Friday 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
Read moreLondon open: Buoyant miners lift Footsie
8th Oct 2009 08:17
Buoyant mining shares are giving London's blue chips a lift in early dealings the day after gold hit a new record high. Nine out of the ten top FTSE 100 performers are miners. Lonmin is leading the way, closely followed by Xstrata, Rio Tinto, Fresnillo, Kazakhmys, Antofagasta, Vedanta Resources, An
Read moreLondon pre-open: London set to get off to a flyer
8th Oct 2009 07:38
After yesterday's pause for breath leading shares are back at the races today, with dealers predicting the FTSE 100 will open just under 50 points higher. Attention is certain to focus on part-nationalised bank Lloyds Banking Group which is proposing to raise around £25bn in capital by means of a r
Read moreLloyds mulls £15bn rights issue to avoid toxic scheme
7th Oct 2009 23:04
Lloyds Banking is mulling a huge rights issue to avoid joining the UK government's asset protection scheme, reports Wednesday suggested. Sky News suggested the part-nationalised bank could raise as much as £25bn in new capital including disposals and asset sales. A rights issue would account for
Read moreBrussels may make banks axe 10% of clients
6th Oct 2009 09:02
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) may have to shed 10% of its small business customers if the European Commission, keen to penalise the bank pay for for receiving billions of pounds in state aid, gets its way. Brussels wants RBS, 70%-owned by the UK taxpayer, to give up about 100,000 of its one million
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: BAE Systems, Aviva, Lloyds Banking
4th Oct 2009 10:09
Directors of BAE Systems rejected a £300m settlement of a Serious Fraud Office investigation after receiving advice they would leave themselves open to civil lawsuits for a misuse of shareholders' funds. The offer, made by the SFO in recent weeks, came after lengthy talks over a plea bargain deal t
Read moreLondon close: Stocks finish down
2nd Oct 2009 16:33
London's leading shares closed in the red but were off earlier lows as the US recovered somewhat after a poor start. A weaker than expected jobs report had pushed US stocks deep in the red, though by midday the markets had retraced some of the losses. Over here, there was good news for home owners
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Bankers' bonuses, Northern Rock
1st Oct 2009 05:51
A divide has already emerged between Europe and the US over how to implement new Group of 20 rules on bankers' bonuses, with British banks facing a stricter regime than is likely to apply in the US. The UK government on Wednesday night rushed out a statement trumpeting the agreement of Britain's t
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: EU tightens pressure on Lloyds Banking,
30th Sep 2009 06:17
Banking executives will be disqualified from holding directorships if regulators believe they have overpaid themselves and their employees, Gordon Brown declared yesterday. The hardline position on bonuses was announced after the Prime Minister told the Labour Party conference in Brighton that an e
Read moreLondon close: Directionless day for FTSE 100
29th Sep 2009 16:52
Footsie finished slightly in the red after another day of flitting between the red and the blue while not showing any real sense of direction. Swiss bank Credit Suisse has issued a bearish note on the property sector prompting the likes of Land Securities, SEGRO and Hammerson to shift into reverse
Read moreLondon afternoon: Back to square one
29th Sep 2009 14:34
It's back to square one for the Footsie which is barely changed on the day, with gains on banks and insurers counterbalanced by miners and property stocks. Swiss bank Credit Suisse has issued a bearish note on the property sector prompting the likes of Land Securities, SEGRO and Hammerson to shift
Read moreLondon midday: Blue chips still struggling
29th Sep 2009 12:06
Miners and property stocks are keeping Footsie in the red despite the banking and insurance sectors going well. Swiss bank Credit Suisse has issued a bearish note on the property sector prompting the likes of British Land, Land Securities, SEGRO and Hammerson to shift into reverse. Credit Suisse's
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