Broker snap: RBS maintains AstraZeneca at 'hold'
1st Apr 2011 11:58
Royal Bank of Scotland analysts have warned of tough times ahead for AstraZeneca, while keeping their "hold" rating on the drug giant. "Although the company faces material headwinds in 2011, recent price data suggests that price rises for just two of its key products could counter the material impa
Read moreLondon open: Shares win back gains
1st Apr 2011 08:34
Shares have got off to a decent start, clawing back some of the gains that came in late trading yesterday. Banks, which had been awaiting yesterday afternoon's banking stress test results nervously, are leading the way today, with Barclays, Lloyds and RBS posting good gains. In other news, Marks
Read moreRBS sells Spanish property loans
23rd Mar 2011 08:07
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has agreed to sell a portfolio of its commercial real estate loans and assets to Perella Weinberg Real Estate Fund I LP. The state-owned bank, keen to scale down its portfolio of non-core assets, says the US private equity house is taking on a loan portfolio worth €286
Read moreLondon close: Carnival sinks
22nd Mar 2011 16:57
A confident start was derailed by worse than expected inflation figures and a rally in the final hour of trading only brought out profit takers right at the death, leaving Footsie in the red. UK annual inflation rose faster than predicted in February, as surging utility bills drove up living costs.
Read moreLondon afternoon: Downward drift continues
22nd Mar 2011 14:09
Footsie lost more ground over the lunch time session as Wall Street opened mixed, failing to carry on the strong advance seen yesterday. GKN is lower on speculation of a bid for French peer Latecoere. The French aerospace firm, which provides doors for Boeing and Airbus, is looking for a buyer, acc
Read moreLondon midday: Inflation shock spoils the party
22nd Mar 2011 11:39
Disappointing inflation data seems to have put paid to Footsie's attempts to continue its recent revival. The inflation rate, as measured by the consumer prices index, rose to 4.4% in February from 4.0% in January. The rate topped market expectations of a figure of 4.2% and will pile on the pressur
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Budget, Inflation, Vodafone...
21st Mar 2011 06:41
A fresh upward lurch in inflation is set to punch a new hole in household finances on the eve of George Osborne's Budget. The consumer prices index is expected to have risen an annual 4.2% last month, economists warned ahead of figures due out tomorrow. The following day, the Government's Office fo
Read moreRBS senior staff trouser £1.2m each
17th Mar 2011 17:02
Some 323 top-level staff at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) pocketed a total of £375m in 2010, the government-owned lender revealed Thursday. The average pay of these senior employees, or "code staff", totalled £1.16m in a move that is sure to fuel the 'banker-bashing' rhetoric taken by many politicia
Read moreLondon close: Strong end to a strong day
17th Mar 2011 16:49
London's blue chips were strong all day and boosted late on by a strong start in the US where the Dow notched up a triple-digit gain in quick time. For once, investors overlooked the ongoing bad news on the Japanese earthquake and turmoil in the Arab world to hunt out a few bargains. Heritage Oi
Read moreRBS's Hester says his £7.7m pay is 'low'
17th Mar 2011 12:50
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) chief Stephen Hester has defended his total pay package worth £7.7m as being at the "low-end" of jobs in the finance industry. When asked to justify his "huge" salary for 2010 by Labour MP Austin Mitchell, Hester told the Public Accounts Committee that it is "at the low
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Banks, yen, oil
17th Mar 2011 06:00
Taxpayers will receive a "handsome" reward for bailing out the banks, according to the heads of Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland. Yet they criticised ongoing talk of the banks being too big to fail as a "red herring". The outgoing Lloyds chief executive Eric Daniels appeared in front
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Japan, Kaupthing, RBS...
13th Mar 2011 10:17
Japan's giant car industry has announced a major shutdown as fears grow over the economic impact of Friday's devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami which has crippled much of the north-east of the country. The three largest motor manufacturers - Toyota, Honda and Nissan - said they would sto
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Libya. Moody's, Angry Birds...
11th Mar 2011 06:35
Muammer Gaddafi's superior military forces meant his "regime will prevail" in the longer term, the US director of national intelligence, James Clapper, said in comments that undermined a robust defence by Washington of its Libya policy. Mr Clapper said in testimony to Congress on Thursday that Colo
Read moreLondon close: Shares fall back as oil rallies
9th Mar 2011 16:53
A drop in the oil price failed to gain ground as the Libya violence continued, sending shares firmly into the red. Attacks against rebel-held towns in western Libya continued, helping oil prices to win back some recent losses. Traders are worried that violence could erupt in other oil-producing Ar
Read moreLondon afternoon: Downward drift continues
9th Mar 2011 14:16
Blue-chip shares drifted lower still over the lunchtime session though a number of bright spots can be found, particularly among second liners. Insurer Prudential is in demand after saying it made 20% more in 2010 than it did the year before as Asia raced ahead of the US as the UK company's bigges
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