London afternoon: RBS's rights plans disappoint
21st Sep 2009 14:26
Share prices are drifting lower as investors take stock following the market's recent strong run. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is lower on reports that it is mulling a share issue of between £3-4bn to reduce its dependence on the UK government's toxic asset protection scheme (APS). Lloyds confirmed
Read moreLondon midday: Miners in a hole
21st Sep 2009 12:24
Investors took an opportunity to bank profits in what has been a quiet session for news, with miners wearing the worst of the losses. Weaker metal prices have Fresnillo, Xstrata, Kazakhmys, Vedanta and Rio Tinto deep in the red. Even Antofagasta is lower now despite a positive note from Goldman Sac
Read moreLondon open: Footsie slips in early dealings
21st Sep 2009 08:38
London's blue chips have made a sluggish start to the week with corporate activity limited to a bit of asset and balance sheet tidying up by Punch and LandSecs. Punch Taverns has bought back another tranche of convertible debt due for redemption next year, reducing the amount outstanding to just ov
Read moreLondon pre-open: Top stocks to drop
21st Sep 2009 07:32
London's blue chips look set to open slightly lower with traders expecting Footsie to drop around 5 points in early dealings. Punch Taverns has bought back another tranche of convertible debt due for redemption next year, reducing the amount outstanding to just over £100m. The pub owner has bought
Read moreLand Securities sells Bullring stake
21st Sep 2009 07:02
Land Securities has sold its one third ownership of the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham to the Future Fund, an investment fund set up by the Australian Government, for £210m. The price tag reflects a 6.85% net yield, the group said. The 1.2 million sq ft (110,000 sq m) shopping centre in Bi
Read moreComment: The Post-Lehman Landscape
19th Sep 2009 11:53
This week marked the anniversary of the demise of US investment banking giant Lehman Brothers and the collapse of insurance behemoth AIG, two events that threatened to bring about the implosion of the world's financial system. Yet, here we are, a year later and the UK's major stock indices have stru
Read moreLondon close: Footsie winning streak continues
18th Sep 2009 16:38
London's rising streak continued but it was a bit of a struggle with the absence of economic news and a flat start on Wall Street keeping activity at low levels. Banks provided what little excitement there was, with Lloyds Banking, RBS, HSBC and Barclays the most widely traded blue-chips, with the
Read moreLondon afternoon: Shares remain becalmed
18th Sep 2009 13:28
Banks are providing what little excitement there is in the market today, with Lloyds Banking, RBS, HSBC and Barclays the most widely traded blue-chip, with the exception of Vodafone. Despite the number of shares changing hands part-nationalised bank Lloyds Banking Group is little changed, down less
Read moreLondon midday: Shares lack direction
18th Sep 2009 12:23
Leading shares still lack direction with the constituents of the FTSE 100 virtually evenly divided between risers and fallers while the index itself is little changed. Part-nationalised bank Lloyds Banking Group is attracting plenty of comment after it confirmed it is in talks with the government
Read moreSector movers: Property stocks rise on updates
18th Sep 2009 11:26
On a generally quiet day on the company news front, property groups take centre stage with a series of announcements. None of the news is particularly earth-shattering, but the sector is one of today's best performers nonetheless. Property group Songbird is flying high after saying it has increas
Read moreLondon open: Flat start as markets catch breath
18th Sep 2009 08:44
Footsie has made a slow start after Wall St paused for breath overnight on concerns the recent equity market surge may have got ahead of itself. Part-nationalised bank Lloyds Banking Group is making the headlines. It has confirmed talks with the government about changes to the terms of it joining a
Read moreLondon pre-open: Footsie to slip back
18th Sep 2009 07:46
Footsie is expected to fall in early dealings after posting more gains yesterday. Part-nationalised bank Lloyds Banking Group has confirmed it is in talks with the government about changes to the terms of its possible participation in the government asset protection scheme (GAPS). Lloyds is also mu
Read moreLandSecs appoints London portfolio director
18th Sep 2009 07:38
Robert Noel is to leave Great Portland Estates to join the board of rival property group Land Securities as managing director of LandSecs’ London portfolio. Noel steps into the shoes of Mike Hussey, who quit Land Securities in June after the company abandoned plans to demerge parts of the business.
Read moreLondon afternoon: Back in the blue
27th Aug 2009 14:27
The London stock market continues its see-saw day, moving back into positive territory over the lunch-time session. Some encouragement was drawn from the CBI's distributive trades survey which found that the balance of retailers expecting a deterioration in their general business situation over the
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie sinks into the red
27th Aug 2009 12:08
Having enjoyed a brief sojourn above the 4900 level Footsie is now in negative territory, weighed down by poor performing financial stocks. Banks, insurers and properties are all being given the cold shoulder though Royal Bank of Scotland is an exception after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted its pri
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