UK banks to boost profits in 2014 but face more charges, says S&P
13th Mar 2014 16:56
The UK's biggest banks are set to increase their profits this year, but financial hits from reforms linked to past scandals are likely to keep coming, according to a rating agency. Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and the Royal Bank of Scotland are set to focus on improving returns and putting
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Co-op, Mortgage rates, Travelex
12th Mar 2014 07:21
On Tuesday evening the Co-op decided on a revamp of its governance structure to a two-tier system. There will be one group resembling the top of a public company which will in turn report to a more traditional Co-op-style board of members. The change will be voted on May 17th by the group's regional
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Forex, Crimea, Barclays
7th Mar 2014 06:58
Robert de Groot, the head of foreign exchange trading at BNP Paribas, was suspended on Thursday. De Groot joined the Bank of England´s chief dealers´ group - a panel on which senior forex traders and Bank officials sit - in 2007. Said committee was thrust into the spotlight this week after Bank re
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Ukraine, Co-op, Rolls Royce
6th Mar 2014 07:13
Attempts to broker direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine´s foreign ministers made little headway in Paris on Wednesday, although the US Secretary of State and Russia´s Minister of Foreign Affairs are due to meet again on Thursday, in Rome. In parallel, the European Union announced that it w
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Centrica, Lloyds, RBS...
21st Feb 2014 07:13
The boss of Centrica has refused to commit to another year at the helm of the British Gas owner as frustration mounts at political attacks on the energy industry. Sam Laidlaw, Centrica's chief executive, has been the target of personal attacks by consumer groups and politicians in recent months over
Read moreLloyds reportedly seeking easing of investment bank ringfencing rules
17th Feb 2014 11:02
Lloyds Banking Group is reportedly negotiating with the UK's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) to ease ringfencing rules on its investment banking activities as it fears the operation could be overwhelmed by new requirements due to come into force by the end of the decade. The Financial Times,
Read moreBroker tips: Lloyds, Rolls-Royce, Petrofac, Ladbrokes
14th Feb 2014 12:15
JPMorgan Cazenove has lifted its recommendation for Lloyds Banking Group from 'neutral' to 'overweight' saying that there is upside risk to new lowered forecasts following the bank's 2013 results. JPMorgan said the market's negative reaction to the results on Thursday "reflects a rebasing of expect
Read moreUK stocks push higher after Eurozone GDP as miners gain
14th Feb 2014 11:39
- Eurozone GDP beats forecasts in Q4 - Miners surge as metal prices gain - Retailers, financials, Coca-Cola HBC lead the fallers techMARK 2,827.29 +0.12% FTSE 100 6,662.15 +0.04% FTSE 250 16,102.29 +0.45% A better-than-expected pick-up in Eurozone economic growth gave UK stocks a small boost on Fr
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
14th Feb 2014 10:26
Assura Group: Liberum Capital shifts target price from 44p to 44.40p and retains a buy recommendation. Barclays: Credit Suisse lowers target price from 270p to 260p and keeps a neutral rating. Bellway: Panmure Gordon raises target price from 1520p to 1639p and maintains a buy recommendation. UBS i
Read moreJPMorgan upgrades Lloyds, sees upside risk to new forecasts
14th Feb 2014 09:32
JPMorgan Cazenove has lifted its recommendation for Lloyds Banking Group from 'neutral' to 'overweight' saying that there is upside risk to new lowered forecasts following the bank's results. Lloyds is now named as JPMorgan's top pick among UK banks, as it upgraded its target price for the stock fr
Read moreUK stocks edge lower as investors await Eurozone GDP
14th Feb 2014 09:05
- Eurozone GDP figures ahead - Italian politics in focus as PM resigns - Miners rise strongly, banks and retailers fall techMARK 2,822.53 -0.05% FTSE 100 6,650.83 -0.13% FTSE 250 16,045.41 +0.10% UK stocks opened slightly lower on Friday morning with strong gains from mining stocks outweighed by w
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Vodafone, Shell, Pound
14th Feb 2014 07:26
Britain's biggest telecoms company is to have a new auditor for the first time since floating on the stock market in 1988. Vodafone will end its 26-year relationship with Deloitte, handing its audit mandate to PwC, one of the firm's "Big Four" rivals and the auditor of more FTSE 100 companies than a
Read moreUK stocks erase losses, but corporate earnings weigh on sentiment
13th Feb 2014 16:55
- Stocks snap winning streak but pare losses by the close - Tate & Lyle, Rolls-Royce issue profit warnings - Lloyds underwhelms with higher profits in 2013 - US retail sales disappoint techMARK 2,823.82 -0.26% FTSE 100 6,659.42 -0.23% FTSE 250 16,029.39 -0.31% Profit warnings from Tate & Lyle and
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Rolls-Royce nosedives on 2014 outlook
13th Feb 2014 14:35
Rolls-Royce's shares tumbled after the group said it expects flat 2014 revenue and profit due to cuts in government defence spending. The world's second-largest maker of aircraft engines revealed an estimated 15-20 per cent slump in defence revenue would hinder results this year as it reported its f
Read moreLloyds shares fall despite return to profit amid bonus controversy - UPDATE
13th Feb 2014 13:28
- Lloyds swings to statutory PBT of 415m pounds - Company on path to private ownership - Bonus pool raised by eight per cent Lloyds boss António Horta-Osório said on Thursday that the bank is looking at a return to private ownership as it swung to its first statutory pre-tax profit (PBT) in three y
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