JP Morgan sets aside $5.9bn ahead of currency probe
4th Nov 2014 14:52
US banking giant JP Morgan has increased the amount of money set aside for potential litigation costs by $1.3bn (£813m), after revealing its currency trading operations were under investigation by the US Department of Justice (DoJ). The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK and the Commodity F
Read moreTuesday broker round-up UPDATE
4th Nov 2014 09:32
Aberdeen Asset Management: Credit Suisse ups target price from 440p to 455p and keeps a neutral rating. Anglo Eastern: FinnCap initiates with a target price of 880p and a buy recommendation. Ashmore: Credit Suisse downgrades to underperform. Barclays: Citi moves target price from 300p to 315p stay
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: RBS, US tech firms, UK house prices...
3rd Nov 2014 19:42
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is set to ditch the auditors that reviewed its accounts before, during and after its £45bn taxpayer bailout, the Daily Telegraph said on Tuesday. The bank said Deloitte, which had conducted audits since 2000, will be replaced by Ernst & Young, which would audit its accou
Read moreBanks set aside over £4bn ahead of currency settlement
3rd Nov 2014 15:31
Some of the world's biggest banks have set aside up to $7bn (£4.38bn) in preparation for potential settlements with regulators investigating allegations of manipulation and collusion in foreign exchange markets. Upon releasing its earnings report on Monday, HSBC, Europe's largest bank, announced it
Read moreLondon close: Weak Eurozone manufacturing data drag shares lower
3rd Nov 2014 15:24
Weak European manufacturing data dragged London shares lower on Monday despite a rise in the sector's fortunes in the UK. The Eurozone Markit manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) for October fell to 50.6 from 50.7 previously with both Germany and Italy declining while France improved sligh
Read moreBroker tips: HSBC, RBS, Wm Morrison, Rolls-Royce, Just Eat
3rd Nov 2014 12:22
Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers has hailed a "strong operating quarter" for HSBC, but has said that analysts covering the stock remain on the fence due to regulatory issues. "Unfortunately, the provisions cannot be ignored and the ongoing costs of PPI and the forex investigations are also joined by
Read moreLondon midday: HSBC leads banks lower, as economic data comes in mixed
3rd Nov 2014 11:22
UK stocks pulled back from a four-week high on Monday morning after mixed global economic data and underwhelming results from banking heavyweight HSBC. After a positive start, the FTSE 100 had erased early gains and was trading 0.4% down at 6,521 by midday. The index closed at 6,546.47 on Friday, it
Read moreNew leverage ratios 'clear the overhang' for UK banks, says JPMorgan
3rd Nov 2014 10:37
JPMorgan Cazenove has welcomed the new leverage-ratio rules from the Financial Policy Committee (FPC), saying that the outcome for UK banks was better than the market had expected. Analysts reiterated their 'overweight' positions on Lloyds and Barclays, but kept 'neutral' ratings for RBS, HSBC and S
Read moreHSBC delivers strong Q3 but provisions can't be ignored, says Hargreaves Lansdown
3rd Nov 2014 10:07
Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers has hailed a "strong operating quarter" for HSBC, but has said that analysts covering the stock remain on the fence due to regulatory issues. HSBC said on Monday that pre-tax profit in the third quarter rose 2% to $4.6bn but that underlying pre-tax profit was down 12
Read moreHSBC underlying Q3 profits fall 12% - UPDATE
3rd Nov 2014 08:22
HSBC reported a 2% rise in third quarter pre-tax profit to $4.6bn but said underlying pre-tax profit was down $595m or 12% to $4.4bn against the same period last year. Reported pre-tax profit in the nine months was down 9% at $16.9bn compared with $18,6bn in the same period last year. Underlying pre
Read moreLondon open: UK stocks fluctuate at four-week high on China data, HSBC results
3rd Nov 2014 08:19
UK stocks opened cautiously on Monday, with upside limited by disappointing economic data from China and poorly-received results from HSBC after the banking group reported a drop in underlying third-quarter profits. The FTSE 100 was 0.1% higher at 6,554 in early deals, after having closed Friday's s
Read moreSector movers: Banking stocks surge on leverage ratio rules, RBS results
31st Oct 2014 15:02
Banking stocks, already bolstered by stronger-than-expected quarterly results from RBS, received another big lift on Friday afternoon as the Bank of England unveiled softer-than-expected requirements for leverage ratios. The leverage ratio, a key gauge of a bank's ability to cushion itself against l
Read moreLondon open: UK stocks rise, but Lloyds and StanChart fall
28th Oct 2014 08:54
Despite some heavy falls from banking heavyweights Lloyds and Standard Chartered, UK stocks advanced on Tuesday morning as the FTSE 100 rebounded from a one-week low. London's benchmark index was up 0.6% at 6,404 in early deals, helped by decent gains from oil major BP. The Footsie closed at 6,363.
Read moreSector movers: Lloyds leads banks lower as stress-test success underwhelms
27th Oct 2014 14:10
Investors of the UK's biggest high street banks were left underwhelmed on Monday by the news that Britain's lenders had all passed the latest stress tests in Europe. Lloyds, HSBC, RBS and Barclays were all trading firmly in the red in afternoon trade. Results from the European Banking Authority's (
Read moreLondon open: Stocks rise on stress-test results, but gains limited ahead of FOMC
27th Oct 2014 08:31
UK markets opened slightly higher on Monday morning, with sentiment boosted by the weekend's news that most European banks had passed recent 'stress tests'. The FTSE 100 was trading 0.1% higher at 6,396 within the opening hour, but had trimmed earlier gains which sent it to a high of 6,443.76. The
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