London 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
Read moreLondon afternoon: Financials find favour
24th Jul 2009 14:11
Footsie eased back a little over the lunchtime session but thanks to firm financials the blue-chip index continues to shrug off this morning's gloomy data on gross domestic product (GDP). UK output contracted 0.8% between April and June after a 2.4% decline in the first quarter, according to the Of
Read moreLondon close: Footsie finishes ahead
20th Jul 2009 16:41
London's top stocks remained in the same range and closed with good gains as financials and miners had a strong day. Wall Street starting higher also helped. Sentiment was lifted in the US after reports that lender CIT Group has obtained a last-minute emergency financing rescue deal worth $3bn. Ll
Read moreLondon afternoon: Strong US opening keeps Footsie ahead
20th Jul 2009 15:47
A strong start on Wall Street has kept Footsie in the blue though it has lost some of its early momentum. Lloyds Banking is the best performer on a weekend report it could post an interim profit despite enormous bad-debt provisions. Some of its most toxic sub-prime investments have clawed back bill
Read moreSector movers: Insurers impress
20th Jul 2009 15:09
Another strong day for equities got investors excited about Life Insurance. Global stock markets are rising for a sixth day, boosting the value of investments. Prudential and Legal & General are the best performers, but Friends Provident is also going well as the Resolution takeover situation rumbl
Read moreLondon midday: Banks lead Footsie higher
20th Jul 2009 12:21
Blue chips have continued their recent surge with banks among the top risers as sentiment in the sector is boosted by last week's earnings reports from US rivals. Lloyds Banking is the best performer on a weekend report it could post an interim profit despite enormous bad-debt provisions. Some of i
Read moreLondon close: Bright finish for FTSE 100
13th Jul 2009 16:26
Footsie put a sluggish start behind it to finish with good gains, helped by a strong showing on Wall Street. Friends Provident was the best performer after Clive Cowdery's new vehicle, Resolution , said it has received "constructive feedback" from the board of Friends over its merger approach and i
Read moreLondon afternoon: Friends leads London higher
13th Jul 2009 14:32
Mergers and acquisition activity is keeping share prices bubbling as London makes a solid start to the week. Friends Provident is the best performer after Clive Cowdery's new vehicle, Resolution , said it has received "constructive feedback" from the board of Friends over its merger approach and i
Read moreLondon close: Footsie falls for fourth week
10th Jul 2009 17:04
London's blue-chip index fell for the fourth week in succession, with insurance and resource stocks the major fallers today. Aviva was the biggest casualty as fears resurfaced about the future of the company's dividend but its fellow life assurance stocks Prudential, Standard Life, Legal & General
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