Lloyds in talks to sell estate agencies business
13th Oct 2009 17:09
Cash hungry bank Lloyds Banking Group has confirmed it is in talks to offload its Halifax Estate Agencies business. LSL Property Services, which owns the estate agecy brands your Move, Reeds Rains and Intercounty, has expressed an interest in buying the estate agencies business of Lloyds which it i
Read moreLondon close: Retailers weigh on Footsie
13th Oct 2009 16:46
A poor performance from US shares dragged Footsie into the red and the leading index finished the day with substantial losses. Retailers were out of sorts despite some moderately optimistic news from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) concerning retail sales. The BRC said annual retail sales growt
Read moreLondon afternoon: Retailers sag after sales data
13th Oct 2009 14:26
Leading shares remain mixed, with the Footsie easing back into the red over the lunchtime session. Retailers are out of sorts despite some moderately optimistic news from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) concerning retail sales. The BRC said annual retail sales growth in September accelerated to
Read moreSector movers: Mining updates lift sector
13th Oct 2009 13:33
Mining stocks are currently one of the best performing sectors, helped by some well received updates and strong metals prices. Among the strong performers is copper specialist Kazakhmys which has sold a 25% stake in its Ekibastuz GRES -1 power plant for $339m (£215m) in cash and is in talks about a
Read moreLondon midday: Looking for direction
13th Oct 2009 12:14
The Footsie has crawled into positive territory, helped by miners recovering from their weak opening. Kazakhmys is the pick of the sector after revealing it is in talks with the China Development Bank and JSC Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna regarding a potential corporate loan facility of aroun
Read moreLondon open: Footsie in the red
13th Oct 2009 08:35
Stocks have fallen in early trade, with miners aiding the decline and as investors wait nervously for a flood of results from the US. Miners Randgold, Lonmin, Antofagasta and Rio Tinto are lower on weaker metal prices. But Whitbread was hot property, adding more than 3% after it reported an impro
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: ITV, Lloyds Banking, Dyson
13th Oct 2009 06:17
The multi-billion-pound self-certification mortgage industry, in which customers are not required to provide proof of income, is set to be banned by the financial regulator. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is effectively planning to kill off self-cert home loans by introducing a rule compell
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Index hits year-high
12th Oct 2009 11:31
Footsie hit a new 12-month high as buyers continue to shrug off concerns about the recent market rally being too far, too fast. Insurers are the best performers led by Old Mutual. Platinum specialist Johnson Matthey, another South African-focused group, is also going well. Lloyds Banking is the w
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: JJB Sports, Lloyds Banking, Punch Taverns
11th Oct 2009 11:16
JJB, the sportswear giant, claimed last night that it was the target of an elaborate hoax designed to sabotage a £100m fundraising plan and wreck the reputation of its chairman. The allegations were so serious that the retailer was forced on Friday to postpone the rights issue because it believed "
Read moreLondon midday: Flat morning for Footsie
9th Oct 2009 12:05
London ended the morning session flat with good demand for consumer stocks offsetting some profit taking among mining shares Losses on mining stocks such as Antofagasta, Vedanta and Kazakhmys have lengthened during the session as metal prices remain on a downward trajectory. Gold has fallen back f
Read moreLondon open: Consumers help Footsie progress
9th Oct 2009 08:45
Footsie has shrugged off some profit taking among the miners and more bank weakness to open higher, with consumer stocks leading the way. Gains for Whitbread, Kingfisher and Next are helping Footsie push on despite Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland. Both state-controlled banks have been unsettled b
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: JJB Sports, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds
9th Oct 2009 06:14
The government is probing whether Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds are failing to meet officially mandated lending targets by deliberately pricing loans to small and medium-sized businesses at artificially high levels. "We don't want them to make uneconomic loans but our research suggests they may
Read moreLondon close: Footsie highest in over a week
8th Oct 2009 16:33
Stocks ran out of steam mid-afternoon, trading as near to Wednesday's close as they had done all day, but strength on Wall Street inspired a late rally here. The top stocks were still mining companies as metal prices continued their march higher. Gold futures neared $1,060 an ounce as the dollar co
Read moreLondon afternoon: Equities in consolidation phase
8th Oct 2009 14:42
London's leading shares continued to trade sideways over the lunchtime session, consolidating the morning's gains. Mining stocks are responsible for much of the Footsie's buoyancy with Xstrata, ENRC, Kazakhmys, Antofagasta, Anglo American and BHP Billiton all going well. Vedanta is also on the u
Read moreLondon midday: Updates please investors
8th Oct 2009 11:46
Footsie is still in the blue as investors give a warm reaction to company announcements, though the leading share index is off its earlier highs. Vedanta leads the mining sector higher. The Indian giant said zinc, copper and aluminium operations were at full capacity during the second quarter as it
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