Mortgage lending resilient in May but likely to fall post referendum - CML
27th Jun 2016 10:37
(ShareCast News) - Mortgage lending remained resilient in May as banks and building societies lent more than in April and than in May last year. Gross mortgage lending swelled to £18.2bn in May, the Council of Mortgage Lenders estimated, up 3.6% from the preceding month and 13.6% higher than this ti
Read moreSocGen downgrades European banks, reviews ratings on UK banks after Brexit
27th Jun 2016 09:56
(ShareCast News) - Banks in London took another beating on Monday as investors mulled over the implications of the UK's decision to leave the European Union, with ratings downgrades across the board. Societe Generale was among those issuing downgrades. It cut its stance on Royal Bank of Scotland to
Read moreRBS and Barclays share trading halts after falls on Monday
27th Jun 2016 09:36
(ShareCast News) - Trading in Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays shares was automatically halted in London on Monday morning on volatility after their share prices continued to crater. RBS was temporarily halted after falling 14.2%, while Barclays was down 11.5%. On Friday, Barclays shares were sus
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Rate cut, City exodus, pensions, LSE, RBS and Lloyds
26th Jun 2016 15:03
(ShareCast News) - The Bank of England is set to slash interest rates and even restart its money-printing programme to stimulate a slowing economy after the vote for Brexit, the Sunday Times reported. A cut in Bank rate is now viewed as a near-certainty by investors, having been considered an even-m
Read morePrivate investors using Brexit selloff as buying opportunity, says Hargreaves Lansdown
24th Jun 2016 14:15
(ShareCast News) - Private investors are using Friday's Brexit-fuelled stock market selloff as a buying opportunity, according to Hargreaves Lansdown's senior analyst, Laith Khalaf. He said 80% of the trades placed through HL's share dealing service were purchases, compared to 60% on an average day.
Read moreFinancials, Fixed-line telecoms pace gains
20th Jun 2016 15:48
(ShareCast News) - Life insurers, Fixed line telecommunications, Banks and financial services paced jumped after a flurry of polls over the weekend pointed to renewed momentum for the 'Remain' camp. The news sent the Footsie to its largest one-day advance since February, with just three of the bench
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Brexit bets, airlines, CMA probes, Lloyds lock-up
19th Jun 2016 17:54
(ShareCast News) - Currency traders are betting sterling will slip to an all-time low against the euro of €1.05-1.20 if Britain votes to leave the European Union, eclipsing Black Wednesday in 1992. Currency contracts have recently suggested that investors believe the pound will probably tumble again
Read moreLloyds wins Supreme Court case over high-interest bonds
16th Jun 2016 10:34
(ShareCast News) - The UK Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Lloyds Banking Group in a long-standing dispute over whether the bank was within its rights to buy back high-yielding bonds at par value. Lloyds said on Thursday that the Court had rejected an appeal by bondholders who argued that the re
Read moreFinancials, insurers pace drops
13th Jun 2016 11:51
(ShareCast News) - The latest Brexit poll results sent traders scurrying for cover as they revealed another small lurch towards the UK leaving the European Union on 23 June. Although most analysts appeared wary of trusting the results of polls, especially those of the on-line variety, on Monday book
Read moreTuesday newspaper share tips: OneSavings Bank and Wolseley
7th Jun 2016 15:48
(ShareCast News) - Business is booming for OneSavings Bank, which has just clocked up a £35m profit after selling a £250m securitisation of pre-crisis mortgages, writes the Financial Times' Lex column. The buy-to-let lender intended to use the dosh to originate more mortgages, and its loan books hav
Read moreLloyds eyes bid for Bank of America's UK credit-card business - report
27th May 2016 16:36
(ShareCast News) - Lloyds Banking Group is preparing to bid for Bank of America's UK credit-card business, MBNA, in what may be its first acquisition since being rescued by taxpayers in 2009, according to a media report. MNBA, which has a loan book of about £7bn, was likely to draw interest from sev
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Lloyds, Tata Steel, BHS
26th May 2016 07:41
(ShareCast News) - Shares in Lloyds Banking Group have passed the level at which taxpayers break even on their stake in the bailed-out bank for the first time this year. The move through 73.6p will be closely watched by George Osborne. The chancellor was forced to postpone an offering of the bank's
Read moreFinancials lead gains as interest rate curves steepen, pound pops higher
18th May 2016 19:36
(ShareCast News) - Financials led gains in London, over on the Continent and across the Pond too, as interest rate futures continued to progressively - albeit only modestly - price-in a higher probability of a US central bank rate hike in the very near-term, perhaps as soon as the next month. As of
Read moreWednesday newspaper share tips: Lloyds, Premier Foods
18th May 2016 13:07
(ShareCast News) - UK's big banks are at a nadir in their fortunes and yet to enjoy a sustained uplift in their business, albeit with fundamentals beginning to turn north, says the Financial Times' Lex column. Mortgage, credit card and personal lending all turned a corner in 2014, and in 2015 both L
Read moreUK government plans retail sale of Lloyds stake
17th May 2016 17:09
(ShareCast News) - The UK government is planning a retail sale of its 9.2% shareholding in Lloyds Banking Group, fully returning the shares to the private sector between 2016 and 2017. HM Treasury today received a £130m dividend payment from bailed-out Lloyds, taking the total received from the bank
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