London open: Dull start as big freeze bites
6th Jan 2010 08:49
It's all about the retailers in the pre-opening session as the post-Christmas trading update season moves into full swing with Marks & Spencer heading lower after its update. The cold weather may have seen woolly jumpers and slippers fly off the shelves at Marks & Spencer in the days before Christm
Read moreLondon close: Strong run continues
5th Jan 2010 16:40
Strength in the financial sector helped Footsie continue its strong start to 2009, closing near its highest levels in more than a year. RBS added to yesterday's stellar gains and is joined higher by fellow banks Barclays and Lloyds. The latter pair have been selected by Deutsche Bank as the best t
Read moreLondon afternoon: Cadbury melts as Nestle withdraws
5th Jan 2010 14:26
The Footsie moved sideways over the lunch time session, with strength in financials and miners continuing to offset weakness among retailers. RBS adds to yesterday's stellar gains and is joined higher by fellow banks Barclays and Lloyds. The latter pair have been selected by Deutsche Bank as the b
Read moreLondon midday: Banks buoy Footsie
5th Jan 2010 12:18
Strength in financial stocks is helping Footsie offset declines in the retail sector. RBS adds to yesterday's stellar gains and is joined higher by fellow banks Barclays and Lloyds. Also among today's big gainers is the hedge fund manager Man Group, which has benefited from some upbeat coverage fr
Read moreLondon open: Retailers lead Footsie lower
5th Jan 2010 08:15
London's top stocks have opened lower as retailers fall back at the beginning of the Christmas sales reporting season. High street retailer Next is lower even though it increased full-year profit forecasts again in response to better than expected sales in the run up to Christmas. Sales for the 2
Read moreLondon open: Steady gains for blue chips
31st Dec 2009 08:53
Footsie is still on course for its best year in over a decade with another good housing report from Nationwide boosting building-related stocks. Plumbers merchant Wolseley and housebuilder Berkeley lead the way after Nationwide's latest survey showed house prices rose by 0.4% in December, taking th
Read moreLloyds' new corporate structure will save cash
23rd Dec 2009 17:39
Lloyds Banking Group has decided to transfer its holding in HBOS to Lloyds TSB Bank in order to streamline reporting and disclosure requirements, cut costs and improve capital efficiencies. The part-nationalised lender said the new corporate structure sees Lloyds TSB become the immediate parent of
Read moreLloyds' $217m US settlement
22nd Dec 2009 18:32
Lloyds Banking Group has reached a $217m settlement with the US Treasury department relating to charges that it violated US sanctions. Lloyds is accused of manipulating and deleting information relating to trades with restricted countries, including Iran. Lloyds has already paid $350m to the US De
Read moreLondon open: Footsie pushes on
22nd Dec 2009 08:47
Footsie is still making progress, boosted by the good gains on Wall Street overnight. Cairn Energy is the top performer for the second day on hoped for its Greenland drilling programme, which it brought forward by a year yesterday. The shares were also split on a ten-for-one basis today. Banks a
Read moreOFT drops action on bank charges
22nd Dec 2009 07:09
The Office of Fair Trading has decided to drop its action to curb bank charges after last month's ruling by the Supreme Court in favour of the banks. 'The Supreme Court judgment was not the outcome we had hoped for and was disappointing for many bank customers. Having now considered in detail all t
Read moreStill no debt deal for Dubai World
21st Dec 2009 17:58
Dubai World still hasn't agreed the suspension of repayments on its $22bn debt pile despite putting forward restructuring plans today. The troubled state-owned firm held talks with dozens of banks and said it would reach a deal 'in an orderly way' as Dubai's leaders promised financial support if a
Read moreLondon Close: Footsie posts strong gain
21st Dec 2009 16:54
Footsie ended the day almost 2% higher after a strong performance throughout the day. The positive opening of Wall Street gave a further boost later in the afternoon. The Dow has jumped over 100 points helped by optimism that the $800bn plus Health Care Bill could get approved sooner rather than l
Read moreLondon afternoon: Dow gains lift Footsie
21st Dec 2009 14:47
Footsie is pushing forward following a strong start on Wall St fuelled by weakness in the dollar and related gains for the miners. The Dow has jumped over 80 points helped by optimism that the $800bn plus Health Care Bill could get approved sooner rather than later. Over here, Cairn Energy is sti
Read moreBroker tips: Banks, GKN, Luminar
21st Dec 2009 12:51
The warning by the Basel Committee last week that banks will have to face lower returns in future has not dissuaded Deutsche Bank from extolling the virtues of investing in the shares of UK banks Barclays, Lloyds Banking and Royal Bank of Scotland. The German bank has reiterated its 'buy' recommend
Read moreBroker snap: UK banks still look cheap
21st Dec 2009 12:36
The warning by the Basel Committee last week that banks will have to face lower returns in future has not dissuaded Deutsche Bank from extolling the virtues of investing in the shares of UK banks Barclays, Lloyds Banking and Royal Bank of Scotland. The German bank has reiterated its 'buy' recommend
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