London 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
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Lloyds Banking, Barclays, Thames Water
19th Jul 2009 09:38
Lloyds Banking could shock the market with its first-half results by announcing that accounting trickery has helped it scrape into the black. Despite enormous bad-debt provisions - estimated at £13bn - the bank is likely to post a modest headline profit for the first six months of the year. Some o
Read moreLondon close: Footsie continues winning week
16th Jul 2009 16:36
London made it four positive sessions in a row Thursday as some better banks and strength at Petrofac offset largely weaker miners and a big drop at Autonomy. There was little help from Wall Street though, which was trading flat when the City shut up shop. The FTSE 100 has made up about 260 points
Read moreLondon afternoon: Advance gains momentum
16th Jul 2009 15:08
Footsie looks set to make it four days of rises in a row, with a firmer start on Wall Street giving an additional boost in the afternoon session. Risers outnumber fallers by three to one but among the fallers is data search software firm Autonomy, despite registering its 25th consecutive quarter of
Read moreLloyds announces yet another round of job cuts
16th Jul 2009 12:23
Part-nationalised lender Lloyds Banking is axing another 1,200 jobs as it continues to streamline the business following last year's takeover of rival HBOS. The jobs will go in its group operations and insurance business by the end of March 2010. Lloyds said there will be a net reduction in staff
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: House prices, Microsoft, Centrica
14th Jul 2009 06:16
Property values are set to rise in the next three months as a lack of homes props up prices, estate agents believe. The number of agents expecting house prices to increase in the coming months outnumber those predicting further falls for the first time since May 2007, according to figures publishe
Read moreBroker tips: Lloyds, Friends Provident, Venture
13th Jul 2009 13:05
Reports in the Sunday Times that Lloyds Banking Group may report interim losses of £6.3bn are "entirely plausible", according to stockbroker Nomura. "The group itself has indicated it expects to be in loss for the year as a whole. It has also warned that corporate credit loss charges will be up to
Read moreBroker snap: £6.3bn loss for Lloyds "entirely plausible"
13th Jul 2009 13:04
Reports in the Sunday Times that Lloyds Banking Group may report interim losses of £6.3bn are "entirely plausible", according to stockbroker Nomura. "The group itself has indicated it expects to be in loss for the year as a whole. It has also warned that corporate credit loss charges will be up to
Read moreLondon midday: M&A activity perks up shares
13th Jul 2009 11:56
The blue-chip index edged higher in the morning sessions despite the weakness of miners and banks, with increased merger and acquisition activity encouraging buyers back to the market. Friends Provident is the best performer after Clive Cowdery's new vehicle, Resolution , said it has received "con
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Friends up on higher bid hopes
13th Jul 2009 11:03
Friends Provident is the best performer after Clive Cowdery's new vehicle, Resolution , said it has received "constructive feedback" from the board of Friends over its merger approach and is mulling its next move, leading to speculation it will make a higher offer. Friends rejected the initial bid
Read moreUKFI makes £10.9bn loss
13th Jul 2009 10:34
UK Financial Instruments (UKFI), the body that controls stakes in nationalised banks, said it has made a paper loss of £10.9bn and added that it will be "challenging" to dispose its shares in the banks. UKFI, which holds a 70% stake in Royal Bank of Scotland and 43% holding in Lloyds Banking, said
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Resolution, Friends Provident, Lloyds
12th Jul 2009 10:55
The insurance tycoon Clive Cowdery has tabled a proposal to merge Friends Provident, the £1.4bn pension and life company, with his quoted investment vehicle Resolution. If the deal is successful, it could trigger the start of the long-awaited consolidation in the sector. Cowdery is understood to ha
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Lloyds, RBS, National Express
5th Jul 2009 10:38
The body that manages the taxpayer's stakes in British banks will warn this week against any expectations of a quick-fire disposal of the shareholdings, the Sunday Telegraph has learnt. UK Financial Investments (UKFI) will say in a strategy document that it will only begin selling its shares in Llo
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