Broker tips: HSBC, Cadbury, Carphone Warehouse
19th Jan 2010 12:29
HSBC is weaker Tuesday after French broker Exane BNP Paribas cuts its stance on the bank to 'underperform' from 'neutral' with 700p price target. Analyst Ian Gordon says the decision reflects the emergence of 'genuine value opportunities elsewhere, rather than any material deterioration in the pace
Read moreUK banks may face $10bn US tax bill, reports
15th Jan 2010 13:16
Three of the UK's biggest banks could face a $10bn (£6bn) tax bill from the US government as part of the Obama Administration's effort to recoup the losses on the $700bn cash advanced under the TARP rescue scheme, according to press reports. Part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland may have to hand
Read moreFriday paper round-up: RBS, Barclays, BT
15th Jan 2010 06:34
Three British banks may have to pay more than $10bn (£6bn) to the US Government as part of its crackdown on financial institutions bailed out by taxpayers. Royal Bank of Scotland, which is 84% owned by the Government, may be on the hook for almost $1bn to the US over the next decade under a stringe
Read moreLondon close: Commodity slide hits Footsie
13th Jan 2010 16:32
Footsie ended the day firmly in the red with low commodity prices helping to offset positive broker coverage. With the oil price below $80, oil titans Royal Dutch Shell and BP found themselves on traders' sell lists. BG Group also slipped even after HSBC upped its price target for the stock from 13
Read moreLondon afternoon: Leading shares mixed
13th Jan 2010 14:57
Leading shares are mixed having picked up a little over the lunch time session, helped by a firmer start on Wall Street. With the oil price below $80, oil titans Royal Dutch Shell and BP find themselves on traders' sell lists, but BG Group makes headway after HSBC upped its price target for the st
Read moreLondon midday: Ferrero pulls out of Cadbury chase
13th Jan 2010 11:56
Oils and banks are dragging the Footsie down, with sentiment also soured by disappointing manufacturing output figures. While industrial production showed a 0.4% rise in November, better than the 0.3% rise economists had been predicting, manufacturing output remained unchanged from October's level
Read moreLondon close: Blue chips at 15-month high
29th Dec 2009 16:48
London's blue chip index closed at a new 15-month high having regained all of the ground lost after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Footsie was last this high on 12 September 2008 when it stood at 5,416. The following day Lehman Brothers went bust. London is now the seventh stock market to regain
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 at 15-month high
29th Dec 2009 12:21
London's blue chip index is now back above the levels before the collapse of Lehman Brothers with demand for miners again sparking the rise. Footsie was last this high on 12 September 2008 when it stood at 5,416. The following day Lehman Brothers went bust. London is now the seventh stock market to
Read moreLondon open: Good start for Footsie
29th Dec 2009 08:46
London's top stocks have made a decent start to the week after the extended weekend break, with miners among the top performers. There were good showings elsewhere, with the Nikkei index in Japan hitting a four-month high overnight and the German DAX closing above the 6,000 mark for the first time
Read moreLondon close: Footsie at 15-month high
24th Dec 2009 12:28
Miners pushed London sharply higher in a shortened trading session Thursday, getting the leading index up to 5,400 briefly and to its highest close since September 2008. Silver producer Fresnillo is top of the table on stronger metal prices, with BHP Billiton, Vedanta Resources and Rio Tinto also h
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners on the march
23rd Dec 2009 12:27
Miners are among the top risers, including Rio Tinto, which has accepted a $2.025bn offer for its Alcan Packaging pharmaceutical, tobacco and food divisions from the packaging group Amcor as it continues its programme of asset sales to ease its debt pile. Kazakh pair ENRC and Kazakhmys are the top
Read moreOFT drops action on bank charges
22nd Dec 2009 07:09
The Office of Fair Trading has decided to drop its action to curb bank charges after last month's ruling by the Supreme Court in favour of the banks. 'The Supreme Court judgment was not the outcome we had hoped for and was disappointing for many bank customers. Having now considered in detail all t
Read moreStill no debt deal for Dubai World
21st Dec 2009 17:58
Dubai World still hasn't agreed the suspension of repayments on its $22bn debt pile despite putting forward restructuring plans today. The troubled state-owned firm held talks with dozens of banks and said it would reach a deal 'in an orderly way' as Dubai's leaders promised financial support if a
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Shell, Goldman Sachs, LSE
20th Dec 2009 11:15
Royal Dutch Shell, the oil giant, has launched a shake-up of its controversial operations in Nigeria by offering oilfields valued at up to $5bn (£3.1bn) for sale. The auction comes as Nigeria prepares to impose harsher terms on foreign operators next month and hand greater control to domestic firms,
Read moreBroker tips: HSBC, Arriva, Clapham House
17th Dec 2009 13:06
Banking giant HSBC's balance sheet strength sets it apart from most of its UK rivals, reckons Nomura Securities, which has reiterated its 'buy' recommendation for the stock. 'With a loans/deposits ratio of c80% and core tier 1 ratio of 9% as at Q3 [third quarter] 2009, HSBC remains balance sheet ad
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