UK's four major banks face further £19bn in litigation charges, S&P reveals
27th Apr 2015 12:19
The UK's four largest banks are expected to have £19bn more of litigation costs this year and next, said credit agency Standard & Poors, which said the quartet's credit ratings were safe for now. Although the credit agency said it thought the worst period for charges relating to payment protection p
Read moreLondon midday: Bounce in UK industrial data lifts stocks
27th Apr 2015 11:43
London equities returned to positive territory by midday as UK manufacturing data provided encouragement and earlier concerns about stalled Greek debt negotiations were assuaged by more positive rumours. German newspaper Bild suggested that Greece has revised its list of reforms and was ready to sus
Read moreLondon pre-open: Sharp gains expected in HSBC
27th Apr 2015 08:11
The Footsie is being called to start the day roughly flat on Friday´s closing level of 7,070.70. The news-flow surrounding corporate activity and M&A is front and centre before the opening bell. HSBC is expected to be the standout gainer on the top-flight index at the start of trading. That follows
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Housing, Primark, HSBC, Natural Gas
27th Apr 2015 06:54
Ed Miliband will today intensify a political offensive over housing with an offer to exempt first-time buyers from up to £5,000 in stamp duty using cash raised from tax crackdowns on rogue landlords and foreign investors. The promise to waive the sales tax on properties worth up to £300,000 for thos
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: HSBC spinoff, Lloyds offer, Worldpay IPO
26th Apr 2015 15:16
HSBC could spin off its £20bn UK high street banking interests, the Sunday Times said, reviving the old Midland Bank brand which the group bought in 1992. Having on Friday mentioned it was looking at moving its headquarters overseas, a flotation of its British bank could speed its corporate exit fro
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: HSBC rockets on domicile review, Astra hit by heartburn rival
24th Apr 2015 13:19
HSBC topped the risers as it launched a review of its UK domicile in light of the changing regulatory landscape. Some media commentators suggested the announcement, carefully timed ahead of the general election, was politically motivated. After receiving some takeover interest in one of its division
Read moreHSBC mulls moving headquarters abroad, AGM bloody nose on board pay
24th Apr 2015 09:44
HSBC, the UK's biggest bank, has launched a review into the location of its headquarters due to recent changes in the regulatory landscape but at its general meeting faced shareholder opposition on directors' salaries. "As part of the broader strategic review taking place, the board has therefore no
Read moreBanks are technologically two decades behind, says Barclays data chief
23rd Apr 2015 14:39
Banks' technology is old but their size makes adopting innovation a long and complicated process, Barclays chief data officer, Usama Fayyad said on Thursday. Speaking at a business conference in London, Fayyad said the banking industry was at risk of becoming a "boring business". "Banks are 10 to 2
Read moreMarket overview: Boston Fed president takes prudent approach
22nd Apr 2015 09:40
1333: Market commentary has picked up on cautious remarks from the Boston Fed´s Rosengren regarding the possibility that interest rate hikes could be postponed - not the most likely scenario in his opinion. 1253: Analyst at Jefferies have lowered their view on shares of Hargreaves Lansdown to hold f
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: Labour, HSBC, Credit Suisse
21st Apr 2015 06:49
The latest poll by Populus has shown that Labour at 34% are two points ahead of the Conservatives who have dropped a percentage point since last week, the Financial Times said. HSBC's chairman Douglas Flint has said at a company meeting in Hong Kong that the time may come soon for the bank to review
Read moreLondon close: Chinese stimulus lifts stocks despite ongoing Greek uncertainty
20th Apr 2015 16:35
Stocks rebounded on Monday after as measures by policymakers in China to boost bank lending helped to repair sentiment after recent losses, despite ongoing uncertainty in Greece. London's FTSE 100 finished the session 0.82% higher at 7,052.13, with mining stocks leading the rise on increased hopes f
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Greece, China, Deutsche Bank
20th Apr 2015 06:49
ECB president Mario Draghi has said that while a potential Grexit would be damaging to the Eurozone, the currency bloc is "no longer vulnerable to the immediate chain-reaction seen in earlier phases of the debt crisis", writes The Telegraph. The decision by the People's Bank of China to cut the rese
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Lloyds, HSBC, Tesco, Moneysupermarket
19th Apr 2015 16:45
Lloyds Banking Group is facing a legal attack over its calamitous takeover of HBOS in 2008. A class action lawsuit, bringing together more than 6,000 investors that owned shares at the time, has been planned to force the company to release emails and other documents dating back to the deal, "to find
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Chinese GDP, Google, HSBC
15th Apr 2015 06:59
Economic growth in China slowed down to just 7% in the first quarter, representing the lowest pace of expansion in six years, according to the Financial Times. This compared with 7.3% growth in the fourth quarter. Europe is set to file formal charges against Google for violating antitrust laws, The
Read moreTuesday broker round-up
14th Apr 2015 17:12
Marks&Spencer: UBS reiterates buy and lifts target price to 625p from 590p. HSBC: Credit Suisse reiterates underweight stance and Investec its recommendation to sell. Barclays: Credit Suisse reiterates neutral and 250p target. Tesco: Deutsche reiterates buy and 275p target price. Royal Dutch Shel
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