London close: Eurozone worries dampen UK stocks
29th Mar 2012 16:35
- Stocks dragged down by Eurozone concerns - International Power receives approach from GDF Suez - FirstGroup plummets after gloomy update London's FTSE 100 index sank to its lowest levels of the day by the close of trade on Thursday with Eurozone worries once again in focus as bond yields in Italy
Read moreLloyds sells Dubai business to HSBC
29th Mar 2012 14:47
Lloyds Banking Group is selling its onshore Dubai business to HSBC Bank Middle East. The sale, which comes as part of Lloyds' plan to reduce its international presence, includes the group's retail, commercial and corporate banking business in the area. The said assets were valued at totalling £4
Read moreFinancial complaints soared in second half of 2011
28th Mar 2012 14:41
Financial complaints soared in 2011, with over 12,000 a day is the second half of last year, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has revealed. The volume of complaints received by the FSA were up 21% compared to the first half of the year. Complaints about loan insurance rocketed a whopping 8
Read moreLondon midday: Gains pared despite strong performance by banks
27th Mar 2012 11:55
- Government may cut stake in RBS - Defensives sold off - Resolution could split before sale The Footsie was nearly back where it started by midday, after gains were trimmed as heavy losses for Resolution, Compass and utilities stocks weighed on the blue chip index. The earlier rise for London's
Read moreLondon open: RBS leads the rise early on
27th Mar 2012 08:46
- Government may cut stake in RBS - Rio Tinto considers offloading diamond interests - Resolution could split before sale A strong performance by the banks helped push the FTSE 100 higher on Tuesday morning as the market continues to be boosted by recent comments by US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
Read moreLondon close: Stocks surge on Iranian oil report
23rd Mar 2012 16:42
- Oil surges on falling Iranian exports - BoE tells banks to raise capital ASAP - BT leads the rise, miners trim losses London's blue chips rallied in afternoon trade with the Footsie surging in the last two hours to finish in positive territory as oil prices jumped. According to report in Reuters
Read moreFinancial Policy Committee tells banks to raise capital ASAP
23rd Mar 2012 12:46
The Bank of England (BoE) has warned banks that they must raise external capital as early as is feasible. The Financial Policy Committee (FPC), which acts as a watchdog for the BoE, published a report expressing its concerns that "capital is not yet at levels that would ensure resilience in the fac
Read moreLondon midday: Miners drag Footsie lower
23rd Mar 2012 11:55
- Footsie on track for worst weekly performance YTD - Miners fall, Randgold still hampered by Malian concerns - BT rises on pension deficit arrangement After a strong start, a sell-off in the mining sector dragged the Footsie into the red by lunchtime. Rising commodity prices did little to lift the
Read moreLondon open: BT leads the risers early on
23rd Mar 2012 08:38
The Footsie rose in the opening hour of Friday's session, helped by a strong performance by financial stocks. Company news was thin on the ground early on but BT was the best performer after announcing plans to eliminate its pension deficit within 10 years. The blue chip index remains nearly 100 po
Read moreLloyds's mass branch sale to Co-op proves 'complex'
22nd Mar 2012 15:35
Lloyds has said that it will update the market on the progress being made on its sale of hundreds of branches to The Co-operative Group (Co-op) in the second quarter due to the 'complex' nature of the deal. The European Commisson-mandated divestment of 632 retail and commercial branches, known as P
Read moreLondon open: Miners pull the Footsie lower
20th Mar 2012 08:36
- Miners fall as BHP warns of slowing steel production in China - OBR to raise UK GDP forecasts for 2012 - ARM, National Grid, United Utilities rise after upgrades The FTSE 100 slumped in the opening hour on Tuesday as the miners dragged the blue chip index into the red for a second day. According
Read moreLondon close: Losses trimmed by news from Greece
19th Mar 2012 17:03
- Greek CDS auction finishes in line with expectations - Greece expects GDP to fall 4.5 per cent in 2012 and 0.5 per cent in 2013 - Markets await Wednesday's Budget The FTSE 100 finished only slightly in the red after a positive start on Wall Street, which saw UK stocks trim losses in afternoon tra
Read moreMonday broker round-up - UPDATE
19th Mar 2012 09:37
Antofagasta: Exane BNP Paribas upgrades from neutral to outperform, target lifted from 1,200p to 1,450p; Nomura cuts target to 1,500p from 1,650p, buy rating unchanged. AstraZeneca: Goldman Sachs cuts target from 3,350p to 3,306p, neutral rating kept. Barclays: UBS raises target from 240p to 272p,
Read moreLondon close: Footsie finishes strongly as banks, miners provide a lift
16th Mar 2012 16:47
- Footsie finishes the week up 1.4 per cent - Eurozone debt crisis eases, US data mixed - Essar closes up 10 per cent The Footsie finished the week strongly, closing not too far off the elusive 6,000 mark, with financials and miners making ground as tensions arising from the Eurozone's debt crisis
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Lower gold price hits miners
16th Mar 2012 15:39
Polymetal and Randgold Resources both dropped lower, as gold prices took a hit. Polymetal continues to make headlines concerning the rumoured merger with Russian peer Polyus Gold, which is aiming to raise its free float to 25% (from 14%) in order to gain a long-awaited premium listing on the FTSE
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