London afternoon: Footsie bursts through 4800
21st Aug 2009 14:15
Trading remains very thin in London but that has not stopped the Footsie from moving above the 4,800 level for the first time since October of last year. Insurance companies, with their huge investment portfolios, are naturally big beneficiaries of the continued market revival and they lead today
Read moreLondon midday: London's streak continues
21st Aug 2009 12:04
The wobble by global stock markets on Monday following last Friday's dismal US consumer sentiment figures seems a long time ago now as London looks well set to advance for the fourth day in a row. Insurance companies lead the advance in the wake of yesterday's surge by fallen US insurance giant AI
Read moreLondon close: Stocks in late surge
18th Aug 2009 16:36
A late rally driven by early gains in the US had London back up at session highs, with gains among financial plays easily offsetting a weaker property sector. Investors overcame disappointing US housing starts data that had the blue chip index struggling at session lows mid-afternoon. The annual ra
Read moreLondon close: Stocks near session high
12th Aug 2009 16:14
Footsie closed near a session high on Wednesday as London's top stocks continued to add to gains in afternoon trade, with banks among the best performers. Lloyds Banking finished up more than 6%, closely followed by fellow part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland . The FSA unveiled a new co
Read moreLondon afternoon: Gains trimmed
12th Aug 2009 14:10
London is clinging onto positive territory as Wall Street gears up for a slow start ahead of tonight's Federal Reserve policy statement. Banks continue to do well. Royal Bank of Scotland agreed to sell its Pakistan unit to MCB Bank for $87m (£53m). The UK lender, 70%-owned by the British governmen
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Bank bonuses, Rio Tinto, Dividends
12th Aug 2009 06:20
The City watchdog may come under fire today for softening its proposals on bankers' bonuses. The Financial Services Authority will say it has abandoned some of the more draconian proposals it suggested in its March consultation paper, on the grounds that it could hurt the City's competitiveness. Pu
Read moreL&G non-exec buys
5th Aug 2009 17:01
Legal & General non-executive director Ronaldo Schmitz has bought shares worth nearly £100,000 in the insurer. Schmitz acquired 160,000 shares in five separate transactions at a price range of 62.05p-65.4p each. His holding has now increased to 297,000 shares. Yesterday L&G tumbled after posting a
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Legal & General, Marston's, Drax
5th Aug 2009 06:40
Life insurance is a complicated business, says Legal & General's chief executive Tim Breedon, adding that that explains the relative cheapness of his company's stock. The shares got even less expensive yesterday, when they fell 4.75% after the group's first-half results. Complicated accounting proc
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Pensions, Lloyds Banking
5th Aug 2009 06:33
The shortfall in FTSE 100 blue chip final-salary pension schemes more than doubled in the past year to a record £96 billion, according to a new survey. The slide in equity markets and the fallout from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the former Wall Street banking group, were blamed. The figures,
Read moreLondon close: Footsie finishes just down
4th Aug 2009 16:33
London staged a late rally but still finished just in the red as financials weighed and the US started in tepid fashion. Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered was the biggest faller of the day after saying it is to raise £1bn through a placing. It posted solid first half figures with profits up by 1
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie has rare down day
4th Aug 2009 15:02
Footsie is having a poor day with financial and miners weak and a flat start to trading on Wall Street. Insurer Legal & General set the downbeat tone by slashing its interim dividend by 45% after posting a loss of £1bn on a European embedded value (EEV) basis. The half-year dividend has been cut t
Read moreSector movers: L&G casts cloud over insurers
4th Aug 2009 12:54
Life Insurance is worst of the bunch after Legal & General reported after a 92% plunge in operating profit and a 45% cut in the dividend. European embedded value (EEV) operating profit rose 12% to £657m for the six months to 30 June, up from £589m a year ago, but it slumped to £31m from £391m on a
Read moreLondon midday: Dull morning for Footsie
4th Aug 2009 12:03
Stocks remain stuck in the red after a poor morning session with shares undermined by miners slipping back and financials under pressure. Insurer Legal & General set the tone, by slashing its interim dividend by 45% after posting a loss of £1bn on a European embedded value (EEV) basis. The half-yea
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: L&G slumps on dividend cut
4th Aug 2009 11:49
Life Insurance is worst of the bunch after Legal & General reported after a 92% plunge in operating profit and a 45% cut in the dividend. European embedded value (EEV) operating profit rose 12% to £657m for the six months to 30 June, up from £589m a year ago, but it slumped to £31m from £391m on an
Read moreTechnical Analysis Snap: L&G drops on dividend cut
4th Aug 2009 10:56
Legal & General's decision to slash its dividend by 45%, as operating profits collapsed by 92% to just £31m, have weighed on the share price in early trade. As one of the bigger fallers in the insurance sector last year, it has made a limited recovery since its March lows. However it has, as ye
Read more