London midday: Downward drift quickens
14th Oct 2010 11:56
US markets may be expected to open firmer but London is determined to go its own way today, heading lower, despite a buoyant mining sector. Metal prices are back on the rise as the dollar heads in the opposite direction. That is not enough to prevent gold miner African Barrick Gold taking a tumble,
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Banks, Lloyds, airlines
14th Oct 2010 06:25
Britain's biggest banks have admitted for the first time that there was a problem with lending to small businesses and that they should offer greater support. In a wide-ranging report published last night, the banks - Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC, Santander and Stand
Read moreLloyds culls 4,500 IT jobs
13th Oct 2010 12:42
Government-controlled bank Lloyds Banking is to axe 4,500 jobs from its IT department, taking the total number of posts cut to over 22,000 since Lloyds and HBOS merged in 2009. Some 4,000 Group Information Technology jobs will be slashed, out of a total workforce of 10,000. Most of the jobs lost ar
Read moreLondon open: Wall St rally boosts Footsie
13th Oct 2010 08:48
Last night's recovery on Wall St following the Federal Reserve's hint at further stimulus measures has boosted London early on despite a big bank cash call. Standard Chartered, the emerging markets focused bank, is preparing for stricter capital requirements for banks with a £3.26bn cash call. The
Read moreInvista loses Lloyds contracts
12th Oct 2010 11:54
AIM-quoted Invista Real Estate Investment Management Holdings says that it believes it is best to liquidate its assets following the termination of its contract with Lloyds, which account for more than two-fifths of the business. Invista Real Estate was demerged from HBoS in September 2006, when i
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: Private healthcare, Corn prices, Bank bonuses...
12th Oct 2010 06:32
Britain's private healthcare sector is under scrutiny from the Office of Fair Trading amid complaints from new players that the market is not sufficiently competitive. The regulator has conducted an initial inquiry and has not decided whether to pursue a full investigation. Circle, a relatively new
Read moreLondon open: Gains short-lived
4th Oct 2010 08:37
Renewed interest in the insurance sector and strong miners nudged London into positive territory, but Monday morning blues soon kicked in and stocks are now in the red. Reports in his morning's papers reveal RSA, Resolution, Switzerland's Zurich Financial Services and Germany's Allianz discussed mo
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Interest rates, RBS, Lloyds
4th Oct 2010 06:16
Sir John Gieve, the former deputy governor of the Bank of England, has stepped into the increasingly divided debate over monetary policy and urged the Bank not to print more money. Claims that Britain's economy was heading into a Japanese-style slump were far too pessimistic, Sir John said in an i
Read moreLloyds heads bank complaints list
30th Sep 2010 08:04
Lloyds accounted for more complaints than any other bank in the first half of the year, according to a list published by the City watchdog today. The part-nationalised bank received almost 289,000 grumbles from customers between January and June, 30,000 more than Barclays and 44,000 more than Sant
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Banks, Ireland, Unilever
30th Sep 2010 06:29
Downing Street appeared to be snubbing the banking industry yesterday as it finalised a 16-strong panel of corporate grandees to advise the Prime Minister on business matters. While manufacturing, construction, utilities, retailing and small businesses are well represented, no one from the banking
Read moreLondon close: Footsie rallies after shaky start
24th Sep 2010 16:50
The roller coaster ride continued heading into the weekend, with shares rallying to finish with good gains following a drop in the morning. Shares have been jittery for most of the week, with traders unsure how to react to Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's comments on the US economy on Tuesd
Read moreLondon midday: Miners do the damage
24th Sep 2010 12:05
It's been a rollercoaster morning for London's blue chips, although pretty much all the volatility has happened in negative territory as miners struggle. HSBC, little changed at lunchtime, has hogged the headlines. Reports suggest that current chief executive Mike Geohegan will leave at the end of
Read moreLondon open: Heavyweights drag Footsie lower
24th Sep 2010 08:57
Footsie has opened lower with the heavyweight sectors of banks and miners both heading south. Speculation over the power struggle at the top of global banking giant HSBC has dominated early proceedings in London. Reports suggest that current chief executive Mike Geohegan will leave at the end of th
Read moreBanking Commission will consider bank splits
24th Sep 2010 08:00
A new body set up to examine how to improve stability and competiveness in the banking industry will ask 'hard questions' about how Britain's banks operate, its chairman said today in its first issue paper. The Independent Commission on Banking (ICB), which is chaired by economist Sir John Vickers,
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks and miners lower
23rd Sep 2010 16:45
Banks were lower on the day because of concerns about the Irish banking system and Lloyds led the way down. However, the banks did rally later in the day so their declines were more modest than in the morning. Miners also pared back some of their earlier falls due to lower commodity prices. Kazakh
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