Tuesday newspaper round-up: Petrol duty, RBS, Britain, carbon floor
15th Nov 2011 06:41
Downing Street is considering scrapping January's planned rise of 3p a litre in petrol duty to avoid imposing another crippling burden on motorists and damaging growth prospects. The Government is worried that the rise will hurt the economy, but cancelling it entirely would leave a £1.5bn hole in th
Read moreLondon close: Italian vote drives late surge
11th Nov 2011 16:46
Just four stocks finished in the red in London as the Footsie closed 1.85% higher, near its highest levels of the day. Sentiment was given a lift around midday after positive newsflow out of Italy and some encouraging economic data from the US. ITALIAN YIELDS DOWN; US DATA PROVIDES A LIFT Italy's
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Schroders tops the list
11th Nov 2011 12:30
Schroders was the top riser after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to hold from sell, and even though Credit Suisse cut its target to 1,390p from 1,450p. AMEC was also rising after Galvan Research marked the stock out as a buy, saying that it expects the engineering and project management services
Read moreMorning broker round-up - UPDATE
10th Nov 2011 09:48
Experian: Citi reiterates buy with a target of 940p. Experian: Nomura reiterates buy and 867p target. Experian: Prime Markets confirms buy recommendation and 841p target. Anglo American: Citi keeps buy rating and 3,500p target. Admiral: Credit Suisse downgrades from neutral to underperform, targ
Read moreLondon close: Italian fears spark sell-off
9th Nov 2011 16:30
The top share index in London finished at its lowest levels of the day on Wednesday afternoon, as worries over the dire financial situation in Italy caused a mass sell-off across all European markets. The same worries also dampened sentiment in the US, with the three Wall Street benchmarks dropping
Read moreLloyds facing ratings downgrade from Moody's
9th Nov 2011 16:09
The credit ratings agency Moody's has fired a warning shot across the bows of Lloyds Banking Group by threatening to downgrade its A1 unsecured debt rating. Moody's says "the review has been prompted by the significant upheaval within Lloyds' senior management , following the announcement that the
Read moreLondon midday: Financials take a hit as Italian bond yields jump
9th Nov 2011 12:14
Despite a modest start, the Footsie took a tumble during morning trade and stood at its lowest levels of the day by lunchtime, as the focus turned to Italy's soaring borrowing costs. Financials were leading the decline on the blue chip index. ITALIAN BOND YIELDS KEEP ON RISING Yields on benchmark
Read moreWednesday broker round-up - UPDATE
9th Nov 2011 09:58
Admiral: Nomura puts buy rating and 1,900p target under review Admiral: Investec keeps sell rating and 843p target. HSBC: Evolutions Securities keeps sell rating and 650p target. British American Tobacco: Alpha Value downgrades to reduce from add. Regus: Credit Suisse upgrades from neutral to o
Read moreLondon close: Stocks stop at resistance again, despite Italy news
8th Nov 2011 18:08
UK stocks finished higher on Tuesday, but off their best levels off the day, as investors attempt to digest the potentially extremely serious implications of the 'soap-opera' that Euroland has become of late. In today's episode Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has lost his absolute major
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Lloyds rises despite £3.9bn loss
8th Nov 2011 12:46
Shares in Lloyds Banking Group surged this morning despite the firm reporting a £3.9bn loss for the first nine months of 2011. Much of the loss - £3.2bn - was down to the bank setting money aside for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance, but its total income for the period also fell 15%
Read moreUPDATE: Lloyds shares jump despite heavy loss
8th Nov 2011 10:35
Shares in Lloyds Banking Group surged this morning despite the firm reporting a £3.9bn loss for the first nine months of 2011. Much of the loss - £3.2bn - was down to the bank setting money aside for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance, but its total income for the period also fell 15%
Read moreLondon open: Thumbs-up for Lloyds
8th Nov 2011 08:44
It has been a hectic morning for big company announcements, busy enough to distract traders from events in the Eurozone. Eight of the FTSE 100 companies have made trading updates already, while insurance giant Prudential is set to weigh in with his third quarter update at 9:00am. Part-nationalised
Read moreLondon pre-open: Lloyds plays 'pick a number'
8th Nov 2011 07:34
London is set to make a quiet start, possibly because traders are trying to determine which numbers to focus on in the trading update this morning from Lloyds Banking. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 9 points from yesterday's close of 5,527. Part-nationalised lender Lloyds Banking
Read moreProfits down at Lloyds as financial instability begins to bite
8th Nov 2011 07:32
Lloyds Banking Group has seen profits and income fall between July and September as financial uncertainty has made life difficult for Britain's biggest high street lender. Total income net of insurance was £5,075m in the third quarter, down 5.5% on the April to June period and down 8% on the equiv
Read moreTuesday preview: Lloyds, M&S, AB Foods, Prudential
7th Nov 2011 18:03
Temporary chief executive Tim Tookey will no doubt be handling conference call duties on Tuesday after the release of third quarter figures from part-nationalised lender Lloyds Banking. Tookey, the group's chief financial officer, is standing in for António Horta-Osório, while the Portuguese boss re
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