Lloyds trims stake in St James's Place to bolster capital
12th Mar 2013 07:08
UK banking group Lloyds has trimmed its holding via a placing of shares in wealth management outfit St James's Place in an effort to strengthen its capital cushion. The lender place nearly 102m shares at 510p a share, raising gross proceeds of around £520m, trimming its stake from 57% to 37%. It wi
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: IAG, Lloyds, Funding for Lending...
12th Mar 2013 06:43
The Independent says that British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG) won a major battle with labour unions yesterday, ending the threat of industrial action at its Spanish unit Iberia with an agreement that will save it 250m euros per annum. IAG has accepted a Spanish government mediat
Read moreMonday broker round-up UPDATE
11th Mar 2013 07:23
Admiral Group: Berenberg ups target price from 1000p to 1060p, but still recommends selling. Amlin: Westhouse Securities raises target price from 440p to 455p, but downgrades from add to neutral. Anite Group: Invetsec downgrades from buy to hold with a target price of 157p. Aviva: Citigroup reduc
Read moreLondon close: Markets cement gains after strong US jobs data
8th Mar 2013 16:56
The FTSE 100 registered its highest closing price in over five years on Friday after a key indicator of the US labour market smashed expectations. However, the figures failed to give stocks a boost in afternoon trade as investors pondered whether the data is strong enough to prompt the Federal Rese
Read moreSector movers: Barclays, HSBC lead banks higher
8th Mar 2013 15:50
Strong economic data from the States pushed markets higher on Friday, with the banks benefitting from the bullish mood. UK banking heavyweights Barclays and HSBC were among the best performers on the FTSE 100 in afternoon trade. Barclays hit the headlines on Thursday night after its Chief Executiv
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks rise as market prices in strong US jobs data
8th Mar 2013 11:36
Markets maintained their positive bias on Friday morning as traders showed confidence ahead of a key reading of labour-market strength in the US later on, the February employment report. Increased risk appetite in London meant that financial stocks were leading the way higher today. Expectations r
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: GKN boosted by upgrade
4th Mar 2013 12:45
GKN shares rose into the top spot after Goldman Sachs raised its target price from 195p to 272p and upgraded the stock from sell to neutral. Capita Group followed closed behind after Jefferies raised its target price from 840p to 1,010p and kept a buy recommendation. The business process manager a
Read moreBoE says Funding-for-Lending Scheme will 'take time', as lending falls
4th Mar 2013 10:50
Just 13.8bn pounds was drawn down from the Bank of England (BoE) Funding-for-Lending Scheme (FLS) last year, figured published Monday revealed. The research also showed that net lending to UK households and business by FLS participants fell by £2.4bn during the three month period, compared to a ri
Read moreMonday broker round-up UPDATE
4th Mar 2013 07:12
Aggreko: JP Morgan takes target price from 1845p to 1870p, while reiterating a neutral rating. Anglo American: Nomura reduces target price from 1800p to 1700p and downgrades from neutral to reduce. ARM Holdings: Deutsche Bank increases target price from 400p to 445p, but still recommends selling.
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Bankers´ bonuses, Lloyds, Sterling
3rd Mar 2013 18:09
Banks are furious. Last week they were caught off guard after Germany, under pressure from negotiators at the EU parliament, changed sides in the debate over bankers´ bonuses. A compromise agreement had been struck in Brussels. Now however the European Union wants the caps to extend to employees of
Read moreSunday share tips: BHP Billiton, Lloyds, Greencoat
3rd Mar 2013 14:39
New management sometimes tries to leave its mark when it enters a company and so it will be with Andrew Mackenzie at miner BHP Billiton. However, as opposed to Marius Klopper, whom he will substitute, he is unlikely to unveil a world-beating takeover a few weeks into the job, points out The Times´s
Read moreLondon close: Strong US data prompts late rally...again
1st Mar 2013 17:13
For a third day in a row, the FTSE 100 index rallied in afternoon trade on the back of strong economic figures from America, as investors temporarily shrugged off concerns about the automatic spending cuts which kick in later today. US President Barack Obama met with congressional leaders this afte
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Capita leads the risers
1st Mar 2013 15:45
Outsourcing group Capita continued to be a high riser having said that it has acquired debt recovery specialists iQor Holdings UK and subsidiaries (iQor UK) for an enterprise value of 42m pounds. Insurance group Old Mutual was in demand after posting an 18% increase in annual profits in 2012, drive
Read moreLloyds sees shares drop as government prepares to offload stake - UPDATE
1st Mar 2013 15:14
Lloyds was one of the worst performing constituents on the FTSE 100 on Friday afternoon on speculation that the government is looking to sell its stake in the lender at a lower price than when it bailed out the bank five years ago. The government took a 39% interest in Lloyds during the financial c
Read moreLondon midday: Risk appetite declines as US budget cuts loom
1st Mar 2013 12:04
After an initial stint in positive territory, UK stock markets swung sharply into the red by Friday lunchtime as concerns about budget cuts in the US take their toll on risk appetite. Sequestration is continuing to dominate headlines this morning as the deadline for across-the-board automatic budge
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