FTSE 100 movers: Banks and miners await Irish news
19th Nov 2010 13:49
Banks and miners are weak as the market awaits news of financial help for Ireland. BHP Billiton, Kazakhmys and ENRC head the mining fallers. Standard Chartered, Barclays and Lloyds are all sharply lower. Outsourcer Capita, which yesterday said revenue growth in the second half of 2010 had been su
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Ireland, OECD, General Motors...
19th Nov 2010 06:33
French and German officials are pressing Ireland to increase its low corporate tax rate in return for an aid package, setting the stage for a showdown over a policy long resented by Dublin's European partners, the FT reports. Ireland views the corporate tax rate, set at 12.5% as the cornerstone of
Read moreLondon close: Battering for miners and banks
16th Nov 2010 17:08
It was downhill almost all the way for Footsie in the afternoon session after the US opened sharply lower, with miners getting a real bashing on the prospect of a slow-down in the Chinese economy. No less an authority than star fund manager Anthony Bolton raised the prospect today, in the first set
Read moreeBay takes Big 4 lenders to task
15th Nov 2010 13:15
Online auction site eBay has joined the chorus of organisations grumbling about a lack of lending to small businesses on the part of banks. The web site's Online Business Index, a bi-annual report into the attitudes and performance of hundreds of online businesses operating on eBay's UK site, indic
Read moreLondon close: Footsie rallies to narrow losses
12th Nov 2010 16:47
Footsie recovered from an early slump to close just a few points lower as well-received company updates nearly cancelled out losses in the mining sector. Miners were big fallers on disappointment with the outcome at the G20 meeting and the possibility of a currency free-for-all. Talk that China is
Read moreLondon afternoon: Imagination hit by Samsung rumour
12th Nov 2010 14:27
Considering mining shares are in the dumper Footsie, though lower on the day, is faring reasonably well, after a lunch time session that saw share prices move sideways. Miners are big fallers on disappointment with the outcome at the G20 meeting and the possibility of a currency free-for-all. Talk
Read moreBroker tips: Barclays, Prudential, Schroders
10th Nov 2010 13:08
Nomura expects downgrades to Barclays' consensus numbers after the banking giant's trading update on Tuesday. "We view consensus for fiscal year 2010 and 2011 as too optimistic", says analyst Robert Law. "We estimate £5.35bn for 2010, against a consensus of £5.8bn and have £6.8bn for 2011, against
Read moreBroker snap: Nomura uneasy about BarCap
10th Nov 2010 12:43
Nomura expects the investment analyst community to downgrade earnings projectionss for Barclays after the banking giant's trading update on Tuesday. "We view consensus for fiscal year 2010 and 2011 as too optimistic", says analyst Robert Law. "We estimate £5.35bn for 2010, against a consensus of £5
Read moreBroker snap: Lloyds preferred to RBS at Nomura
8th Nov 2010 13:16
Nomura has kept its cautious 'reduce' stance on Royal Bank of Scotland, with the broker preferring rival Lloyds. The broker estimates RBS's third quarter underlying pre-tax profit was about £1.8bn, which equates to annualised earnings per share of 4.4p and a normalised P/E ratio of 10. RBS has a t
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: British Airways, BSkyB, Lloyds
4th Nov 2010 06:05
A Court of Appeal decision to reject a complaint by cabin crew union Unite has strengthened British Airways' negotiating hand with its more militant flight attendants. Three appeal court judges on Wednesday ruled that the airline had not broken the contracts of individual staff when it cut the numb
Read moreLondon close: Company news stream fails to budge Footsie
3rd Nov 2010 16:37
There was plenty of company news for traders to digest but also uncertainty ahead of the US Federal Reserve's decision on whether to embark on more quantitative easing, resulting in a flat performance from Footsie. The leading share index slipped in line with the US ahead of the close and finished
Read moreSector movers: Defence hit after Cobham update
3rd Nov 2010 14:42
The aerospace and defence is lower today, with high tech group Cobham bearing the brunt of the attack. Cobham said its commercial markets remain stable, but fragile, with some US customers still reluctant to put pen to paper. Elsewhere in the sector though, Rolls-Royce has moved slightly ahead aft
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie treads water
3rd Nov 2010 14:13
London is not short of corporate newsflow to generate share price movements among the blue-chips but the net effect has been to leave the Footsie little changed. Car insurer Admiral said not much has changed since August's interim results, but that simple affirmation of recent trends was enough to
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie little changed despite excitement
3rd Nov 2010 12:12
There is plenty of movement in share prices today, but with stocks moving in both directions, Footsie is little changed. Lloyds Banking's announcement of its new chief executive has attracted investor excitement. It has appointed Antonio Horta-Osorio, the head of Spanish bank Santander's UK busine
Read moreLloyds appoints Santander UK chief as new boss
3rd Nov 2010 09:16
Lloyds Banking has appointed Antonio Horta-Osorio, the head of Spanish bank Santander's UK business, as its new chief executive replacing Eric Daniels who is stepping down. Horta-Osorio, a Portuguese, has been a key figure behind the Spanish bank's expansion into the UK since he took up his current
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