London afternoon: Footsie higher as US data lifts sentiment
7th Aug 2009 14:15
Wall Street has come to the rescue with better-than-expected unemployment report lifting sentiment in London as well. US futures are now expected to start up after the Labor Department revealed data that showed job losses slowing in July to 247,000 against expectations of a fall to 320,000 and agai
Read moreLondon midday: RBS ends banks good run
7th Aug 2009 12:26
Footsie is having a tough morning with banks running into profit taking after Royal Bank of Scotland issued what it describes as a 'poor' set of numbers. RBS made a £15m profit, but bad debts rocketed to £7.5bn and it warned results may not "substantially" improve until 2011. Losses attributable t
Read moreSector movers: RBS drags back banks
7th Aug 2009 10:13
RBS is leading the banking sector lower after rounding of the latest stream of banking results by posting a small profit, but seeing bad debts soar to £7.5bn. Chief executive Stephen Hester called the results "poor" following a jump in losses attributable to shareholders to £1.04bn from £827m in 20
Read moreLondon open: Banks on back foot
7th Aug 2009 08:40
London got off to a weak start following last night's losses in the US and as investors tread carefully ahead of this afternoon's US non-farm payrolls. Banks are struggling after RBS published its half-year numbers. It made a £15m profit, but bad debts rocketed to £7.5bn and it warned results may
Read moreLondon close: Financials spark good gains
6th Aug 2009 16:22
Footsie fell back in the afternoon session after the Bank of England increased its quantitative easing programme, but still finished healthily in the blue. Banks continued to rise with Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking and Barclays all up. RBS reports its interim figures tomorrow. It is being
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie eases back from day's highs
6th Aug 2009 14:35
Footsie fallen back in the wake of the £50bn increase to £175bn in the Bank of England's quantitative easing programme. Interest rates, as expected, remained on hold at 0.5%. Banks continue to rise with Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking and Barclays all up. RBS reports its interim figures tomo
Read moreSector movers: Banks dominate
6th Aug 2009 13:29
This week's well-received results from Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC continue to keep buyers active. All three are sharply higher Thursday, sending Banks to the top of the tree. Royal Bank of Scotland is also better ahead of tomorrow's interim results. Unilever has given Food Producers & Processors a
Read moreLondon midday: QE increase boosts Footsie
6th Aug 2009 12:13
Footsie has reacted calmly to a surprise £50bn increase to £175bn in the Bank of England's quantitative easing programme. Interest rates, as expected, remained on hold at 0.5%. Insurer Aviva is the best performer and leads a life sector rally despite a 31% cut in the interim dividend. A plan for a
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Lloyds and RBS climb again
6th Aug 2009 09:26
Part-nationalised banks Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland rose again on hopes that the worst of the credit crunch write-offs have now passed. Lloyds suggested yesterday that bad debt charges for HBOS's portfolio may have peaked. RBS reports tomorrow and is is being tipped to return to profit of aro
Read moreLondon open: Stocks surge ahead
6th Aug 2009 08:53
London's top stocks charge off the blocks as financials set a fast pace in early deals. Insurer Aviva is the main riser after it cut interim dividend by 31% and announced plans for a partial IPO of its Dutch business. IFRS operating profit fell to £1.05bn for the six months ended 30 June 2009 from
Read moreLondon close: Stocks pushed lower
5th Aug 2009 17:00
London's top stocks finished in the red as a poor start in the US and ex-dividends eventually ate into the early gains. US shares made a dull start on worse than expected job losses in July according to the private firm ADP. It said 371,000 people were laid-off compared to estimates of 350,000. L
Read moreLondon afternoon: Blue chips hang onto gains
5th Aug 2009 14:27
Footsie is holding its own in the afternoon session with Lloyds soaring despite a massive interim loss. US shares have made a dull start on worse than expected job losses in July according to the private firm ADP. It said 371,000 people were laid-off compared to estimates of 350,000. The survey is
Read moreLondon midday: Lloyds pulls Footsie higher
5th Aug 2009 11:24
Footsie is in the blue now as financials push ahead again on the back of Lloyds Banking, which is motoring forward. Lloyds Banking shares are up over 13% as investors bet that the worst of the bad debts that caused an underlying loss of £4bn in the half year to June are passed. Impairment charges
Read moreTechnical Analysis Snap: Lloyds results shrugged off by the market
5th Aug 2009 10:57
Lloyds results this morning, which came in far worse than analysts expected on the impairments side, have boosted the share price on the basis that the bad debts have probably peaked. An underlying loss of £4bn for the first half, slightly better than feared, with higher than expected impairment ch
Read moreLondon open: Lloyds gives market a boost
5th Aug 2009 08:39
Footsie has shrugged off a host of ex-dividends to move gently ahead with Lloyds and British Airways leading the way. Lloyds Banking posted an underlying loss of £4bn in the half year to June as impairment charges jumped by nearly £11bn to £13.4bn reflecting huge write-downs of HBOS's commercial pr
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