Friday newspaper round-up: Lloyds, ITV, National Express
28th Aug 2009 06:05
Lloyds Banking Group is weighing up several alternatives to joining the government's asset protection scheme (APS), which may include a rights issue as well as the sale of Scottish Widows, says the FT. Tony Ball has become an unlikely frontrunner for the chief executive's job at ITV, as doubts emer
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: FSA backs tax on City, Lloyds, National Express
27th Aug 2009 05:53
The head of Britain's top banking watchdog supports the idea of new global taxes on financial transactions, warning that a "swollen" financial sector paying excessive salaries has grown too big for society, writes the FT. Adair Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, says the debate on
Read moreLondon close: Footsie rally continues
25th Aug 2009 16:32
After an afternoon of see-sawing between the red and the blue, Footsie finished in positive territory and above the 4,900 point mark, continuing its rally. State-owned lender Royal Bank of Scotland finished with good gains after it said it will cut the level of benefits received by members of its
Read moreLondon afternoon: US data encourages Footsie
25th Aug 2009 15:11
A strong start on Wall Street is keeping London in the blue, just, with investors welcoming a bigger than expected jump in US consumer confidence. The leading index remains on course for a sixth consecutive day of gains after state-owned lender Royal Bank of Scotland said it will cut the level of b
Read moreLloyds sacking another 200
25th Aug 2009 12:13
Lloyds Banking Group is axing 200 jobs at its general insurance division just days after throwing a lifeline to almost 900 staff at its Cheltenham & Gloucester (C&G) unit. The company, 43%-owned by the government, said the cuts would take until the end of January to complete as it merges Lloyds TSB
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie still in the red
25th Aug 2009 11:54
Despite threatening to move back into positive territory an hour ago, the Footsie has slid further back down into the red. Miners are still heavily weak with seven out of the top ten losers so far from the sector. Kazakhmys, Xstrata, Antofagasta, Eurasian Natural Resources, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton
Read moreLondon close: Stocks finish ahead
24th Aug 2009 16:23
London's leading shares have finished the day with comfortable gains as miners and banks stole the limelight. Mining giant Rio Tinto is reportedly in talks with the Aluminium Corporation of China (Chinalco) over co-operation in bauxite and alumina production. The Australian Financial Review newspap
Read moreSunday 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
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