London open: Mixed start for blue chips
25th Jan 2010 08:45
London has opened lower with banks and miners mixed and buyers largely sitting on the sidelines. The potential impact of President Obama's new bank controls continues to weigh heavily on the UK sector, with additional fears that a new chunk of fund raising could be on the cards to meet tougher new
Read moreLondon close: Banks lead third day of declines
22nd Jan 2010 16:36
Footsie rallied off its low but still finished in the red for the third day in succession on worries over US President Obama's bank bashing policies. Comments from Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman that appeared to lend support to President Obama's hard line stance against excessive risk tak
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks slide as Brown sides with Obama
22nd Jan 2010 14:43
Barely more than a dozen FTSE 100 constituents are showing rises as the market looks set to slide for the third day in succession, after dipping sharply following comments from Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman that appeared to lend support to President Obama's hard line stance against excessi
Read moreLondon midday: Banks and shops drag Footsie lower
22nd Jan 2010 12:15
Footsie has turned down sharply with retailers joining banks in the doldrums after some subdued sales data from December. Retail sales volumes rose by much less than expected in December, as price rises kept the UK consumer away from the shops over the Christmas period. Sales were up by 0.3% from
Read moreLondon open: Banks in early drop
22nd Jan 2010 08:11
Banking shares are dragging London's top stocks lower in early dealings on Friday, after President Obama revealed tough new measures to curb risk-taking among the big Wall Street banks. Obama proposed rules to limit bank mergers and consolidation, while also restricting involvement in hedge funds,
Read moreLondon close: Banks and miners drag Footsie lower
21st Jan 2010 16:30
Leading UK shares lurched lower in the afternoon as US shares weakened and investors waited nervously for President Obama's new bank reforms. The US President's proposals prohibit commercial banks from owning or investing in hedge funds or owning, investing or advising private equity funds, while a
Read moreSector movers: Utilities gush higher
21st Jan 2010 14:49
United Utilities has taken off today after the water company cut its dividend by less than expected to meet the requirements of the industry regulator's price review. It will rebase the dividend to 30p a share for fiscal 2010/11 from 34.3p this year. Experts had thought it might fall by 20-25%. Se
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks face 'tsunami' of pressure
21st Jan 2010 14:44
Leading shares traded sideways over the lunchtime session, albeit with a small dip at 1:30pm when the US market opened a tad lower. Banks and miners are impeding Footsie's progress, with the latter still friendless on concerns about demand from China. Pundits are predicting that the Chinese authori
Read moreLloyds cuts more jobs
21st Jan 2010 13:17
State-controlled bank Lloyds Banking is to cut a further 585 jobs and close all Black Horse call centres outside Cardiff, bringing the total job cuts over the past year to nearly 16,000 claimed unions. Lloyds, which is 43% owned by the UK taxpayer, said the wholesale and retail sides of its busines
Read moreLondon close: Footsie turns positive
19th Jan 2010 17:22
London's top stocks finished the day above the 5,500 mark after turning positive in afternoon trading. Luxury fashion label Burberry was the best performer of the day after saying it expects profits for the full year to be at the top end of expectations after seeing strong sales in the last three m
Read moreLondon close: Healthy gain for Footsie
14th Jan 2010 16:26
London blue chips rose near the close to finish the day handily ahead, despite a disappointing response to the latest retail updates. Primark and British Sugar owner Associated British Foods was one of the few risers. The group had a better than anticipated end to 2009 and expects a 'significant in
Read moreLondon afternoon: US data hits London
14th Jan 2010 14:28
Disappointing US retail sales for December had repercussions this side of the pond, prompting the morning's gains to be pared. US retail sales fell by 0.3% month-on-month in December, against expectations of a slight rise. Miners remain wanted with Xstrata, Rio Tinto, Kazakhmys and Antofagasta am
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Gas supplies, Lloyds Banking, Aberdeen Asset
8th Jan 2010 06:33
Manufacturers in the north-west and midlands have had their gas supplies cut as freezing temperatures propelled demand to a record high. The cuts came as gas prices spiked on fears of disruption to supplies from Norway, the biggest source of imported gas. Ninety-four companies on interruptible cont
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks defy broker gloom
7th Jan 2010 14:27
Leading shares are mixed, with the Footsie barely changed now miners have recovered from a weak showing in the morning session to show gains in the afternoon. Kazakhmys and Fresnillo lead the mining sector but their gains are surpassed by two stocks from the banking sector where Barclays and Lloyds
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks mixed, supermarkets higher
7th Jan 2010 13:06
Footsie has hauled itself back into the blue as banks and miners rallied and from a weak start. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initailly unsettled the bank sector with comments that European banks are 'growing nowhere fast', and has downgraded the sector to 'neutral'. But within that broad sector view i
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