Sunday newspaper round-up: Lloyds, Betfair, Johnston Press
23rd Aug 2009 12:35
Sir Win Bischoff, the incoming chairman of Lloyds Banking Group, is facing pressure to clear out the boardroom. Investors are telling him to beef up the banking experience on the board in the wake of its catastrophic takeover of HBOS, which has already claimed the scalp of outgoing chairman Sir Vict
Read moreDivi trend hobbles Dogs of the Footsie
21st Aug 2009 16:38
Dividend payouts by British companies in the first half of the year were down by 9% on the corresponding period of 2008, creating a less than propitious environment for advocates of the 'Dogs of the Footsie', the mechanical investment strategy which focuses on high-yielding blue-chips. Figures fro
Read moreLondon close: Late rally leaves Footsie little changed
19th Aug 2009 17:14
Share prices of London's leading stocks closed mixed, thanks to a late rally, after the market had spent most of the day in retreat. ENRC was the day's star performer despite reporting a 63% slide in pre-tax profits for the first half of 2009. The dividend has been cut in half but investors were e
Read moreLloyds reviews Cheltenham & Gloucester closure
19th Aug 2009 15:43
Part-nationalised bank Lloyds Banking said it will review its decision to close all 164 Cheltenham & Gloucester (C&G) branches. The surprise announcement comes two month after the lender said it would close the entire branch network by November. Lloyds didn't give a reason for the decision, but sa
Read moreLondon afternoon: Lloyds provides some cheer
19th Aug 2009 14:14
The bears are back in command today with the blue-chip index in the red, though the size of the decline has been exacerbated by a number of index constituents trading in ex-dividend form. Former Bank of Ireland governor Richard Burrows is to be the new chairman of Lucky Strike maker British Americ
Read moreBroker tips: Lloyds Banking, ENRC, Lookers
19th Aug 2009 12:46
Long suffering shareholders of Lloyds Banking Group can look forward to the bank resuming dividend payments next year, analysts at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) predict. RBS believes its fellow part-nationalised bank is on the recovery trail and its finances should be sufficiently restored to pay a
Read moreBroker snap: Lloyds a strong recovery play
19th Aug 2009 12:45
Long suffering shareholders of Lloyds Banking Group, many of whom bought the shares for dividend income, can look forward to the bank resuming dividend payments next year, analysts at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) predict. RBS believes its fellow part-nationalised bank is on the recovery trail and i
Read moreFormer bank bosses rehired
19th Aug 2009 11:41
Banks have lost tens of billions of pounds over the past few years, so it's perhaps a little surprising that men held responsible for the credit crunch have found gainful employment at some of Britain's biggest companies. Back in May, Richard Burrows apologised for Bank of Ireland's £6.2bn full-yea
Read moreLondon close: Stocks near session high
12th Aug 2009 16:14
Footsie closed near a session high on Wednesday as London's top stocks continued to add to gains in afternoon trade, with banks among the best performers. Lloyds Banking finished up more than 6%, closely followed by fellow part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland . The FSA unveiled a new co
Read moreLondon afternoon: Gains trimmed
12th Aug 2009 14:10
London is clinging onto positive territory as Wall Street gears up for a slow start ahead of tonight's Federal Reserve policy statement. Banks continue to do well. Royal Bank of Scotland agreed to sell its Pakistan unit to MCB Bank for $87m (£53m). The UK lender, 70%-owned by the British governmen
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie rallies despite BoE caution
12th Aug 2009 12:16
Footsie has rallied despite a mixed morning for UK economic news with unemployment hitting a new 14-year high and low key comments about UK recovery from the Bank of England. In the central bank's quarterly inflation report, Bank governor Mervyn King said the sustainability and strength of any reco
Read moreLondon open: Dull start for Footsie
12th Aug 2009 08:45
London's leading share index is in reverse gear again as the banks drift lower with miners also weak after BHP Billiton's figures and four Rio executives being charged with bribery by China. Full-year profits have halved at miner BHP Billiton as the recession slashed volumes and sent prices tumbli
Read moreLloyds dispenses with HBOS fund arm
12th Aug 2009 07:50
Lloyds Banking is to make an unspecified number of job cuts following a decision to fold most of HBOS's Insight fund management division into its Scottish Widows arm. The parts not being transferred have been sold to Bank of New York Mellon for £235m. Under the restructuring, Scottish Widows (SWIP
Read moreLondon close: Weak US drags down Footsie
11th Aug 2009 16:32
Footsie finished the day firmly in the red despite a bright start as banks weighed on the leading share index and a poor start in the US compounded earlier losses. While there was little US company news, stocks were hit by analyst downgrades on companies such as Yum Brands, which owns fast food cha
Read moreLondon afternoon: US slump spreads to Footsie
11th Aug 2009 15:37
Footsie has plunged further into the red in line with a poor performance on Wall Street. While there was little US company news, stocks were hit by analyst downgrades on companies such as Yum Brands, which owns fast food chains such as Pizza Hut, and mobile phone group Sprint Nextel. Banks are wea
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