London open: FTSE snaps five-day winning streak ahead of Inflation Report, banks fall
12th Nov 2014 08:33
UK stocks declined on Wednesday, snapping a five-day winning streak that sent the FTSE 100 to a six-week high, as investors digested a wave of corporate earnings and awaited the Bank of England's (BoE) Inflation Report. News of a massive fine across the UK banking sector was also dragging high stree
Read moreFCA fines five banks £1.1bn for forex rigging but legal claims could be larger - UPDATE
12th Nov 2014 07:06
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued its largest ever fine, slapping a £1.1bn penalty on five banks for rigging forex markets, with Barclays yet to settle, with lawyers also warning that potential further legal action could dwarf these fines. The UK regulator fined Citibank £225.6m, HSBC
Read moreWednesday newspaper round up: NATO, LNG, FCA
11th Nov 2014 16:57
Year-to-date North Atlantic Treaty Organisation fighters have flown over 100 interception sorties against Russian bombers and surveillance aircraft, having hit a peak over the past fortnight. The above, together with recent Russian military activity in Ukraine are increasing fears of a wider conflic
Read moreBanks braced for forex rigging fines in UK and US this week
11th Nov 2014 11:25
Banks in the UK are braced to receive between £1bn and £2bn of fines this week for allegedly rigging currency markets, while US regulators are also expected to reach settlements before Friday. Six banks in the UK - Barclays, Citi, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, the Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS - have confi
Read moreTuesday broker round-up UPDATE
11th Nov 2014 09:55
AdEPT Telecom: WH Ireland moves target price from 170p to 185p, keeping its buy recommendation. Northland moves target price from 165p to 175p and maintains a buy recommendation. Betfair: JP Morgan raises target price from 1175p to 1350p and upgrades from neutral to overweight. BHP Billiton: JP Mor
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Economic recovery, London, Banks
10th Nov 2014 06:46
The economic recovery will continue over the next two years, leading to average wage rises for all workers - not just certain professions - finally outstripping inflation in both 2015 and 2016, according to the employers' organisation the CBI. But the recovery could be put at risk if the eurozone's
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
7th Nov 2014 09:44
AstraZeneca: Deutsche Bank increases target price from 4100p to 4350p and reiterates its hold recommendation. AVEVA: Societe Generale reduces target price from 2250p to 2000p, while keeping its buy recommendation. Big Yellow Group: Citi raises target price from 470p to 540p and maintains its neutra
Read moreCMA launches enquiry into current accounts and SME banking
6th Nov 2014 08:04
The UK competition authority has launched an "in-depth market investigation" into both the personal current account and small business retail banking sectors, which could help 'challenger banks' to grow. Having in July said it was looking at whether to probe the sector, the Competition and Markets A
Read moreJP 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
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