HSBC boss to give bonus to charity
28th Feb 2010 12:01
HSBC chief executive Michael Geoghegan will break ranks with his rivals at other UK banks and accept a £4m bonus for last year, but immediately hand it onto charity. HSBC has received no state support during the banking crisis and feels it should be allowed to make its own decisions on remuneration
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: M&S, HSBC, Prudential
28th Feb 2010 11:23
Shareholders in Marks & Spencer are preparing for a fresh showdown with the retail giant over the £1.13m pay package of Sir Stuart Rose, the executive chairman. Institutional investors want M&S to slash Rose's annual salary when Marc Bolland, the new chief executive, joins in May. One big sharehol
Read moreWeek Ahead: HSBC, Standard Chartered, BoE rate decision
26th Feb 2010 11:36
The banking results season has coincided with 'bonus waiving' season this time round and when Asia-focused banking groups HSBC and Standard Chartered release full year figures next week attention is sure to be focused as much on management bonuses as on the numbers. The board of HSBC reportedly met
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: RBS, HSBC, VT Group
25th Feb 2010 05:57
The Government has cleared Royal Bank of Scotland to pay its 17,200 investment bankers £1.3bn in bonuses despite losses for the year reaching £5bn across the group. The performance awards equate to £75,000 each and will lift total average earnings to £150,000. In discussions with UK Financial Inve
Read moreLondon close: Carnival provides lift
24th Feb 2010 16:55
Footsie closed slightly higher, with Carnival giving London's blue chips a lift after announcing that it is going to increase the price of its cruises. Carnival was leading the FTSE 100 higher after the cruise operator said it will be lifting ticket prices following strong reservations activity for
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks steady at higher levels
24th Feb 2010 14:12
London has moved into consolidation mode in the afternoon session, ahead of a moderately firmer opening on Wall Street. HSBC remains the top performer as reports circulate that the company is preparing to sell its train leasing business for around £2bn. Sentiment towards the bank is also sweetened
Read moreLondon midday: HSBC rolls higher on train sale rumours
24th Feb 2010 12:04
Banks are leading the market's advance today, more than offsetting weakness among miners. HSBC was the morning's top performer as reports circulate that the company is preparing to sell its train leasing business for around £2bn. Sentiment towards the bank is also sweetened by reports that the boar
Read moreSector movers: Banks move higher
24th Feb 2010 10:14
Investors are bracing for results from banks RBS and Lloyds tomorrow and the following day respectively. Both stocks are higher, but the gains are modest. HSBC leads the sector higher amid reports the bank is expected to announce that its chief executive Michael Geoghegan not receive his 40% pay r
Read moreHSBC to scrap pay rise for CEO
24th Feb 2010 09:30
HSBC, Britain's biggest bank, is expected to scrap a pay rise of almost 40% for its chief executive Michael Geoghegan following shareholder protests. The board will make a final decision on Friday, before HSBC publishes 2009 results on Monday, according to press reports. It is understood that the
Read moreLondon open: Early gains for blue chips
24th Feb 2010 08:54
Financials are keeping Footsie moving forward this morning. Standard Life, HSBC and Aviva are all in demand despite the 100-point fall on the Dow overnight. Reckitt Benckiser is lower again on worries over the inquiry into its sales methods for Gaviscon heartburn products. Mining giant BHP Billit
Read moreWednesday paper round-up: HSBC, Google, RAB Capital
24th Feb 2010 06:32
The European Commission has launched an anti-trust investigation against Google after three online companies alleged that the internet giant's search functions were penalising their businesses. The investigation comes under the Lisbon Treaty's "abuse of dominant position" powers and is the first t
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie falls as miners switch sides
3rd Feb 2010 14:32
Mining stocks headed south over the lunch time session, taking the blue-chip index with them. Antofagasta is the worst performer in the mining sector. The copper miner produced 442,500 tonnes of the red metal in 2009, ahead of its original forecast of 433,000 tonnes but lower than the 477,700 tonne
Read moreLondon midday: Merrills takes a shine to banks
3rd Feb 2010 12:08
Footsie ended the morning at an intra-day high, driven by a strong performance from financial stocks and miners. Standard Life is the top riser after it announced a 'significant increase' in flows and sales in the fourth quarter. Life and pensions net inflows more than tripled to £1.3bn from £0.4bn
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: ITV, GSK, HSBC
31st Jan 2010 11:40
In the coming months, chairman Archie Norman, who was joined by former Royal Mail head Adam Crozier as chief executive, are expected to consider the possibility of a pay-per-view package for ITV 2, 3 and 4 among a range of options as ITV benefits from a slowly improving economic climate, says the Su
Read moreLondon close: Strong finish for FTSE 100
29th Jan 2010 16:38
Footsie gave up a recent weak spell to finish the week with good gains. Whitbread was the star performer. Following an investor day yesterday, Barclays Capital raised its price target on the Costa Coffee and Premier Inn owner to 1,700p from 1,600p. The broker thinks Whitbread will benefit from new
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