London pre-open: Eurozone uncertainty to hit stocks early on
15th Oct 2012 07:23
London's FTSE 100 index is expected to open slightly lower on Monday morning on the back of concerns over Eurozone finances. City sources predict that the Footsie will open down around eight points from Friday's close of 5,793. "Corporate earnings are likely to take a back seat this week ahead of
Read moreVirgin Money on alert as Santander pulls out of RBS deal
15th Oct 2012 07:04
Part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has confirmed that Spanish banking giant Santander is going back on its agreement to purchase 316 RBS branches in the UK, as it does not believe the deal could be completed by the end of year deadline. News of the collapse of the deal broke over
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Austerity, BAE, RBS
15th Oct 2012 07:00
George Osborne has been warned by the International Monetary Fund that he risks further damaging the economy unless the pace of austerity slows and he faces up to the country's "growth challenge". David Lipton, the IMF's deputy managing director, suggested the Chancellor may have to take bolder meas
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: BAE,BP, Prudential
14th Oct 2012 16:27
The Government demanded that the new chief executive of the defence division of a merged BAE-EADS aerospace giant should be British "in perpetuity", in a move that is believed to have increased tensions with Germany. Ian King, the chief executive of BAE Systems, revealed that the agreement was one o
Read moreRBS branch sale to Santander falls through
12th Oct 2012 19:11
Santander has pulled the plug on the planned acquisition of 318 branches from Royal Bank of Scotland for £1.65bn. This, the Financial Times reports, according to people close to the transaction. One big stumbling block has been the compatibility of the RBS accounts with Santander's IT systems, the
Read moreLondon close: Footsie thunders ahead
11th Oct 2012 16:54
Better than expected US jobless figures gave a little early afternoon boost to a London market already going along nicely, as investors shrugged off a downgrade of Spain's credit rating by S&P, leaving the Iberian nation's debt status barely above a junk rating. Initial weekly unemployment claims d
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Burberry rises on signs of improved trading
11th Oct 2012 15:35
Shares in stock market darling Burberry, the luxury fashion chain, leapt on Thursday, after it said its situation had started to improve towards the end of the July-September quarter, during which time sales growth in its stores slowed dramatically, as expected. LFL sales over the half-year were u
Read moreBroker tips: RBS, Morrisons, Providence Resources
11th Oct 2012 13:17
Credit Suisse has increased its target price for Royal Bank of Scotland to 190p from 180p, while maintaining its 'underperform' rating. RBS reports its third quarter results on November 2nd and Credit Suisse has reduced its estimated 2012 underlying loss per share from 7.6p to 3.3p, following the S
Read moreLondon midday: Bumi booming on back of buy-out proposal
11th Oct 2012 11:51
London enjoyed a solid morning sparked by a return to favour of stock market darling Burberry, the luxury fashion chain. Burberry, which issued a profit warning last month, confirmed like-for-like (LFL) sales growth in its stores slowed dramatically in the July-September quarter, but the good news
Read moreBroker snap: Credit Suisse increases target price for RBS, but ...
11th Oct 2012 10:53
Credit Suisse has increased its target price for Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to 190p from 180p, while maintaining its 'Underperform' rating. RBS reports its third quarter results on November 2nd and Credit Suisse has reduced its estimated 2012 underlying loss per share from 7.6p to 3.3p, following
Read moreLondon open: Burberry back in fashion
11th Oct 2012 08:51
London has, for once, decided not to dance to Wall Street's tune and has opened little changed, despite the shake-out yesterday stateside. Another credit ratings downgrade for troubled economy Spain has also been shrugged off. In company news, Burberry, the luxury fashion chain which issued a profi
Read moreLondon pre-open: FTSE to extend Wednesday's losses
11th Oct 2012 07:31
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down eight points from yesterday's close of 5,777, after investor sentiment was dampened by a less that dazzling start to earnings season in America. The largest US aluminium producer, Alcoa, cut its forecast for growth in global consumption of the metal
Read moreRBS prices Direct Line at 175p
11th Oct 2012 07:04
Royal Bank of Scotland(RBS) said it had priced Direct Line at 175p a share, valuing the insurance firm at 2.63bn pounds. The offer comprises 450m existing shares, representing 30 per cent of the 1.5bn total, raising £787m for RBS. RBS had said it would float the firm at between 160p and 195p a sha
Read moreSector movers: RBS, Lloyds lift banking sector on FSA decision
10th Oct 2012 17:17
Banking stocks finished strongly on Wednesday after it was revealed that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has eased certain capital buffers. Banks will now not need to hold extra capital against lending that qualifies for 'Funding for Lending', meaning that loans given under the government's
Read moreLondon close: Global slowdown concerns weigh on stocks
10th Oct 2012 17:00
London's FTSE 100 index registered its third consecutive day in negative territory as uncertainty surrounding the outlook for the global economy continued to weigh on investor sentiment. "Financial markets struggled to find direction today, drifting into the red as persistent fears over slowing glo
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