UPDATE: Friday broker round-up
14th Oct 2011 08:59
Renishaw: finnCap downgrades from buy to hold, cuts target from 1,775p to 940p. Renishaw: UBS slashes target from 1,350p to 900p, neutral recommendation maintained. Renishaw: Singer Capital Markets slashes target from 1,350p to 900p, fair value rating kept. Royal Bank of Scotland: Evolution Secur
Read moreLondon close: Banks drag market lower after Fitch downgrade
13th Oct 2011 16:34
A late rally drove the Footsie back above the 5,400 mark, but the blue chip index still finished 0.71% down after Fitch dampened sentiment in the banking sector. Not helping the mood was the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which lowered its growth forecasts for Asia for this year and next. The re
Read moreSector movers: Rolls-Royce lifts aerospace/defence stocks
13th Oct 2011 16:18
Power systems giant Rolls-Royce surged 9% on Thursday, helping the aerospace and defence sector to the top of the pile. Late last night, the firm revealed two major initiatives which are expected to significantly raise its operating profits in the future. It plans to sell its 32.5% stake in the bus
Read moreFitch cuts rating for Lloyds and RBS
13th Oct 2011 15:28
Ratings agency Fitch has confirmed speculation and cut ratings across the UK banking sector, downgrading part-nationalised lenders Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) due to uncertainties about the level of government support that they may receive. Ratings for Lloyds and RBS - which were alread
Read moreLondon close: Dull end to volatile week
7th Oct 2011 17:28
UK stocks reacted positively to better than expected US jobs data, with the Footsie recovering from a negative position to a positive one, but as the day drew to a close, traders quietly banked profits ahead of the week-end. Though the Footsie ended the day with only a modest rise, it capped a stro
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: RBS shares hit by downgrade
7th Oct 2011 15:20
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) plunged lower after the announcment of Moody's decision to downgrade the bank's credit rating by two notches, which poured more fuel on rumours that the firm could need an extra injection of capital from the government. RBS issued a statement on Friday morning highlight
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks tread water ahead of US jobs data
7th Oct 2011 12:46
Losses are reasonably modest considering that some heavyweights from the banking sector are in the doldrums following a downgrade of 12 financial institutions by ratings agency Moody's. Stocks seem to be treading water ahead of a key employment report due out in the US before the opening bell in N
Read moreUPDATE: RBS disappointed with Moody's downgrade
7th Oct 2011 09:01
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was the heaviest faller on the FTSE 100 on Friday after having its credit rating cut by Moody's, a move which poured more fuel on rumours that the firm could need an extra injection of capital from the government. Shares in the part-nationalised lender were over 4% lowe
Read moreLondon open: Banks take a hit after Moody's downgrade
7th Oct 2011 08:32
Equities took a knock in early trading after Moody's dampened sentiment with the downgrade of 12 UK financial institutions. Stocks were expected to extend gains made over the last two days on the back of hopes for the struggling Eurozone. BANKS LEAD THE FALLERS The banks were the worst performers
Read moreRBS and 11 other banks hit by downgrade
7th Oct 2011 08:24
UK bank stocks have been hit following a downgrade to 12 financial institutions by the credit ratings agency Moody's. Lloyds TSB, Santander UK and the Co-Operative Bank were downgraded one notch, while Nationwide and RBS went down two levels. Smaller institutions, including Clydesdale Bank were al
Read moreLondon midday: Banks plummet, retailers buck trend
4th Oct 2011 12:29
A decent performance from the retail sector was not enough to pull the market higher by lunchtime, as investors bailed out of banking, engineering and mining stocks on concerns over the global economy. Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of the Eurogroup finance minister committee, has said that there wi
Read moreLondon open: Financial drag Footsie towards 5,000
4th Oct 2011 08:30
The poor performance seen Monday has continued with the Footsie dropping towards the 5,000 mark once again in the opening minutes, as concerns in the Eurozone continue to dominate the markets. Nevertheless, there were further messages of support for Greece - even if they have yet to be backed up by
Read moreRBS £1.4bn property loan sale may fail
4th Oct 2011 07:44
"A £1.4bn deal between Royal Bank of Scotland and Blackstone to rid the bank of some of its troubled property loans may fail, robbing the industry of a template for similar transactions," three sources said, according to Reuters. The deal, code named Project Isobel, required debt funding from third
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: 'Neutral' Burberry heading lower
3rd Oct 2011 14:07
Shares were down at Burberry after Nomura maintained its neutral rating on the British luxury brand ahead of the group's first half trading update on 12 October. The broker expects Burberry to report 29% constant currency sales growth to £820m, but forecasts a 50 basis point decline in the first ha
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks off intraday lows after manufacturing data
3rd Oct 2011 12:13
While losses have been trimmed since the open, Greek deficit fears continued to weigh on stocks at midday, with the banking peers Standard Chartered, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland among the heaviest fallers. Banks across Europe joined in with the sell-off, with French lenders BNP Paribas and
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