London close: Stocks surge on Iranian oil report
23rd Mar 2012 16:42
- Oil surges on falling Iranian exports - BoE tells banks to raise capital ASAP - BT leads the rise, miners trim losses London's blue chips rallied in afternoon trade with the Footsie surging in the last two hours to finish in positive territory as oil prices jumped. According to report in Reuters
Read moreFinancial Policy Committee tells banks to raise capital ASAP
23rd Mar 2012 12:46
The Bank of England (BoE) has warned banks that they must raise external capital as early as is feasible. The Financial Policy Committee (FPC), which acts as a watchdog for the BoE, published a report expressing its concerns that "capital is not yet at levels that would ensure resilience in the fac
Read moreLondon midday: Miners drag Footsie lower
23rd Mar 2012 11:55
- Footsie on track for worst weekly performance YTD - Miners fall, Randgold still hampered by Malian concerns - BT rises on pension deficit arrangement After a strong start, a sell-off in the mining sector dragged the Footsie into the red by lunchtime. Rising commodity prices did little to lift the
Read moreHSBC offloads stake in Middle-Eastern private equity unit
23rd Mar 2012 10:58
HSBC is selling its Middle East private equity arm, HPEME, to the current management for 3.4m dollars. HPEME was established in Dubai in 2002 and has funds under management of approximately $480m, with investments in 18 businesses. HSBC, which would retain a 19.9% holding in the firm, still needs
Read moreLondon open: Miners pull the Footsie lower
20th Mar 2012 08:36
- Miners fall as BHP warns of slowing steel production in China - OBR to raise UK GDP forecasts for 2012 - ARM, National Grid, United Utilities rise after upgrades The FTSE 100 slumped in the opening hour on Tuesday as the miners dragged the blue chip index into the red for a second day. According
Read moreLondon close: Losses trimmed by news from Greece
19th Mar 2012 17:03
- Greek CDS auction finishes in line with expectations - Greece expects GDP to fall 4.5 per cent in 2012 and 0.5 per cent in 2013 - Markets await Wednesday's Budget The FTSE 100 finished only slightly in the red after a positive start on Wall Street, which saw UK stocks trim losses in afternoon tra
Read moreHSBC spends 1bn to maintain clout in China
15th Mar 2012 09:53
Ensuring HSBC will remain a key player in mainland China is going to cost the firm more than one billion pounds. The UK's biggest bank is spending HK$13,264m on a share placing by the Chinese lender, Bank of Communications, or BoCom for short. The subscription will see HSBC maintain its shareholdi
Read moreLondon close: Stocks surge on improving global outlook
13th Mar 2012 16:48
- FTSE 100 at highest levels since last summer - Markets await FOMC, words from Bernanke - Draghi sees signs of 'stabilisation' The Footsie finished at an eight-month high on Tuesday, up a whole percentage point on the day, as financial stocks made gains on the back of an improving global economic
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks extends gains after ZEW survey
13th Mar 2012 11:46
- German ZEW reaches highest level in over a year - Spain to accept Eurogroup's fiscal consolidation request - Miners, banks lead the rise on the Footsie Stocks were extending gains by lunchtime after a German confidence survey smashed expectations. Meanwhile, US stock futures are pointing to a pos
Read moreLondon open: Financials, miners lead the rise
13th Mar 2012 08:38
- Standard Life, Pru in demand after results - Antofagasta, G4S lead the fallers - BoJ maintains rates, ups asset purchases The Footsie rose strongly on Tuesday helped by some well-received full-year results from insurers and a decent performance by banking and mining stocks as risk appetite increa
Read moreMonday broker round-up
12th Mar 2012 09:51
Aggreko: UBS ups target from 2,400p to 2,500p, buy rating unchanged. AMEC: Societe Generale upgrades from hold to buy, target hiked from 950p to 1,320p. Antofagasta: Oriel Securities downgrades from add to hold, target cut from 1,294p to 1,258p. Ark Therapeutics: Collins Stewart keeps buy recomme
Read moreLondon close: Stocks rebound as Greek debt-swap looms
7th Mar 2012 16:35
-Greek debt-swap participation rate estimated at 58%. -Greek government confident of achieving rate of at least 75%. -Admiral surges after full-year results. London's blue chips bounced back today, following yesterday's sharp selling, with investors now looking to tomorrow's Greek debt-swap deadlin
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks edge higher, markets await Greek debt-swap
7th Mar 2012 11:25
- Admiral jumps 11% as outlook improves. - BATS, CRH, Serco down after going ex-dividend. - Markets await the Greek debt-swap deadline. Following a shaky start, London's FTSE 100 index looked to have found its direction by midday, trading three tenths of a percent point higher following the sell-of
Read moreLondon open: Ex-div stocks offset a surging Admiral
7th Mar 2012 08:34
- Admiral surges 11 percent on full-year results. - Ex-div stocks provide a drag. - Greek debt-swap deadline looms. Following the 2.8 percent tumble over the last three days, the Footsie opened broadly flat on Wednesday ahead of tomorrow's deadline for the Greek debt-swap. A surge in the share pric
Read moreLondon pre-open: Yesterday's losses set to continue
7th Mar 2012 07:28
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down four points from yesterday's close of 5,766, continuing the pattern of the previous session which saw the index plunge two percent, or 109.2 points, on concerns over Greek debt and a worsening global economic outlook. Banking titan HSBC's sale of p
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