London afternoon: Shares stay buoyant despite weather hit
20th Dec 2010 15:25
Footsie is still hovering around 5,900 points following a mixed start on Wall Street. Snow-affected stocks such as British Airways and many of the major retailers have trimmed losses. Arctic conditions are hurting retailers at their busiest and most crucial time of the year. Next, Marks & Spencer,
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie tops 5,900
20th Dec 2010 12:00
Things turned around dramatically in the hour before lunch as the session came alive after a rather dull start, nudging a 2½-year high by midday. Defensive issues are still going well. National Grid, Scottish & Southern Energy and British Gas owner Centrica are expected to benefit from the cold sn
Read moreOsborne has to wait for bank bonus face-off
20th Dec 2010 08:53
The chancellor and business secretary's showdown with the banks has been postponed because of the weather. George Osborne, stranded in New York, and Vince Cable, had been due to threaten Britain's five largest banks with further taxation and regulation unless they water down this year's bonus round
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Bank bonuses, snow, BSkyB
20th Dec 2010 06:30
George Osborne and Vince Cable will today pile pressure on senior bankers by threatening tax rises and further regulations if they go ahead with another bumper round of bonuses. The Chancellor and the Business Secretary are meeting the chief executives of the five largest banks ? the Royal Bank of S
Read moreBroker tips: UK banks, Serco, Misys
16th Dec 2010 14:29
Nomura highlights the attractive valuations of EU banks, but says the sector is volatile and its preference if for northern European commercial banks over those in the south. According to Peace, southern European banks are under a greater earnings risk than the northern sector due mostly to the imp
Read moreBroker snap: North European banks get nod over the south
16th Dec 2010 12:08
Nomura highlights the attractive valuations of EU banks, but says the sector is volatile and its preference if for northern European commercial banks over those in the south. Analyst Jon Peace says the sector valuation is low after recent macro-related underperformance, and ongoing uncertainty surr
Read moreEU unveils bank bonus rules
10th Dec 2010 15:31
European Union banking supervisors have unveiled their final guidelines for controlling bankers' pay and bonuses, with few changes from the tough-talking original draft in October. The guidelines are part of the EU's drive to bring bonus payments into line with the risks bankers' are taking and wil
Read moreSamir Assaf to head HSBC investment banking division
10th Dec 2010 11:31
HSBC's head of global markets has been named as the new boss of the bank's investment banking operations in its latest management shake-up. Samir Assaf will take up the position as chief executive of the Global Banking and Markets business from 1 January, having led global markets, part of the wide
Read moreLondon close: Footsie clings to lead
9th Dec 2010 16:40
A weak morning session on Wall Street did London no favours Thursday, although the big banks helped the leading index to only its second close above 5,800 in over three weeks. Barclays, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland were top of the pile. HSBC also did well, but fellow Asia-focused player Stand
Read moreHSBC sued for $9bn over Madoff fraud
6th Dec 2010 12:35
A court-appointed trustee trying to recover funds for people who were defrauded by the financier Bernard Madoff is suing HSBC for $9bn (£5.7bn). The trustee, Irving Picard, accuses the bank of failing to act on signals that should have prompted it to stop channelling funds to Madoff's operations. H
Read moreUK banks received one third of US bail-out funds
2nd Dec 2010 12:16
UK banks borrowed a third of the $3.3trn lent by the US Federal Reserve to keep the banking system afloat during the credit crunch, with Barclays alone borrowing over $860bn. News of the loans were revealed by disclosures under the newly introduced Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act. The Fed detaile
Read moreLondon close: Shares slump as eurozone saga continues
29th Nov 2010 16:45
The leading share index closed with triple-digit losses Monday as jitters over the eurozone debt situation continued to plague the markets. Financial markets are still betting either Portugal, Spain, or both, will need a rescue deal similar to the €85bn Irish bail-out, rubber-stamped over the weeke
Read moreLondon afternoon: Euro-zone fears resurface
29th Nov 2010 14:18
Thoughts that the euro-zone boil had been lanced by the agreement of a bail-out package for Ireland have proved premature, with rising Spanish bond yields suggesting that the prospect of Spain being the recipient of an EU/IMF aid package cannot be ruled out. An underwhelming response to the latest
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: More delays for Cairn Indian deal
29th Nov 2010 13:33
A delay in the Indian government's decision on the sale of Cairn Energy's Indian assets to Vedanta has hit Cairn's shares. The decision will not be made until February. The deal includes the transfer of ownership of exploration blocks which requires government approval. JPMorgan Cazenove has sta
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie deep in the red after reversal
29th Nov 2010 12:30
The leading share index is now firmly in the red after giving up the strong gains it was posting this morning. Markets remain jittery over the eurozone debt crisis. The euro hit new lows against a basket of currencies this morning, despite claims by European politicians that the €85bn Irish bail-o
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