London 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
Read moreLondon close: Late rally trims losses
23rd Sep 2010 16:40
London staged a last hour rally but didn't rise by enough to eliminate losses sparked by a weak start on Wall Street. News that Brazilian oil company Petrobas will launch a world record $78bn rights issue helped other oil companies. BP, Shell and Cairn all picked up near the close. Expectation t
Read moreLondon afternoon: US shadow increases London gloom
23rd Sep 2010 14:24
Expectations of a weak start on Wall Street, after poor US jobless data, sent London lower still over the lunch time session, with banks and miners continuing to feature prominently among the blue-chip fallers. Lloyds and Standard Chartered are the worst performing banking stocks as worries resur
Read moreSector movers: Irish banks under the cosh
23rd Sep 2010 12:58
Irish banks are sharply lower today as economic worries continue to plague the former Celtic tiger. New figures today show the debt-stricken country's economy shrank by between 1% and 2% between April and June. Allied Irish Banks is down 8% and Bank of Ireland is 6% lower. British banks are also u
Read moreLondon midday: Blue-chips in the red
23rd Sep 2010 12:12
London's blue-chips are beating a rapid retreat but second liners are having a slightly better time of it, though most are still in arrears. Banks and miners are prominent among the blue-chip fallers. Lloyds and Standard Chartered are the worst performing banking stocks while HSBC is also lower a
Read moreLondon open: Banks behind weak start
22nd Sep 2010 08:51
Reports that the government is mulling a new bank windfall tax has unsettled share prices this morning. Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, will say in a speech today that bankers present more of a threat to Britain than trade unions, adding that the corporate world is "murky" and that the capita
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: HSBC, Lloyds, Cotton...
21st Sep 2010 06:32
HSBC is considering a controversial plan to base its next chairman in Hong Kong in a move that could mark a turning point in the international bank's relationship with Britain. HSBC is looking at whether it can hand the chairman's role to Michael Geoghegan, its chief executive, who relocated to Ho
Read moreLondon close: Second wind lifts Footsie higher
20th Sep 2010 16:40
A strong start on Wall Street ensured Footsie finished with good gains having started the day on a strong footing. US shares moved ahead including housebuilder and economic bellwether Lennar, which beat profit forecasts. Part-nationalised banking giant Lloyds Banking held up well after it was ann
Read moreLondon afternoon: Lloyds up as Daniels names exit date
20th Sep 2010 14:29
Stocks gave up a proportion of their gains over the lunch time session despite expectations of a firm start on Wall Street. Part-nationalised banking giant Lloyds Banking is holding up well after it was announced that chief executive Eric Daniels is to retire in a year's time. The move was not unex
Read moreLloyds boss Daniels to step down
20th Sep 2010 14:02
Eric Daniels, chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group is to retire in a year's time, the partly state-owned lender said. The announcement comes soon after the bank reported a return to profit following an extremely tumultuous period. Chairman Sir Win Bischoff will now lead a committee to find a suc
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: ENRC, Bank Commission, Vodafone...
19th Sep 2010 11:13
Sir Richard Sykes, former chairman of Glaxo Smith Kline, the drugs giant, faces the risk of being "blackballed" from the City in a growing row over a disputed African mining deal. Some of the Square Mile's biggest investors are furious with Sykes over his role as senior independent director of Eura
Read moreSector movers: Balfour and Kier construct gains
17th Sep 2010 15:12
On a mostly dull day for stocks, Balfour Beatty is giving the construction and materials sector a lift after a consortium including the contractor was named the preferred bidder for a £250m road scheme in Ireland. The road runs Gort and Tuam in the west of the Republic. Elsewhere in the sector, ho
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