Friday newspaper round-up: Goldman Sachs, UK banks, Fed
2nd Aug 2013 06:47
Former Goldman Sachs trader Fabrice Tourre has been found guilty in the US for defrauding investors in a derivatives deal linked to subprime mortgages, the Financial Times reported. UK banks have agreed to pay the equivalent of almost £400 to every adult in the country over the mis-selling of payme
Read moreLondon close: Markets surge on upbeat data, policy decisions
1st Aug 2013 16:43
Markets rose strongly on Thursday as investors reacted to dovish comments from central banks across the globe, upbeat economic data and well-received results from UK banking group Lloyds. The FTSE 100 finished 61 points higher at 6,682 today, rising to levels not seen since the end of May. "The th
Read moreLloyds soars as anticipation builds for dividend, government sale - UPDATE
1st Aug 2013 16:40
Shares in part-nationalised lender Lloyds surged ahead on Thursday as hopes over the resumption of a dividend sparked a positive reaction from markets. "As a consequence of the significant progress made in strengthening the balance sheet we now expect to commence discussions with our regulators in
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Lloyds, Fresnillo, RBS
1st Aug 2013 13:28
Lloyds Banking Group's shares surged as the company swung back to profit in the first half of the year. Chief executive António Horta-Osório said the sell-off of the taxpayers' stake in the bank was "now in the government's hands". Precious metals company Fresnillo edged higher as the price of gold
Read moreLondon midday: Markets rise with central banks in focus
1st Aug 2013 11:43
Stocks were making decent gains on Thursday morning, helped by some dovish remarks from the Federal Reserve and some stronger-than-expected data from China, with Lloyds leading the FTSE 100 higher after its first-half results. It's been a busy week on the macro-economic calendar with policy decisio
Read moreBroker tips: Lloyds, Aggreko, BAE Systems
1st Aug 2013 11:08
Canaccord Genuity has placed its 'neutral' rating and target price for Lloyds under review, highlighting the possibility of a dividend next year given the bank's optimistic outlook in its first-half results. The broker said that its 'neutral' recommendation had been based on the assumption that the
Read moreBroker snap: Canaccord upbeat about divi possibility at Lloyds
1st Aug 2013 11:02
Canaccord Genuity has placed its 'neutral' rating and target price for Lloyds under review, highlighting the possibility of a dividend next year given the bank's optimistic outlook in its first-half results. Lloyds' figures for the first six months of the year were "strong", Canaccord said, with in
Read moreLondon open: Lloyds leads FTSE 100 higher early on
1st Aug 2013 08:56
Upbeat Chinese data and some impressive first-half results from Lloyds helped boost markets on Thursday morning, though the focus is likely to turn to central-bank decisions in the UK and Europe later on. "With the Bank of England and European Central Bank likely to announce uneventful policy decis
Read moreLondon pre-open: Chinese data to provide a lift early on
1st Aug 2013 07:44
Markets are expected to open higher on Thursday morning ahead of central-bank policy decisions from the UK and Europe this afternoon, with sentiment helped early on by some upbeat data from China. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 20 points from yesterday's close of 6,621. Growth in
Read moreLloyds sees H1 profits surge, guidance revised up
1st Aug 2013 07:16
Lloyds hailed a huge increase in underlying profits in the first half, helped by rising income and margins as well as reductions in costs and impairments. The bank reported an underlying profit of £2.90bn, up from just £1.04bn in the first six months of 2012. On a statutory basis, the bottom line s
Read moreLondon midday: Markets celebrate fall in Eurozone unemployment
31st Jul 2013 12:03
A fall in unemployment in Europe and some well-received corporate earnings pushed the FTSE 100 into positive territory on Wednesday morning, as traders showed optimism ahead of a policy announcement by the Federal Reserve later this evening. Some 24,000 fewer people were without a job in the Eurozo
Read moreLondon open: Markets flat as investors await FOMC, economic data
31st Jul 2013 09:06
Markets in the UK opened broadly flat on Wednesday morning as investors adopted a wait-and-see approach ahead of a policy announcement from the Federal Reserve. All eyes will be on the Federal Open Market Committee as its two-day meeting comes to a close this evening. While few actually think that
Read moreLondon close: Gains limited ahead of central bank decisions
30th Jul 2013 16:41
Caution ahead of a number of central-bank policy decisions kept gains on equity markets to a minimum on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 finishing slightly higher as traders digested a barrage of corporate earnings. The outcome of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting will be in focus on Wednesday, t
Read moreLondon midday: Markets rise on earnings, Gfk data
30th Jul 2013 11:39
Markets edged higher on Tuesday morning as traders reacted to a barrage of corporate earnings and data which showed that German consumers were at their most optimistic in six years. The GfK's forward-looking consumer confidence survey for Germany rose from 6.8 to 7.0 in August, its highest levels s
Read moreLondon open: Markets higher as traders digest mixed earnings
30th Jul 2013 08:50
Strong gains for GKN, ITV, Weir and Next helped push London's FTSE 100 into positive territory on Tuesday morning, offsetting weakness from the likes of Barclays and BP. Meanwhile, markets across Europe were also doing well early on as investors reacted to upbeat earnings reports from French heavyw
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