London open: Banks take a hit after Moody's downgrade
7th Oct 2011 08:32
Equities took a knock in early trading after Moody's dampened sentiment with the downgrade of 12 UK financial institutions. Stocks were expected to extend gains made over the last two days on the back of hopes for the struggling Eurozone. BANKS LEAD THE FALLERS The banks were the worst performers
Read moreRBS and 11 other banks hit by downgrade
7th Oct 2011 08:24
UK bank stocks have been hit following a downgrade to 12 financial institutions by the credit ratings agency Moody's. Lloyds TSB, Santander UK and the Co-Operative Bank were downgraded one notch, while Nationwide and RBS went down two levels. Smaller institutions, including Clydesdale Bank were al
Read moreLondon close: Footsie finishes well below 5,000
4th Oct 2011 17:31
Though share prices recovered a tad after some reassuring noises from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, London still finished the day deep on the red, with the Footsie well below the psychologically important 5,000 level. Federal Reserve president Ben Bernanke told the Joint Economic Committe
Read moreLondon midday: Banks plummet, retailers buck trend
4th Oct 2011 12:29
A decent performance from the retail sector was not enough to pull the market higher by lunchtime, as investors bailed out of banking, engineering and mining stocks on concerns over the global economy. Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of the Eurogroup finance minister committee, has said that there wi
Read moreLondon open: Footsie drops below 5,000
3rd Oct 2011 08:29
The Footsie plummeted in early trading on Monday, dropping below the 5,000 level, as euro worries continue to dampen sentiment. Despite Greece's tough austerity measures, the debt-stricken country revealed on Sunday that it will miss its deficit target for 2011, as it unveiled plans for job cuts ac
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Northern Rock, emerging markets, bank regulations
29th Sep 2011 06:01
The Treasury and Financial Services Authority are heading for a clash over a proposal to allow bidders for Northern Rock's "good" bank to take about £500 million out of the lender. The Treasury is keen to achieve a price of £1 billion and is exploring the idea of allowing the successful bidder to li
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Ricardo, Aggreko, Reed Elsevier
27th Sep 2011 06:48
Ricardo has never been busier turning out the sort of supercars that would seem to be out of the price range of anyone barring investment bankers and Russian oligarchs. The company's performance products division, which is the part of Ricardo that actually makes things as opposed to advising how to,
Read moreLondon close: Financials soar on Eurozone bailout hopes
26th Sep 2011 17:15
In a battle between booming banks and melting miners, the banks emerged on top, as Footsie reversed early losses to finish in the blue. Hopes that Eurozone governments will get their act together and seriously bumnp up the Eurozone bailout fund, while pushing through more severe "haircuts" - reduc
Read moreFTSE 100: BAE falls on job loss rumours
26th Sep 2011 13:53
The UK's main defence contractor, BAE Systems, was heading south after it news that it appears set to shed 3,000 jobs as it sees a slump in orders for its Typhoon aircraft. Reports from Sky News and the Telegraph indicate the plants most likely to be affected are in Warton, Lancashire, and Brough i
Read moreLondon midday: Banks power FTSE 100 rebound
26th Sep 2011 12:10
Stocks have rebounded strongly from their weak start, with a buoyant performance from the banking sector helping to offset continued weakness in mining stocks. Precious metals stocks in particular are in the firing line as prices for gold and silver continue their downward turn, bucking the usual r
Read moreLondon open: RBS, Barclays and Lloyds shrug off decline
26th Sep 2011 08:31
The top share index has recovered partially after tumbling below the 5,000 point mark on continuing worries over the Eurozone situation. Plans by European policymakers to up the amount of funds set aside to deal with the ongoing problems in Greece have failed to reassure markets. Miners lead the
Read moreLondon close: Buoyant RBS, Barclays and Lloyds boost FTSE 100
23rd Sep 2011 16:38
Stocks rediscovered their earlier strength, but only after tumbling below the 5,000 point mark on another volatile day for the leading share index. Banks were prominent among the risers, with Barclays, Lloyds and RBS posting decent gains, after talk of a 50 basis point cut in European Central Bank
Read moreLondon open: Lloyds, RBS and Barclays lead rally
23rd Sep 2011 08:14
Shares have staged an impressive rally after yesterday's slide, with banking trip Lloyds, RBS and Barclays setting the pace in the FTSE 100. They are joined higher by private equity investor 3i, which warned that falling stock markets will lead to an inevitable fall in the value of its portfolio at
Read moreLondon close: Markets dive on dismal global outlook
22nd Sep 2011 16:30
Gloomy comments from the Federal Reserve last night followed by even gloomier remarks by leading economists terrified the markets on Thursday, with benchmarks in the UK, Europe and the US suffering falls of between 3% and 5% as of 16:30. The FTSE 100 in London was nearly 5% down by the end of the se
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Vodafone, uncollected taxes, BP
22nd Sep 2011 06:00
Vodafone has been accused by India's tax authorities of creating an "artificial tax avoidance scheme" for its $11.2bn takeover of Hutchison-Essar in 2007. Speaking at the start of a hearing in India's Supreme Court over $2.5bn in taxes being disputed by the British company, the Solicitor-General cla
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