London open: Banks weigh on Footsie lower early on
30th Jan 2012 08:18
The FTSE 100 slipped towards the 5,700 level in early trade, with the banks providing a drag as investors digested the downgrade of five Eurozone nations and the ongoing talks in Greece. Fitch announced late on Friday to downgrade the ratings of five Eurozone nations - Italy, Spain, Belgium, Cyprus
Read moreRBS's Hester gives up bonus, but the debate is likely far from over
30th Jan 2012 07:33
Stephen Hester, the Chief Executive of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), will not accept his bonus share award, according to several reports on Monday morning. The decision follows the opposition Labour party threatening to force a vote on the issue in the House of Commons. Under the terms of his contr
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: RBS, mining companies, taxes
30th Jan 2012 07:06
The chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland last night bowed to mounting public anger and agreed to give up a £1m bonus. Stephen Hester's move emerged last night hours after it had been announced that Labour was to trigger a Commons vote on his controversial award. Ministers welcomed the decision,
Read moreLondon close: US data, Greek talks weigh on FTSE 100
27th Jan 2012 16:26
With economic growth in the world's largest economy surprising to the downside, miners and oil stocks were sold off on Friday, dragging the Footsie near to its lowest levels of the day by the close. Meanwhile, uncertainty in regards to debt-swap talks in Greece continued to weigh on investors' minds
Read moreLondon midday: Losses pared on talks of progress in Greece
27th Jan 2012 12:06
- Gains pared by midday. - Talks of progress in Greece. - BP falls after Transocean spat. After a sharp decline early on, losses were pared by lunchtime, with the FTSE 100 trading only slightly lower, as talks of progress in Greece helped lift sentiment. European markets on the whole are generall
Read moreRBS keeps Hester bonus below £1m
27th Jan 2012 10:49
So now we know the answer to a question which has been hanging over the 83% state owned Royal Bank of Scotland for several weeks. The bank's Chief Executive, Stephen Hester, is to receive a bonus of 3.6 million shares for his performance during 2011, this equates to £963,000 based on the closing pr
Read moreLondon close: Post-Fed mining surge lifts Footsie up 1.3%
26th Jan 2012 16:41
- Stocks finish near day's best levels. - Miners surge as Fed pledges low rates. - IIF willing to accept coupon rate of below 4% With gold prices jumping to a six-week high on the back of last night's statement by the US Federal Reserve, miners dominated the risers on London's FTSE 100, which clo
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Kazakhmys leads miners higher
26th Jan 2012 13:42
With the Federal Reserve pledging to do its best to strengthen the US economy last night, the dollar weakened against the euro, sending metals prices higher. As such, the miners were dominating the risers on Thursday afternoon. Kazakhstan-based copper miner Kazakhmys was in the top spot after sayin
Read moreLondon midday: Miners gain after Fed, Polymetal rises on merger rumours
26th Jan 2012 11:50
- Miners surge as Fed pledges low rates. - IIF willing to accept coupon rate of below 4%. - Ireland returns to international bond markets. The Footsie was up 1% by midday with miners leading the advance after the Federal Reserve's move to keep interest rates low last night weakened the dollar and m
Read moreLondon open: Miners jump after Fed pledges low rates
26th Jan 2012 08:33
London's blue chip stocks rose in early trading on Thursday, following on from a surge last night on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve pledged to keep the federal funds rate low until late 2014. Meanwhile, Greece is again in focus as talks resume between private creditors and the government. The
Read moreJefferies to acquire RBS's corporate broking arm
26th Jan 2012 07:54
It may be a sign of the times, in economic terms, or perhaps simply the result of US banks having moved first to clear their balance sheets, but another of the City's oldest institutions - Hoare Govett - looks set to fall into US hands. US investment bank Jefferies is close to buying Royal Bank of
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Ashmore rises on Barclays upgrade
25th Jan 2012 13:34
Investment manager Ashmore was the best performer, rising over 5%, bouncing back after a poor performance yesterday on the back of a downgrade from Royal Bank of Scotland. Today, however, the stock was given a boost after Barclays upgraded it to overweight from neutral. ARM Holdings, the chip desi
Read moreLondon midday: Banks fall as GDP figures disappoint
25th Jan 2012 11:55
- UK GDP contracts in the fourth quarter. - BoE unanimous in decision to maintain rates. - Mortgage approvals rise. In spite of a strong start, London's FTSE 100 experienced a sharp decline in morning trade following some disappointing gross domestic product figures which came in worse than expecte
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: BoE, Hungary, RBS
25th Jan 2012 07:01
The Governor of the Bank of England urged against "despair" because "all crises come to an end" as official figures were expected to show that Britain is heading back to recession. Sir Mervyn King said that the economy faced an "arduous, long and uneven" path to recovery but that once it does it wil
Read moreLondon close: Stocks down on Greek concerns
24th Jan 2012 16:41
- Banks sold off as Greek talks continue. - S&P downgrades three French banks. - IMF cuts world GDP growth forecast. UK stocks were off their intraday lows but still finished firmly in the red on Tuesday, with global markets in negative territory as European leaders continue to argue over Greece
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