London close: Spanish concerns dampen stocks

2nd Oct 2012 16:37

- Moody's to reveal Spanish review this month - Banks provide a drag on the Footsie - Bumi and Bank of Georgia are big movers on FTSE 250 After a morning rally into the blue, the Footsie had dropped back into negative territory by the close of trade on Tuesday with uncertainty surrounding Spain con

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FTSE 100 movers: Babcock boosted by buoyant markets

2nd Oct 2012 15:51

Engineering support firm Babcock was performing well today after saying it was enjoying buoyant markets as customers turned to it to make cost savings. Jefferies, Seymour Pierce and Investec all hailed the first-half trading update as "in line", maintaining their 'buy' ratings for the stock while sa

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London close: Stocks surge after US data, Spanish stress tests

1st Oct 2012 16:45

- US data beats forecasts in September - Reports imply Germany may soften stance on Greece - Banks and miners rise strongly in London - Credit Suisse says Spanish stress test a "generally credible exercise" - Credit Suisse says larger top-down questions remain in stress tests Better-than-forecast m

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Sector movers: Banks, miners lead markets higher

1st Oct 2012 16:30

Increased risk appetite was benefitting the banking and mining sectors on Monday afternoon as benchmarks across Europe surged higher. Friday's release by Oliver Wyman on the Spanish financial sector was lifting sentiment on markets today. The independent auditor estimated that banks would need €59.

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FTSE 100 movers: Xstrata rises after agreeing to merger with Glencore

1st Oct 2012 14:46

The big news of the day was that the so-called merger of equals between commodities trader Glencore and mining titan Xstrata is back on after the independent directors of the latter agreed to Glencore's terms. Jefferies reiterated its positive stance on both stocks this morning, saying that while th

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London midday: Strong start to Q4; Footsie up one per cent

1st Oct 2012 11:24

- Investors taking advantage of underpriced stocks, says analyst - Asian and UK data disappoints - Xstrata rises after agreeing terms with Glencore London's blue-chip index gained strongly in morning trading on Monday with increased risk appetite benefitting the banking and mining sectors as stocks

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Monday broker round-up

1st Oct 2012 08:58

Barclays: Liberum Capital upgrades to buy, target lifted from 210p to 245p. British American Tobacco: Investec upgrades to buy. Capital & Counties: Seymour Pierce downgrades from buy to add, 233p target kept. Charles Stanley: Peel Hunt downgrades to hold. Electrocomponents: Panmure Gordon downgr

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London open: Stocks shrug off disappointing Asian data

1st Oct 2012 08:34

- UK stocks make strong gains early on - Japanese, Chinese figures disappoint - Xstrata rises after agreeing terms with Glencore UK equities advanced on Monday morning in spite of some disappointing economic data from Asia as stock markets kicked off the fourth quarter on a positive note. The Bank

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Lloyds lends to Paragon

27th Sep 2012 07:54

Paragon, the buy-to-let mortgage specialist which virtually went into hibernation during the credit crunch when the wholesale funding markets seized up, has signed a new warehouse funding facility. The £200m revolving senior secured loan facility has been provided by the wholesale division of Lloyd

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Lloyds worker gets five year sentence for fraud

21st Sep 2012 15:30

A former employee of Lloyds Bank who was in charge of online security has been sentenced to five years in jail after committing fraud while working at the bank. 50-year-old Jessica Harper, of South Croydon, London, admitted to filing 93 false and doctored invoices in order to claim payments totall

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London close: Footsie jumps to six-month high on QE3

14th Sep 2012 16:26

- Footsie closes at highest level since mid-March - Markets celebrate QE3 announcement - Mining stocks surge as demand outlook improves Massive gains in the mining sector lifted the FTSE 100 to a six-month high on Friday as markets reacted to the Federal Reserve announcement of further economic sti

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FTSE 100 movers: Miners soar after Fed announcement

14th Sep 2012 15:39

Mining stocks were putting in an impressive performance as metals prices gained on a weaker dollar after the Fed announcement. Investors are hoping that an improved US economy will boost the demand for commodities. Kazakhmys, Vedanta, Evraz, Fresnillo, ENRC, Antofagasta and Anglo American all gain

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London midday: Mining stocks celebrate QE3

14th Sep 2012 11:48

- Footsie at six-month high after Fed decision - Mining stocks rocket on stimulus plans - Markets' upside momentum to remain in the weeks ahead, says analyst London's stock market continued to extend gains on Friday morning after last night's announcement of more stimulus in the US, pushed the FTSE

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London open: Footsie at six-month high after QE3

14th Sep 2012 08:23

- Stocks soar after last night's QE3 announcement - Fed to buy mortgage debt, maintain Operation Twist - Miners, banks surge early on Stock markets across Europe surged in early trading on Friday following last night's stimulus announcement from the Federal Reserve; increased risk appetite was ben

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HBOS banker banned for life

13th Sep 2012 07:49

The former head of corporate banking at HBOS has been banned from working in the banking industry for life over his role in the collapse of the bank. Peter Cummings, the head of HBOS corporate banking from 2006 to 2008, has also been fined £500,000 by City watchdog, the Financial Services Authority

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