London close: Banks boost Footsie late
11th Jun 2009 16:33
London rallied strongly late on, helped by gains for banks, which outweighed profit taking among the big mining stocks and weakness among oil users as the price of crude rose again. Speculation is growing about the timing of the government's withdrawal from ownership of large stakes in Royal Bank
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Broker support lifts Invensys
11th Jun 2009 14:59
Invensys is doing better during the recession than Goldman Sachs expected, prompting the broker to its rating on the engineer from 'neutral' to 'buy'. Broker comment also sent banking giant HSBC higher. Swiss outfit Credit Suisse upped the shares to 'outperform' from 'neutral'. There were also gai
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks in demand
11th Jun 2009 14:47
London is having a languid day, with Footsie lacking direction. Banks are strong but their gains are counterbalanced by losses on mining stocks. Banks are in focus as speculation grows about the timing of the government's withdrawal from ownership of large stakes in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), L
Read moreLondon close: Footsie finishes flat
9th Jun 2009 17:05
The UK's blue-chip index spent the day flitting above and below last night's closing level so it should have been no surprise when the FTSE 100 closed virtually unchanged. Thomas Cook was the day's best performer after it calmed investors' nerves over the collapse of Arcandor, which has a 52% stake
Read moreLondon afternoon: Thos. Cook soars on bid spec
9th Jun 2009 14:39
It's been a see-saw day for London's leading shares which are now predominantly firmer, after US markets opened moderately higher. Lloyds Banking Group has confirmed press reports that it is to close its Cheltenham & Gloucester branch network in a move that will see 1,000 jobs go. Lloyds also annou
Read moreLondon midday: Defence stocks beat a retreat
9th Jun 2009 12:05
Leading shares are now lower, dragged down by expectations of a weak start on Wall Street and by a trimming of the strong early gains made by miners. Lloyds Banking Group is still in the blue on reports it is to axe a further 1,500 jobs and close the branch network of Cheltenham & Gloucester. Gla
Read moreComment: Lloyds' merger mystery party
5th Jun 2009 17:13
The Lloyds Banking Group AGM on Friday was no party for directors as shareholders took the opportunity to vent their spleen at the company's hasty takeover of the toxic debt receptacle that is HBOS, with one shareholder at the AGM declaring the acquisition a 'disaster'. Many shareholders bought int
Read moreBroker tips: HSBC, Fuller's, SThree
5th Jun 2009 13:26
Attention in the banking sector today is focused on Lloyds Banking Group's AGM, but Swiss bank UBS has been running the rule over HSBC and found cause to reiterate its recommendation to buy the shares. UBS reckons that losses from the bank's ill-advised Household acquisition will be lower than prev
Read moreBroker snap: HSBC's bad debt fears overblown
5th Jun 2009 13:19
Attention in the banking sector today is focused on Lloyds Banking Group's AGM, but Swiss bank UBS has been running the rule over HSBC and found cause to reiterate its recommendation to buy the shares. UBS reckons that losses from the bank's ill-advised Household acquisition will be lower than prev
Read moreTechnical Analysis: Banks still finding upside difficult
2nd Jun 2009 16:33
Since the beginning of March, the turnaround in the fortunes of the banking sector has been quite remarkable. The lows of 1,877 seem a distant memory now after a rise of over 100%, but this rally needs to be set into the context of the decline before it. Since the beginning of May the banking sec
Read moreLondon open: Barclays divestment sinks Footsie
2nd Jun 2009 08:33
London has opened lower in the wake of the decision by Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Company to bank profits on its Barclays stake. Barclays is down by 13%. Khadem Al Qubaisi, managing director of IPIC, adding that the sale did not represent a lack of faith in Barclays, its managem
Read moreHSBC acquires 88.89% in Indonesian bank
22nd May 2009 08:52
Bank HSBC doubled its exposure in Indonesia after completing its acquisition of 88.89% of PT Bank Ekonomi Raharja Tbk (Bank Ekonomi) for $607.5m in cash. The acquisition of Bank Ekonomi, one of the largest providers of SME banking services in Indonesia, will almost double HSBC's presence in the cou
Read moreBroker tips: Banks, M&S, Morgan Crucible
15th May 2009 12:36
Barclays, already fielding bids for its iShares business, was buoyed Friday morning by rumours of a sale of the whole of its asset management arm. US group Blackrock is rumoured to be interested in buying the unit and may be prepared to pay up to $10bn. Little wonder, then, that Keefe, Bruyette
Read moreBroker snap: Barclays and HSBC get the nod from KBW
15th May 2009 09:14
Barclays, already fielding bids for its iShares business, was buoyed Friday morning by rumours of a sale of the whole of its asset management arm. US group Blackrock is rumoured to be interested in buying the unit and may be prepared to pay up to $10bn. Little wonder, then, that Keefe, Bruyette &
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: BT, Barclays, HSBC
14th May 2009 06:07
BT could face a pension-fund deficit of more than £11bn, according to independent pensions expert John Ralfe. Mr Ralfe estimates that under "true market valuations" the hole in BT's pension could have ballooned to over £11bn - more than the market capitalisation of the former state-owned telecoms co
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