London open: Bright start for blue chips
1st Dec 2010 08:31
London has shrugged off yesterday's dull showing on Wall Street and is posting decent gains in the first hour. Prudential is leading the way after chief executive Tidjane Thiam made Asia the cornerstone of a plan to drive the life insurance group's profits strongly forward over the next two years.
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks set to open higher
1st Dec 2010 07:35
Undeterred by a soft showing on Wall Street last night UK stocks are set to open higher, with the Footsie expected to open up some 37 points firmer. Sage, the blue chip accountancy software firm, has posted a 14% increase in full-year underlying pre-tax profit thanks to the cost-cutting drive, most
Read moreRBS completes sale of WorldPay
1st Dec 2010 07:06
State-owned lender The Royal Bank of Scotland Group has completed the sale of its Global Merchant Services business. The business has been sold to a consortium of Advent International and Bain Capital following regulatory and other approvals. Royal Bank of Scotland will hold a minority stake in
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Jitters for financials
30th Nov 2010 14:42
Financials continue to be weak on eurozone debt worries. Banks, such as Barclays and RBS, are vulnerable to further problems in the eurozone but other financials, such as Standard Life, are also lower. Vedanta Resources has decided to put off the flotation of Konkola Resources until 2011. Brit
Read moreLondon close: Shares slump as eurozone saga continues
29th Nov 2010 16:45
The leading share index closed with triple-digit losses Monday as jitters over the eurozone debt situation continued to plague the markets. Financial markets are still betting either Portugal, Spain, or both, will need a rescue deal similar to the €85bn Irish bail-out, rubber-stamped over the weeke
Read moreLondon afternoon: Euro-zone fears resurface
29th Nov 2010 14:18
Thoughts that the euro-zone boil had been lanced by the agreement of a bail-out package for Ireland have proved premature, with rising Spanish bond yields suggesting that the prospect of Spain being the recipient of an EU/IMF aid package cannot be ruled out. An underwhelming response to the latest
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: More delays for Cairn Indian deal
29th Nov 2010 13:33
A delay in the Indian government's decision on the sale of Cairn Energy's Indian assets to Vedanta has hit Cairn's shares. The decision will not be made until February. The deal includes the transfer of ownership of exploration blocks which requires government approval. JPMorgan Cazenove has sta
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie deep in the red after reversal
29th Nov 2010 12:30
The leading share index is now firmly in the red after giving up the strong gains it was posting this morning. Markets remain jittery over the eurozone debt crisis. The euro hit new lows against a basket of currencies this morning, despite claims by European politicians that the €85bn Irish bail-o
Read moreLondon open: Banks lead market higher
29th Nov 2010 08:54
UK shares have made a bright start to the week led by the banks after Ireland signed up to the EU/IMF bail-out at the weekend. Royal Bank of Scotland is the best performer. It has the largest exposure of the UK banks to Ireland. Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC are all going well. Bank of Ireland, meanwh
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks take a beating
26th Nov 2010 13:28
Banks continue to decline because of worries about the euro-debt crisis with Lloyds and RBS leading the way. Rio Tinto says that capital spending will probably be around US$13bn in the 18 months to December 2011. That didn't prevent the share price declining along with other miners. Centrica, whi
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Euro crisis, Standard Chartered, Retail sales...
26th Nov 2010 06:36
The eurozone's emergency bailout fund may have to be boosted further if it fails to reassure financial markets, a member of the European Central Bank's governing council has said. Axel Weber, who is President of the Bundesbank, said that EU governments' €750bn (£640bn) facility ought to be adequate
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Capital buys Trafford Centre
25th Nov 2010 13:07
Capital Shopping Centres, the shopping centre arm of what used to be Liberty International, has raced ahead after it agreed the purchase Manchester's Trafford Centre in a deal worth £1.6bn. Capital is paying for the purchase from Peel in shares and convertible bonds. It also intends to raise cash t
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: British banks, Irish banks, PIGS
25th Nov 2010 06:02
Britain's biggest banks are working on a joint plan to cut bonus payouts and boost lending to small business. As political pressure grows ahead of January's bonus round, The Times has learnt that senior executives from Barclays, HSBC, Standard Chartered and Royal Bank of Scotland held discussions l
Read moreLondon close: US jobs data lifts sentiment
24th Nov 2010 16:44
Footsie put its early uncertainty behind it to close with good gains, helped by strong jobs figures from the US which cheered global markets following the jitteriness of the last couple of days. First-time jobless claims fell by a bigger than expected 34,000 to 407,000 in the week ended 20 November
Read moreLondon afternoon: Rolls celebrates another big order
24th Nov 2010 14:36
Barely a dozen or so FTSE 100 constituents are in the red today as the blue-chip index sets about clawing back some of the losses of the last two days, despite continued concerns about the Irish debt crisis and the military tensions in Korea. Better than expected jobs data from the US put investors
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