FTSE 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
Read moreLondon close: Stocks tread water
3rd Jul 2009 17:12
A late swoon saw Footsie relinquish virtually all of its gains, with losses on resource stocks counter-balancing gains made by banks. Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Lloyds Banking were the pick of the banking sector, despite chancellor Alistair Darling firing a warning about the re-eme
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks lead the fight back
3rd Jul 2009 14:30
Share prices are creeping higher after yesterday's heavy falls, with banking stocks leading the fight back. Barclays, HSBA and Lloyds Banking lead the banking sector higher while insurers such as Aviva and Legal & General are also wanted. An exception to the general strength of insurers is Friends
Read moreLondon open: Blue chips shrug off Wall St woes
3rd Jul 2009 08:49
London has shrugged off last night's collapse on Wall Street to trade higher in the absence of traders in the US, closed for Independence Day on Friday. The Dow Jones slumped more than 200 points Thursday as the market reacted badly to awful jobs data. Banks are a strong spot, despite chancellor A
Read moreLondon close: Footsie adds 2%
1st Jul 2009 16:34
Miners were rampant Wednesday on stronger commodity prices, leaving the sector heavyweights dominating the blue chip index. There was healthy demand for gold on the metal markets, while copper also improved. The red metal headed higher following strong Chinese manufacturing data, while decreasing s
Read moreLondon afternoon: Resource stocks lead the way
1st Jul 2009 14:29
Resource stocks lead the market higher after the second half of the year got off to a good start following better than expected factory output data. The CIPS/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 47 in June from 45.4 the month before and a gloomy 34.9 in February. Most of the top
Read moreBroker tips: M&S, Lloyds, housebuilders
1st Jul 2009 12:46
The first quarter trading update from Marks & Spencer has pleased the market, with the food division showing its third consecutive quarter of improved performance. Singer Capital Markets, which believes the shares are fairly priced, acknowledges that first quarter sales were "considerably better" t
Read moreLondon midday: Marks sparks rally
1st Jul 2009 12:06
A well received set of results from Marks & Sparks and the strength of miners drives London higher today. Marks and Spencer's like-for-like sales fell across its major divisions in the first quarter, though total group sales were up. In the 13-weeks to June, UK like for like sales fell 1.4%, Genera
Read moreUKFI denies Bischoff to chair Lloyds
1st Jul 2009 12:01
UKFI, the body in charge of running the UK government's stake in Lloyds, has denied it is close to appointing City veteran and former Citigroup head Sir Win Bischoff as its new chairman. A report in the FT suggested Bischoff, 67, has been asked to take the job and see it through until recent acquis
Read moreBroker snap: Credit Suisse a dissenting voice on Lloyds
1st Jul 2009 11:43
The love-fest for British banks from brokers this week came to an end Wednesday when Credit Suisse cut its price target for part-nationalised lender Lloyds Banking Group. While conceding that sentiment towards the bank was improving, Credit Suisse is in no hurry to join the fan club. "Some of our
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Tesco may bid for Northern Rock
1st Jul 2009 06:19
Tesco has emerged as a potential bidder for Northern Rock as the Government races to sell the state-owned lender before a general election, The Times has learnt. The supermarket chain has shown provisional interest in buying the bank nationalised as the credit crisis brought the financial system wi
Read moreLondon close: US economic data hits Footsie
30th Jun 2009 16:26
It looked like another flat day for the FTSE 100 heading into the second half of the year until shares took a sharp dive following some unappetizing economic date in the US. The US Conference Board's index of consumer sentiment fell to 49.3 in June, down from a revised 54.8 in May. Economists had b
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