London 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

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London 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

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London 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

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Which? 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

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London 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

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London open: Stocks slip after Greek bailout approval

21st Feb 2012 08:19

- Eurogroup approves Greek bailout. - Euro strengthens after announcement. - Footsie slips early on with oil stocks weighing on index. Despite Eurozone finance ministers doing what many had expected by approving the next tranche of aid for Greece, the Footsie opened moderately lower on Tuesday morn

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London close: Stocks establish a new high for the year

20th Feb 2012 17:46

-Miners jump as investors seek riskier assets. -Officials optimistic about securing Greek bailout. -PBoC cuts RRR for banks. -ECB bought no debt last week through SMP program. Stocks rose on Monday and established a new high for the year after what appears to have been some genuinely positive new

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FTSE 100 movers: Miners leap on Greek deal optimism

20th Feb 2012 14:33

Mining stocks and banks performed well in the morning session, buoyed by Greek optimism and the People´s Bank of China's decision to cut its legal reserve ratio requirement for large banks by half a percentage point, announced late on Friday. Mining stalwarts Kazakhmys, Eurasian Natural Resources

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London midday: Risk appetite increases on Greek bailout hopes

20th Feb 2012 11:32

- Miners jump as investors seek riskier assets. - Officials optimistic about securing Greek bailout. - PBoC cuts RRR for banks. With the possibility of a Greek bailout edging closer, and China moving to ease fears of a 'hard-landing' over the weekend, UK stocks had extended gains by lunchtime, wit

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Broker tips: Lloyds, CSR, Aveva

20th Feb 2012 11:24

Nomura has reiterated its reduce recommendation and 35p target for Lloyds Banking Group ahead of the firm's full-year results due later this week. Nomura says that the outlook for both revenue and asset quality has deteriorated over the second half of the year, "which makes us more concerned about

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Broker snap: Consensus too optimistic about Lloyds, says Nomura

20th Feb 2012 11:11

Nomura has reiterated its reduce recommendation and 35p target for Lloyds Banking Group ahead of the firm's full-year results due later this week. "The investment case for Lloyds, like RBS, is driven by an assessment of the value and prospects of the core businesses and the potential exit and restr

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Monday broker round-up -UPDATE

20th Feb 2012 09:08

Whitbread: Credit Suisse recommends trading sell. Morgan Crucible: Credit Suisse raises price target to 375p from 305p. Halma: Credit Suisse raises target to 380p from 310p, upgrades to neutral from underperform. Spectris: Credit Suisse raises target to 1,900p from 1,690p. Lloyds: Nomura re

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London open: Buying boosted by Greece, China

20th Feb 2012 08:26

- Decision day for Greece, hopes of a bailout approval boost stocks. - PBoC cuts RRR for banks. - Miners, oil stocks perform well early on. Just a handful of stocks were in the red in early trading on Monday, as market sentiment was lifted by hopes that Greece can secure its next tranche of aid. Me

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Lloyds claws back bonuses after PPI scandal

20th Feb 2012 07:35

Five directors of Lloyds Bank, including the previous Chief Executive, will be forced to pay back some of their 2010 bonus, reports the Telegraph. Lloyds has had to set aside £3.2bn to cover claims arising from the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI), it's those losses which have prom

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Sunday newspaper round-up: Lehman, Tax cuts, North Sea, Iran

19th Feb 2012 16:12

George Osborne came under pressure from three sides today to put tax cuts at the heart of next month's Budget. Nick Clegg sought to sharpen dividing lines with the Tories as the Liberal Democrats pressed for more help for low earners. Labour called for an emergency VAT cut while senior Tories urged

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