12th Dec 2011 15:07
Kazakhstan-focused miner, Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC), hit the bottom spot on reports that it is said to be examining allegations of corruption at a Kazakh iron ore subsidiary - although denied on Sunday that it was the subject of a formal investigation by Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO),
Read more12th Dec 2011 11:49
The Footsie was trading just below the 5,500 level at midday, with banks and miners providing a drag on London's blue chip index. It seems that markets across Europe have given a lukewarm reaction to the 'fiscal compact' agreed by (some) EU leaders late last week, with indices in Paris, Frankfurt an
Read more9th Dec 2011 16:45
The EU summit has of course dominated markets today and investors have taken the news reasonably well, with benchmark indices across Europe finishing between 2-3% higher after Eurozone nations (and some others) reached an agreement on enhancing fiscal discipline and strengthening economic policy coo
Read more9th Dec 2011 14:44
The banks - Lloyds, RBS and Barclays - took the top spots, rising around 3% each, as markets digest last night's developments from the EU summit. Mining peers Fresnillo, ENRC, Kazakhmys, Xstrata and Antofagasta were also making gains. EU leaders have failed in a bid to make changes to the treatie
Read more9th Dec 2011 12:02
A strong performance by the banks and the miners lifted the FTSE 100 into positive territory by lunchtime, despite a fall early on, as markets digest last night's developments from the EU summit. Bourses across the Eurozone were all in the blue ahead of the conclusion of the meeting this afternoon.
Read more9th Dec 2011 09:05
Lloyds Banking Group boss Antonio Horta-Osorio is ready to return to work, but will have to effectively reapply for his own job, according to media reports. Chief executive António Horta-Osório went on stress-induced medical leave in early November. Reports say the board of the bank will meet next
Read more9th Dec 2011 08:29
It was a flat start for the Footsie as investors digested the details coming from last night's pivotal summit, in which leaders failed to make sweeping changes to treaties which govern all 27 members of the European Union. EU SUMMIT DISAPPOINTS Britain blocked an agreement that would apply to all
Read more9th Dec 2011 07:20
Natural gas will eclipse coal as the world's second-biggest source of energy in just over ten years, according to ExxonMobil's latest annual survey. Global demand for natural gas will soar by 60% between now and 2040, a rate of growth that will see it steal the number two spot from coal in 2025, the
Read more8th Dec 2011 16:43
The Footsie took a tumble in the afternoon as initial optimism following the European Central Bank (ECB) decision to cut rates quickly faded after a press conference with its president Mario Draghi. In the last two-or-so hours of trade, London's blue chip index dropped more than 100 points from its
Read more8th Dec 2011 15:25
GKN continued to fall on news that Credit Suisse had downgraded the stock from outperform to neutral. Standard Chartered fell after saying its income for 2011 is now expected to grow at "just below a double digit rate" after a depreciation in Asian exchange rates against the dollar. Previously the
Read more7th Dec 2011 15:13
Miners continued to rise following a strong morning trade, with Randgold Resources leading the way after gaining over 3% and Eurasian Natural Resources not far behind. Although not on the top 10, Kazakhmys, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, Xstrata and Vedanta were also performing well. However, banks were n
Read more7th Dec 2011 12:30
Lone Star, a US private equity group, has been named as the exclusive bidder for £900m-worth of distressed property loans currently owned by Lloyds Banking Group, according to the Financial Times. The property loans, known as the Project Royal portfolio, is the biggest disposal of loans by a UK ban
Read more7th Dec 2011 11:49
The Footsie was trading well below its intraday high of 5,626 reached in early trading. However, the index was still making moderate gains - up 0.33% at 5,587 by midday - on fresh optimism over the Eurozone, as leaders draw up plans to increase the region's firepower against the crisis. Miners domi
Read more6th Dec 2011 12:01
UK equities pushed into positive territory (albeit only slightly) by midday but trade was choppy in the morning session, as a Standard & Poor's warning over Eurozone ratings rattled markets' nerves. Nevertheless, US futures were pointing to a positive start on Wall Street, providing a lift here in
Read more6th Dec 2011 08:23
UK stocks opened flat on Tuesday morning as yesterday's optimism surrounding the key Merkel-Sarkozy meeting and an upcoming EU summit was outweighed by some worrying comments from Standard & Poor's (S&P). S&P WARNS OF MASS EUROZONE DOWNGRADE Reports of a impending credit rating agency action on th
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