London 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 moreLondon opening: FTSE 100 opens lower
4th Aug 2009 08:46
Blue chips have opened lower despite good performances overnight in the US and Asia. Insurer Legal & General has set the tone, by slashing the interim dividend by 45% after posting a loss of £1bn on a European embedded value (EEV) basis. The half-year dividend has been cut to 1.11p a share from 2.0
Read moreLondon pre-open: Footsie to open unchanged
4th Aug 2009 07:46
A flat start is predicted from FTSE 100 despite the continuing stream of results RBS has confirmed that it will sell its banking operations in seven Asian countries to Australia's ANZ Group for $418m. It will sell its retail and commercial banking operations in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indo
Read moreL&G cuts divi by 45%
4th Aug 2009 07:04
Insurer Legal & General tumbled Tuesday after a 92% plunge in half-year operating profit prompted 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 IFRS basis.
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: UK banks, National Express, William Hill
2nd Aug 2009 10:43
Treasury minister Lord Myners' radical plans for changes to financial regulation are "dangerous" and could result in a further loss of confidence in the market, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), the Sunday Telegraph reports. Lord Myners' idea for a two-tier shareholder registe
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