London close: French downgrade rumours sink Footsie
13th Jan 2012 16:34
Markets turned south in afternoon trade on rumours of imminent action by ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) to downgrade the ratings of several Eurozone countries. A senior Eurozone government official has been cited as saying that both France and Austria could have their ratings downgraded by
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: RBS in top spot for a second day running
13th Jan 2012 12:44
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) led the way higher on Friday morning, extending gains from yesterday, when the shares bounced after the lender revealed a massive shake-up to its investment banking and wholesale businesses, including a mass job cull of 3,500. Seymour Pierce fuelled gains after upgrading
Read moreLondon midday: Gains trimmed as US futures fall
13th Jan 2012 12:03
The Footsie's earlier gains were pared by lunchtime as US stock futures slipped ahead of key earnings report from JP Morgan Chase & Co and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. Italy issued €4.75bn in medium-term debt, the top of its €3-4.75bn target range. The borrowing costs of Ju
Read moreFriday broker round-up - UPDATE
13th Jan 2012 11:19
Vodafone: Nomura upgrades to buy. Bunzl: UBS cuts to neutral from buy. RSA Insurance: Citi cuts to neutral from buy. BT Group: Nomura upgrades to buy from reduce. RBS: Seymour Price upgrades to buy from reduce. BG Group: JP Morgan raises price target to 1,900p from 1,455p. Tesco: Credit Suiss
Read moreLondon open: Banks lead the rise but Invensys plummets
13th Jan 2012 08:30
Banks were leading the way on Friday with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) topping the charts, lifting the Footsie above the 5,700 level. Hopes that the sovereign debt crisis in Europe is easing lifted the mood on the markets, with investors looking ahead to a key Italian debt auction later today. Just
Read moreFriday tips round-up: Tesco, Barratt, Provident Financial, RBS
13th Jan 2012 06:56
The Telegraph's Questor column looks at yesterday's big news from Tesco that like-for-like sales in the UK dropped 2.3% in the final six weeks of last year. That announcement has seen the stock lose 18.5% of its value in the last 24 hours. Questor makes the point that Warren Buffet, the great shama
Read moreLondon close: Stocks erase gains, Tesco falls 16%
12th Jan 2012 16:24
Gains were pared in afternoon trade on Thursday following a poor start on Wall Street, meaning that the FTSE 100 finished in the red for the second day in a row. It was a busy day on the corporate news front, with Tesco and RBS grabbing the headlines, while central banks did what was expected and ke
Read moreLondon midday: Banks rise, retailers drop, BoE maintains rate
12th Jan 2012 11:58
After a subdued start, the Footsie seems to have found its direction, trading up near the 5,700 level, helped by the latest Italian and Spanish debt auctions which saw solid demand and a fall in yields. Italy has sold a total of €12bn in bills, with yields on its 12-month debt falling to 2.74% from
Read moreThursday broker round-up - UPDATE
12th Jan 2012 09:08
Reckitt Benckiser: J.P. Morgan Cazenove downgrades to neutral from overweight. Tesco: Nomura reiterates buy rating and 500p target; Panmure Gordon cuts target from 500p to 440p, buy rating unchanged. Royal Bank of Scotland: Shore Capital reiterates sell. Tesco: Shore Capital downgrades to hold fr
Read moreLondon open: RBS rises after shake-up, Tesco plummets
12th Jan 2012 08:28
A sharp fall for the retailers was met with a strong showing by the banks this morning, equating to a flat start for the FTSE 100. It has been reasonably busy on the corporate front, with several firms providing trading statements, but RBS and Tesco dominated the headlines early on. MARKETS CELEBRA
Read moreLondon pre-open: Markets subdued ahead of central banks' statements
12th Jan 2012 07:33
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 8 points from yesterday's close of 5,670 ahead of today's European Central Bank and Bank of England interest rate announcements. 'Must do better' is the theme of Tesco's Christmas trading statement, as the UK's leading supermarket chain reported UK sa
Read moreRBS to cut 3,500 jobs in three-year shake-up - UPDATE
12th Jan 2012 07:12
As expected, part nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has revealed a massive shake-up to its investment banking and wholesale businesses, including a mass employment reduction of 3,500. The changes - which include an exit from its cash equities business, corporate broking, equity capi
Read moreLondon close: Euro worries pull Footsie lower
11th Jan 2012 16:58
Eurozone debt worries weighed on London's stock market today with some disappointing economic data from the region's largest economy dampening the mood. Energy stocks led the decline on the FTSE 100, tracking oil prices lower. SOVEREIGN DEBT CRISIS RUMBLES ON News that German gross domestic produc
Read moreRBS to cut 272 jobs in UK - UPDATE
11th Jan 2012 16:03
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to cut 272 jobs in the UK corporate banking unit as a resut of slowing growth levels. An RBS spokesman made the announcement, saying that the cuts will be spread across the UK, with managers as well as sales and personnel staff being targeted. The cuts, which equa
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: RBS in top spot after cost-saving measures leaked
11th Jan 2012 12:08
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was on the up after it was reported that its Irish unit is preparing its second round of job cuts in four years as part of an effort to save about €50m ($63.9m), according to two people with knowledge of the plan, a Bloomberg News report said. Meanwhile, SSE became the
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