London midday: Footsie nudges higher ahead of US open
24th Feb 2012 11:49
- Lloyds falls on tough outlook for 2012. - Consumer product groups Unilever, Reckitt sold off. - BoE's Fisher thinks outlook is 'incredibly uncertain'. The Footsie was trading just a few points higher by midday on Friday, as a decline in consumer products stocks, miners and Lloyds was offset by a
Read moreBroker tips: Lloyds, GKN, RSA
24th Feb 2012 10:51
Nomura has maintained its reduce rating and 35p target price for Lloyds Banking Group following its full-year results this morning, saying that the bank is 'putting balance sheet strength before earnings'. "Given the complexities at Lloyds, our initial post-results reaction is subject to even more
Read moreBroker snap: Lloyds strengthening balance sheet 'at the expense of profitability'
24th Feb 2012 10:35
Nomura has maintained its reduce rating and 35p target price for Lloyds Banking Group following its full-year results this morning, saying that the bank is 'putting balance sheet strength before earnings'. The statutory pre-tax loss came in at £3,542m, compared with a profit of £281m last year, and
Read moreFriday broker round-up - UPDATE
24th Feb 2012 09:36
Lloyds Banking Group: Nomura keeps reduce rating and 35p target; Credit Suisse keeps neutral rating and 33p target. Royal Bank of Scotland: Nomura reiterates reduce recommendation and 26p target. RSA Insurance: Nomura downgrades from buy to neutral, target reduced from 148p to 120p; UBS keeps long
Read moreLondon open: Lloyds tumbles but Footsie stays flat
24th Feb 2012 08:26
- Lloyds drops after gloomy outlook. - Hammerson up as NAV rises 7%. - BoE's Fisher thinks outlook is 'incredibly uncertain'. The Footsie opened broadly flat on Friday as a strong rise by Capita and Hammerson managed to offset a fall in the mining and banking sectors following a negative reaction t
Read moreLondon pre-open: FTSE looks set to track US markets higher
24th Feb 2012 07:29
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 24 points from yesterday's close of 5,938, tracking strong gains in the US which saw the S&P 500 near its 10-month high, buoyed in part by strong US data. Investor sentiment was also given a lift after a Reuters poll indicated the European Central Bank
Read moreLloyds delays earnings targets, expects a tough 2012 - UPDATE
24th Feb 2012 07:04
Lloyds Banking Group said it expects the external environment to remain challenging this year and has had to delay its return on equity and income-related targets beyond 2014. Meanwhile, the lender reported a steep loss for 2011, dragged down by substantial charges in relation to Payment Protect Ins
Read moreLondon close: US data provides a lift
23rd Feb 2012 16:28
- US data comes in better-than-expected. - EC cuts GDP estimates across the board. - RBS, Capita lead risers after full-year results. London's blue chip index finished strongly on Thursday, gaining nearly 40 points in the final two hours, after some better-than-expected economic data Stateside bo
Read moreFriday preview: Lloyds Banking to dip pen in red ink
23rd Feb 2012 15:58
Thursday's results from fallen banking titan Royal Bank of Scotland showed the difficulties of deciding which numbers to focus on when it comes to massive banking operations, and it is not likely to be much easier when another part-nationalised lender, Lloyds, publishes its figures on Friday. For
Read moreLondon midday: Gains trimmed after gloomy EU growth forecasts
23rd Feb 2012 11:56
- EC cuts GDP estimates across the board. - RBS, Capita lead risers after full-year results. - German IFO survey comes in at six-month high. After a strong start, gains for the Footsie were pared by lunchtime after the European Commission cut its forecasts for economic growth. The market reaction t
Read moreLondon open: RBS provides a boost early on
23rd Feb 2012 08:25
- RBS leads banks higher after results. - Capita rises strongly after bullish outlook. - EU expected to cut Eurozone GDP forecasts. The Footsie opened slightly higher on Thursday as the markets digested a host of results, with heavyweights such as Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Capita, Centrica, RSA
Read moreLondon open: Footsie slips as ex-div stocks provide a drag
22nd Feb 2012 08:35
- Shell makes near-£1bn bid for Cove Energy. - Markets digest Greek bailout, China data. - Ex-div stocks provide a drag. The FTSE 100 slipped slightly into the red in the opening hour on Wednesday as investors continue to digest the Greek bailout approved on Monday night. Meanwhile, Chinese manufac
Read moreLondon close: Stocks slip as doubts remain over Greece
21st Feb 2012 16:32
- Doubts still remain over Greek despite €130bn bailout. - Vedanta jumps on speculation of restructuring. - Kenmare rises on takeover rumours. London's blue chip index finished the day slightly lower as last night's approval by Eurozone finance ministers to grant Greece its next aid package underwh
Read moreWhich? calls on Lloyds boss to hand back welcome bonus
21st Feb 2012 13:32
Leading consumer group Which? has reportedly called on Lloyds Chief Executive Antonio Horta-Osorio to hand back his signing-on bonus in the wake of the infamous PPI mis-selling scandal. Horta-Osorio was welcomed to the 43% taxpayer-owned bank with £4.6m in shares when he joined in January of last
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks continue to fall after Greek bailout
21st Feb 2012 12:01
- Eurogroup approves Greek bailout. - Oil stocks drag Footsie lower. - Tullow Oil drops despite oil find in Sierra Leone. London's benchmark index was trading close to its intraday low at midday as investors pondered the future of the Eurozone following last night's Eurogroup approval of the next t
Read more