FTSE 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
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Co-op Bank, Lloyds, Platform...
17th Jun 2013 06:30
The Independent says that the Co-op Bank will this week announce plans to fill a 1.5bn-pound hole in its finances. The rescue, brokered with the Bank of England's Prudential Regulatory Authority, will see 5,000 investors take a haircut on money they lent to the bank. Conservative MP David Davis has
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: RBS, Co-op bank, easyJet
16th Jun 2013 15:16
Foreign-owned bank branches - as opposed to subsidiaries - in Britain made the country's financial crisis worse, as they moved to shrink their loan books by almost half at the height of the credit crunch, according to Bank of England research, The FT Weekend reports. The other factors which explain
Read moreBoE Tucker's resignation may lead to 'more activist' MPC
14th Jun 2013 17:47
Paul Tucker has resigned as Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, leading to suggestions the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) could move in favour of a more activist monetary policy. Tucker, who joined the Bank of England in 1989 as Principal Private Secretary to Governor Leigh-Pemberton,
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks slip after EU jobs data
14th Jun 2013 11:47
The upbeat tone seen from markets in early trading on Friday morning didn't last for long, with the FTSE 100 slipping into the red by midday after some gloomy data from Europe. Strong gains on Wall Street last night prompted a decent start in London this morning on expectations that the Federal Res
Read moreLondon open: FTSE 100 tracks US and Asian markets higher early on
14th Jun 2013 08:46
Stocks were registering moderate gains on Friday morning as fears over the Federal Reserve's eventual 'exit strategy' from stimulus were eased overnight. Wall Street benchmarks rose strongly on Thursday on expectations that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will attempt to calm markets by pushing back pred
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
14th Jun 2013 08:15
Amlin: UBS starts with a target price of 400p and a neutral rating. Cairn Energy: JP Morgan takes target price from 320p to 340p maintaining a neutral rating. Catlin: UBS initiates with a target price of 475p and a neutral rating. Chemring: Credit Suisse increases target price from 210p to 260p a
Read moreLondon pre-open: Strong start expected as 'tapering' concerns ease
14th Jun 2013 07:55
Markets are expected to open with decent gains on Friday morning following a rebound on Asian markets overnight as fears about 'tapering' at the Federal Reserve eased. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up around 40 points from yesterday's close of 6,305. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is exp
Read moreLondon midday: Financials pull markets lower after Hester exit from RBS
13th Jun 2013 11:38
Uncertainty regarding central-bank stimulus, reductions in global growth forecasts and the surprise departure of the head of one of the UK's biggest domestic banks prompted a sell-off on the FTSE 100 on Thursday, as volatility continued on markets across the globe. London's benchmark index slumped
Read moreLondon open: RBS leads market sell-off early on after Hester exit
13th Jun 2013 08:33
Markets sunk sharply from the off on Thursday morning as the FTSE 100's losing streak was extended into its fourth day, with RBS in focus after shocking the City with the surprise resignation of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Stephen Hester. Following the impressive rise seen at the start of the ye
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Stephen Hester, Ofgem, Centrica...
13th Jun 2013 06:37
The Independent says that the news of Stephen Hester's departure from RBS "perplexed" many in the City last night after his work that nursed the bank back to health, with several describing his treatment as "shabby". The bank said that it was looking for a new leader ahead of its re-privatisation.
Read moreBroker tips: Lloyds/RBS, BT, Sainsbury
12th Jun 2013 11:39
Barclays Capital (BarCap) has raised both its ratings for part-nationalised lenders Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) as the government begins to come up with a plan to re-privatise the banks following their bailout in 2008. BarCap has upgraded Lloyds from 'underweight' to 'equa
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