Darling to quiz banks on business lending
27th Jul 2009 08:25
Britain's high street bank chiefs have been summoned to the chancellor's office today to explain their failure to re-start lending to small businesses despite receiving £37bn of taxpayer's money. Heads of Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland - the two state-controlled high street banks- will be joined
Read moreLondon open: Footsie on course for record streak
27th Jul 2009 08:20
London's winning streak continues with Footsie still firmly on course for a record-equalling eleventh straight day of gains. Twelve days of gains would make this streak the best ever for Footsie. Pearson is the best performer on a much better than expected trading update. Pearson upped its interim
Read moreTechnical Analysis: Banking sector testing resistance
24th Jul 2009 11:19
June 2007 seems a long time ago now, and it certainly has been a long time for the banking sector, because this was the last time that the value of the sector was above its 200 day moving average. It's certainly been a long hard slog but there does seem to be some light at the end of the tunnel, h
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: FSA, Lloyds/RBS, National Express
24th Jul 2009 06:11
The world's biggest banks could be penalised with onerous surcharges, forcing them to set aside proportionately far more capital than smaller rivals, Lord Turner of Ecchinswell, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, suggested yesterday. Lord Turner, speaking after the FSA's annual meeting,
Read moreLondon close: Eighth day of gains
22nd Jul 2009 16:27
Footsie finished with gains for the eighth day in a row to sit just shy of 4,500 points after flitting between the red and the blue for much of the day. Mining stocks weighed down the market. BHP Billiton set the tone for the sector with its annual production report this morning. Quarterly (Apr-Jun
Read moreLondon afternoon: Treading water
22nd Jul 2009 14:18
The Footsie briefly moved into positive territory over the lunch time session before easing gently back into the red. Pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline is marginally higher after a second quarter update in which it posted a fall in revenue in the second quarter as generic competition in the US
Read moreLondon midday: Shares pause for breath
22nd Jul 2009 12:07
Leading shares are mixed, with losses on miners and banks offset by gains on defensive favourites such as tobaccos and utilities. Mining giant BHP Billiton set the tone for the sector with its annual production report this morning. Quarterly (Apr-Jun) production increased for 12 major commodities
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: BHP hit by downgrades
22nd Jul 2009 10:48
Mining giant BHP Billiton's annual production report proved disappointing, especially the figures for iron ore says broker Investec. The South African broker has cut its recommendation on the stock from "buy" to "hold" after the output update. "While iron ore production (40% of 2009's estimated e
Read moreUK banks may need billions in extra capital
22nd Jul 2009 08:14
Tighter regulatory control over their investment bank arms could mean Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays having to raise billions more in extra capital, banking analysts suggested yesterday, while Lloyds faces a mountain of bad debts. US broker JP Morgan calculates Barclays will need to find anot
Read moreLondon close: Footsie finishes ahead
20th Jul 2009 16:41
London's top stocks remained in the same range and closed with good gains as financials and miners had a strong day. Wall Street starting higher also helped. Sentiment was lifted in the US after reports that lender CIT Group has obtained a last-minute emergency financing rescue deal worth $3bn. Ll
Read moreLondon afternoon: Strong US opening keeps Footsie ahead
20th Jul 2009 15:47
A strong start on Wall Street has kept Footsie in the blue though it has lost some of its early momentum. Lloyds Banking is the best performer on a weekend report it could post an interim profit despite enormous bad-debt provisions. Some of its most toxic sub-prime investments have clawed back bill
Read moreSector movers: Insurers impress
20th Jul 2009 15:09
Another strong day for equities got investors excited about Life Insurance. Global stock markets are rising for a sixth day, boosting the value of investments. Prudential and Legal & General are the best performers, but Friends Provident is also going well as the Resolution takeover situation rumbl
Read moreLondon midday: Banks lead Footsie higher
20th Jul 2009 12:21
Blue chips have continued their recent surge with banks among the top risers as sentiment in the sector is boosted by last week's earnings reports from US rivals. Lloyds Banking is the best performer on a weekend report it could post an interim profit despite enormous bad-debt provisions. Some of i
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Lloyds lifted by profit hopes
20th Jul 2009 11:45
Lloyds Banking is the best performer on a weekend report it could post an interim profit despite enormous bad-debt provisions. Some of its most toxic sub-prime investments have clawed back billions of pounds of value in recent months, the reports suggested. Royal Bank of Scotland is also one of th
Read moreLondon open: Good start for Footsie
20th Jul 2009 08:41
Footsie has started the week well after the bumper gains seen on Wall Street at the end of last week. Lloyds Banking is the best performer on a weekend report it could post an interim profit despite enormous bad-debt provisions. Some of its most toxic sub-prime investments have clawed back billions
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