS analyst warns against punishing banks
6th Sep 2011 15:25
Banking reforms being driven through by the US government could force the country into a recession, according to analyst Dick Bove. His warning follows news that the Federal Housing Finance Agency is to sue 17 banks over sub-prime mortgage lending, including Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and HSB
Read moreUK financial reform could be delayed as banks scramble to avoid taxes
1st Sep 2011 10:49
Rumours are flying that reform of the UK's financial sector could be delayed until 2015 - after the next election. Reports from the Financial Times and the BBC claim legislation could be passed to split banks' retail and investment arms before 2015 but not implemented until later. Banks have been
Read moreLondon close: Stocks slump again
18th Aug 2011 16:40
Volatility returned with a vengeance on Thursday, with the leading share index slumping back towards the lows it hit last week. The day got off to a bad start after a gloomy report on global economic growth from Morgan Stanley and things got worse after some more poor figures from the US. The glob
Read moreLondon midday: More losses amid global worries
18th Aug 2011 12:03
London's leading share index is nursing heavy losses now, with global worries over economic growth continuing to hurt sentiment. Miners are among the worst performers, with Kazakhmys, Vedanta and Rio Tinto deep in the red. FTSE 100 mining giants Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Xstrata also fall d
Read moreLondon open: Miners drag Footsie below 5,300
18th Aug 2011 08:34
Just five stocks were making gains at 8.35am on Wednesday, as the blue chip index opened below the 5,300 level. The miners were among the worst performers, with Kazakhmys, Vedanta and Rio Tinto among the heaviest fallers, partially offsetting the gains made yesterday. FTSE 100 mining giants Anglo
Read moreSector movers: Spectris bolsters gains in electronic sector
15th Aug 2011 15:17
Gains for FTSE 250 precision instrumentation and controls company Spectris are bolstering the electronic and electrical equipment sector on Monday. Spectris's shares rose 5% to 1,416p (3.35pm) after it announced that it is to acquire Omega, a privately held US business providing measurement and con
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Banks suffer while miners do well
15th Aug 2011 11:47
BP saw a rise despite announcing that its growth could be hampered because it "cannot find skilled workers". With the price of silver on the up it was no surprise to see that precious metals miner Fresnillo was performing well, topping the board at almost 5%. It was a similar story for Kazakhmy
Read moreLondon close: Stocks rally after strong start in US
11th Aug 2011 16:30
The volatile trading continued on Thursday as losses were turned into gains in London on the back of a rally on Wall Street. A steep rise was seen after midday erased earlier losses and helped the Footsie to finish near its highs for the day. Equities were on the rise in morning trade in New York a
Read moreLondon close: Stocks slide after short-lived rally
10th Aug 2011 16:43
London's leading share index almost closed back below the 5,000 point mark after giving up a short-lived rally. Euphoria over US plans to keep interest rates at their current low levels was soon overshadowed by the reason for the plans: the grim economic outlook. Here, the Bank of England has cut
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