London midday: FTSE 100 nearly erases year-to-date gains
24th Jun 2013 11:38
After a bright start, the FTSE 100 had sunk sharply into the red by Monday lunchtime with the index having nearly erased all of the impressive gains made since the start of the year. The Footsie was trading 1.05% lower by midday at around 6,052, compared to an intraday high of 6,132 reached early o
Read moreFriday broker round-up
21st Jun 2013 08:34
Afren: Jefferies cuts target price from 155p to 140p and downgrades from buy to hold. Alpha Real Trust: Panmure Gordon shifts target price from 76p to 79p and retains a buy recommendation. Betfair Group: JP Morgan moves target price from 850p to 825p keeping a neutral rating. Borders & Southern P
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 drops three per cent after Fed signals end to QE
20th Jun 2013 16:58
Equity, bond and commodity markets were a sea of red on Thursday as traders fled from risk in the aftermath of the Federal Reserve's confirmation of its stimulus 'exit strategy'. The FTSE 100 finished down an eye-watering 189 points, falling 2.98% to 6,160. The last time the index was at this level
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners hit hardest in market sell-off
20th Jun 2013 14:33
Heavy selling pressure was affecting indices across Europe and America on Thursday after the Federal Reserve warned that it would begin to taper its stimulus programme this year, meanwhile gloomy figures from China continue to point to a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy. As is often th
Read moreLondon midday: Markets drop over two per cent in Fed aftermath
20th Jun 2013 11:38
The Federal Reserve may have painted a better picture of the US economy last night, but the concept of a life without quantitative easing (QE) prompted a heavy sell-off on equity markets on Thursday morning, with indices across Europe hit hard following steep losses on Wall Street. The Federal Open
Read moreThursday broker round-up UPDATE
20th Jun 2013 08:43
Ashtead Group: Jefferies takes target price from 690p to 750p and leaves its buy recommendation unchanged. ASOS: Deutsche Bank increases target price from 3300p to 3800p and reiterates a hold recommendation. Atkins: Liberum Capital takes target price from 1020p to 1100p and maintains a buy recomme
Read moreLondon open: 'Tapering' concerns hit markets hard as Fed signals end to QE
20th Jun 2013 08:26
Markets across Europe dropped sharply in early trading on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke last night signalled that the central bank could soon start to scale back its quantitative easing (QE) programme. Fed confirms QE taper Stocks on Wall Street last night were trading sligh
Read moreBank regulator identifies 27bn-pound capital shortfall at five UK banks
20th Jun 2013 07:49
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) said that five of the major eight banks in the UK fell short of their capital requirements at the end of 2012 with a combined shortfall of 27.1bn pounds. This is larger than the £25bn deficit calculated back in March by the Financial Policy Committee. Reg
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up : Lloyds, RBS, BT, Dolce and Gabbana
20th Jun 2013 06:44
Chancellor George Osborne has signalled the prospect of the first stages of the privatisation of Lloyds Banking Group, The Telegraph reported. He hinted the sale of the state-backed lender's shares within months, saying the bank was in a good position for selling down the taxpayer's 39% internet. Ho
Read moreLondon close: Markets move higher with Fed decision in focus
18th Jun 2013 17:04
After a subdued start, the FTSE 100 finished with impressive gains on Tuesday as investors put aside worries ahead of the key 'risk event' of the week, the monetary policy meeting at the Federal Reserve. Banking stocks in London were performing well today after the China Securities Journal suggeste
Read moreSector movers: Banks gain on China rate-cut speculation
18th Jun 2013 15:14
Banking stocks were in demand on Tuesday on the back of reports that China could move to cut interest rates in an effort to combat a slowdown. An article in the China Securities Journal suggested that the People's Bank of China could reduce interest rates to reduce the debt burden on companies. M
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Whitbread jumps as Costa drives strong first-quarter growth
18th Jun 2013 14:34
Whitbread was performing well on Tuesday after the company reported a decent first quarter with group sales up 13.8 per cent, boosted by growth at Premier Inn and another strong performance from Costa which saw sales jump by an impressive 24.8 per cent. Whitbread said that while sales in its resta
Read moreLloyds denies political pressure to sell branches to Co-op
18th Jun 2013 13:51
Lloyds Bank Group has slammed claims it has been under political pressure to sell hundreds of branches to the Co-operative Group. The state-backed lender, which is required to sell its 632 branches as a condition of its 2008 taxpayer bailout, denied suggestions of ministerial interference in the co
Read moreWednesday preview: Osborne delivers Mansion Speech
18th Jun 2013 13:23
Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed reports his Mansion Speech on Wednesday will reveal plans for reprivatising Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). In an interview with BBC Radio on Tuesday, he said the government is eager to return the lenders to private ownership and vowed
Read moreOsborne to suggest privatisation of Lloyds by 2015 election
17th Jun 2013 12:32
Chancellor George Osborne will hint at the sale of state-backed Lloyds Banking Group by the 2015 general election in his annual speech on Wednesday, aides told the Financial Times. He will signal that he wants to move the lender back into private ownership but will refuse to specify an exact date o
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