HSBC Swiss bank leak exposes tax evasion data
9th Feb 2015 07:43
HSBC is in hot water in the UK and Europe after its Swiss arm was alleged to have helped clients evade millions of pounds in tax, with Belgium preparing to issuing a police warrant for the group's directors. The bank has featured in recent court cases in the US and Europe but thousands of new leaked
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: HSBC tax dodge, UK pensioners, CGT loophole
9th Feb 2015 05:11
Leaked bank account files have revealed that HSBC's Swiss banking branch took part in tax avoidance schemes, helping well-off customers hide millions of dollars in assets, untraceable cash and domestic tax loopholes, wrote The Guardian. A multi-billion-pound bonds windfall unveiled by chancellor Geo
Read moreBarclays, HSBC, RBS have ratings cut by S&P
3rd Feb 2015 17:41
Standard & Poor's has downgraded a number of UK and European banks on Tuesday. Barclays and Lloyds were lowered by two notches to 'BBB', while Royal Bank of Scotland was downgraded two notches to 'BBB-' and S&P cut HSBC by a notch to 'A'. Standard Chartered was downgraded one level to 'A-', while t
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Lloyds, BT, Standard Chartered
1st Feb 2015 13:33
Lloyds Banking Group is preparing to pay a dividend for the first time since it was bailed out by taxpayers, the Sunday Telegraph reported. The board will sign off the group's annual results and then ask the Bank of England permission to pay a dividend before announcing results on February 27th. Llo
Read moreBroker tips: HSBC, Eastyjet, Dixons Carphone
27th Jan 2015 12:28
HSBC's share price was under pressure on Tuesday after broker Investec lowered its rating for the stock from 'add' to 'hold', saying that the bank's upcoming fourth-quarter results could disappoint. The broker said that a weak showing from the bank on 23 February will "trigger downgrades", as it low
Read moreLondon midday: Airlines rise, but FTSE lower after weak data, macro concerns
27th Jan 2015 12:01
Weaker-than-expected UK data and concerns over Russia weighed on London's stock exchange on Tuesday, as the market pulled back from its highest level in over four and a half months. US stock futures were also heading lower ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street as tech giant Microsoft underwhelmed
Read moreInvestec expects "disappointing" Q4 results from HSBC, downgrades to 'hold'
27th Jan 2015 10:09
HSBC's share price was under pressure on Tuesday after broker Investec lowered its rating for the stock from 'add' to 'hold', saying that the bank's upcoming fourth-quarter results could disappoint. The broker said that a weak showing from the bank on 23 February will "trigger downgrades", as it low
Read moreSunday share tips: Mitie, UK Mail, Vodafone
18th Jan 2015 18:44
Mitie's shares have fallen but not as fast as those of outsourcing rivals such as Serco and Balfour Beatty, Danny Fortson pointed out in the Sunday Times. Matthew Earl, a former City analyst who writes a blog, criticised Mitie for buying companies to compensate for its own slow progress and for the
Read moreHSBC to investigate reports that Hong Kong customers benefited from Swiss franc error
16th Jan 2015 10:14
HSBC said it was investigating reports that customers in Hong Kong managed to buy the Swiss franc below market rates, due to a technical glitch. Customers were apparently allowed to take advantage of the mistake, when an on-line bank failed to keep up with the Swiss franc's sharp gains in the wake o
Read moreLondon close: Stocks end choppy session firmly lower as data disappoints
6th Jan 2015 17:19
It was a volatile day for the UK equity market with stocks swinging between losses and gains for most of the session, with a late sell-off sending the FTSE 100 firmly in the red by the close. Service-sector activity data from across the globe largely came in below expectations with weak figures from
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Tesco, Oil explorers, Sainsbury´s
28th Dec 2014 17:17
Tesco is testing a discount format in its One Stop chain, indicating the group could be considering new ways to combat Aldi and Lidl, the Sunday Times said. Three One Stop branches have been trading as discounters with low prices and limited ranges for the past seven weeks. The trial is the idea of
Read moreFCA wants banks to fund FX fines out of their bonuses
21st Dec 2014 10:49
The banks involved in the foreign exchange rigging scandal should fund their fines out of this year's bonuses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said. Citigroup, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), HSBC, JP Morgan and UBS were fined a combined £1.1bn by the FCA in November for allowing traders to
Read moreLondon open: FTSE rises for fourth day as late Santa Rally kicks in
19th Dec 2014 08:27
UK stocks rose for a fourth straight day on Friday following massive gains on Wall Street the night before, with the Dow Jones index registering its biggest one-day gain in three years. London's FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 6,506 in early deals and has now risen by over 5% since Tuesday. Mike van Dulken
Read moreLondon midday: UK stocks back in the red ahead of Fed meeting
17th Dec 2014 12:18
UK stocks were back in the red on Wednesday after their first gain in seven days the previous session, with investors scaling back risk appetite ahead of a number of risk events. Along with a host of economic data due out during the session, markets were keeping an eye out for minutes for the latest
Read moreLondon close: Shares soar on upbeat Eurozone and bank news
16th Dec 2014 16:26
London shares bounced back on Tuesday in the wake of some long-awaited upbeat economic data in the Eurozone and positive news for UK banks. The FTSE 100 Index climbed 149.11 points to 6331.83 as Markit's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for euro-area manufacturing rose to 50.8 in December from 50.1
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