Morgan Stanley turns positive on RBS for first time in six years
26th Aug 2015 14:09
(ShareCast News) - Morgan Stanley upgraded its stance on Royal Bank of Scotland to 'overweight' from 'equalweight' and lifted its price target to 400p from 345p as restructuring enters the final furlong. The bank said this marks the first time in six years that it's turning positive on RBS. MS said
Read moreUK government cuts stake in Lloyds to just under 13%
24th Aug 2015 09:17
(ShareCast News) - The UK government has cut its stake in Lloyds Banking Group to just under 13%, taking the bank another step closer to full privatisation. UK Financial Investments, which is fully-owned by the Treasury, reduced its stake in the bank by a further 1% to 12.97%. This takes the total r
Read moreBroker tips: Lloyds, Weir Group, Fidessa
3rd Aug 2015 13:35
(ShareCast News) - Charles Stanley downgraded Lloyds Banking Group to 'hold' from 'accumulate', citing tax and PPI headwinds. It also said that with the shares trading on a premium rating of 1.6x 30 June 2015 tangible book value, material near-term upside may be limited. However, the brokerage stil
Read moreCharles Stanley downgrades Lloyds; cites PPI headwinds and valuation
3rd Aug 2015 11:33
(ShareCast News) - Charles Stanley downgraded Lloyds Banking Group to 'hold' from 'accumulate', citing tax and PPI headwinds. It also said that with the shares trading on a premium rating of 1.6x 30 June 2015 tangible book value, material near-term upside may be limited. However, the brokerage stil
Read moreUK government cuts stake in Lloyds to just under 14%
3rd Aug 2015 09:35
(ShareCast News) - The UK government has sold more of its shares in Lloyds Banking Group, bringing its stake down to 13.99% from 14.98%. Lloyds said on Monday that the government now owns 9.98bn shares in the bank compared with 10.69bn previously. There was no price disclosed for the share sale, wh
Read moreLondon close: FTSE finishes on the front foot as investors weigh earnings and data
31st Jul 2015 17:13
(ShareCast News) - The FTSE 100 picked up steam to close on a positive note after a mixed day of corporate reports and economic data. In Europe, German retail sales rose 5.1% in June, beating expectations for a 4% increase. Compared to a month ago, sales dropped 2.3%, ahead of forecasts for a 0.3% g
Read moreLloyds reportedly targeting acquisitions for first time since bailout
31st Jul 2015 16:19
(ShareCast News) - Lloyds Banking Group is reportedly starting to look at acquisitions for the first time since it required its state bailout. According to a person with knowledge of the matter cited by Bloomberg, the lender is considering buying loan books in areas such as consumer finance and cred
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE in the red on mixed earnings, data
31st Jul 2015 12:27
(ShareCast News) - The FTSE 100 slipped into the red on the back of a flat session in Asian markets, mixed earnings releases and economic data. Asian stocks were mixed, with Japan's Nikkei 225 index ending higher on upbeat reports on housing starts and construction orders but Shanghai fell on report
Read moreLloyds profits rise 15% in first half but second quarter disappoints
31st Jul 2015 08:24
(ShareCast News) - Lloyds Banking Group posted a 15% increase in underlying first-half profits to £4.4bn and declared an interim dividend of 0.75p per share, but plans for what analysts said was an "illusory" buyback and some missed forecasts hit the shares. The increased profit came from an increas
Read moreFriday preview: Lloyds reports first quarterly results since full TSB split
30th Jul 2015 17:11
(ShareCast News) - Lloyds Banking Group on Friday reports its first quarterly results since it cut ties with TSB completely. UBS said it expects the second quarter results to show underlying trends remained broadly stable. Net interest margin excluding TSB in the first quarter was 260 basis points
Read moreLloyds sells £2.6bn of Irish loans
30th Jul 2015 09:10
(ShareCast News) - Lloyds Banking Group has agreed the sale of a portfolio of Irish commercial loans to a consortium including Goldman Sachs and Bank of Ireland for a cash consideration of around £827m. The gross assets subject to the transaction are around £2.6bn, of which £2.3bn were impaired. Th
Read moreUK government cuts stake in Lloyds to just under 15%
16th Jul 2015 08:47
(ShareCast News) - The UK government has cut its stake in Lloyds Banking Group to 14.98% from 15.9% as the bank moves closer to full privatisation. The government started selling off its stake in Lloyds in September 2013 and the bank is set to become fully private again in 2016. It was rescued duri
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Aviva tops risers, housing and property shares fall
8th Jul 2015 16:58
On the day of Chancellor George Osborne's summer Budget, the FTSE 100 was in the green thanks to political boosts for several key sectors and optimistic buying of commodities companies. Aviva was the highest riser just before close on Wednesday, after the Budget saw the chancellor reduce the tax adv
Read moreUK Chancellor George Osborne to cut bank levy
8th Jul 2015 13:04
In the first Conservative Budget since 1996, Chancellor George Osborne announced that the bank levy rate will be gradually reduced over the next six years and a new 8% surcharge on bank profits will be introduced from January 2016. After that, Osborne said he will ensure the levy no longer applies t
Read moreBroker tips: ARM Holdings, Lloyds, Rolls-Royce, Land Securities
7th Jul 2015 16:32
Shares in chipmaker ARM Holdings have been boosted after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to 'overweight' from 'equalweight' and raised its share price target to 1,180p from 980p. The bank said that concerns around a slowdown of the smartphone market have created a buying opportunity for ARM, notin
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