London midday: Shares holding on
24th Nov 2010 12:24
Shares remain in the blue after some well-received company updates this morning, although the euro crisis is still looming in the background. Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has cut its debt rating for Ireland as the Irish government puts the finishing touches to a four-year plan to
Read moreLondon open: Footsie opens higher
24th Nov 2010 08:46
London has opened better than expected thanks to a rebound by the miners and a smattering of good trading updates. There has also been some easing of tension in Korea, though not in Europe where the EU is heaping pressure on Ireland to agree to its bail-out. UK banks are weak again becasue of the
Read moreLondon close: Miners get a hammering
23rd Nov 2010 16:57
Footsie staved off a triple-digit fall by less than half a point as worries over the situation in Korea and the prospect of other European countries joining Ireland in the queue for a bail-out nagged away at investors all day. Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered was hit by worries over the exch
Read moreLondon afternoon: TUI bid rumour revived
23rd Nov 2010 14:11
With the Dow Jones index expected to register a triple-digit fall when Wall Street opens, sentiment in London has dipped further. Fears of debt contagion in the euro-zone are pushing the banks down, with Barclays, Standard Chartered and Lloyds Banking the hardest hit. Royal Bank of Scotland defies
Read moreBroker tips: RBS, De La Rue, Telecom Plus
23rd Nov 2010 13:20
UBS thinks risk aversion has seen the shares of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) underperform, but reckons the market might have overreacted to the bank's exposure to the Irish crisis. With worried investors shying away from many banks that have exposure to Ireland, RBS shares have taken a hit ove
Read moreBroker snap: RBS expected to manage Irish exposure
23rd Nov 2010 13:10
UBS thinks risk aversion has seen the shares of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) underperform, but reckons the market might have overreacted to the bank's exposure to the Irish crisis. With worried investors shying away from many banks that have exposure to Ireland, RBS shares have taken a hit ove
Read moreLondon midday: Tough morning for blue chips
23rd Nov 2010 11:48
Blue chips have had a difficult morning with the twin concerns of a serious outbreak of fighting in Korea and Irish bail-out worries knocking sentiment. Fears of debt contagion are pushing the banks down, with Barclays, Standard Chartered and Lloyds Banking the hardest hit. Royal Bank of Scotland
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: Ireland, Rolls-Royce, Spotify...
23rd Nov 2010 06:35
Ireland's €85bn rescue will not be enough to stamp out the eurozone crisis, leading economists warned last night, as George Osborne conceded that British taxpayers may have to bail out other European countries. With the Irish Government on the brink of collapse and the credit agency Moody's predict
Read moreLondon close: Lower finish as Irish relief fades
22nd Nov 2010 16:51
Footsie was nursing significant losses as trading closed after relief over the Irish bail-out gave way to concerns that the problems will now spread to other eurozone countries. Royal Bank of Scotland, which has strong exposure to Ireland on both sides of the border through its subsidiary Ulster B
Read moreIrish banks slide afer bail-out
22nd Nov 2010 16:33
Worries that the European debt crisis could spread to other countries following Ireland's acceptance of a bail-out sent shares in banks lower Monday. While markets initially moved higher as investors breathed a sigh of relief when the Irish government put an end to lingering uncertainty about accep
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Financials in decline
22nd Nov 2010 12:18
Banks and financials are declining even though it appears that a bail-out deal has been agreed with Ireland. RBS has the most at risk and it is the biggest faller. Seven of the worst 10 performers are financials. Execution Noble has cut its recommendation for ICAP from buy to hold. Vedanta Res
Read moreLondon close: Battering for miners and banks
16th Nov 2010 17:08
It was downhill almost all the way for Footsie in the afternoon session after the US opened sharply lower, with miners getting a real bashing on the prospect of a slow-down in the Chinese economy. No less an authority than star fund manager Anthony Bolton raised the prospect today, in the first set
Read moreeBay takes Big 4 lenders to task
15th Nov 2010 13:15
Online auction site eBay has joined the chorus of organisations grumbling about a lack of lending to small businesses on the part of banks. The web site's Online Business Index, a bi-annual report into the attitudes and performance of hundreds of online businesses operating on eBay's UK site, indic
Read moreRBS agrees £3.8bn project finance sale
15th Nov 2010 07:44
Royal Bank of Scotland is selling a non-core portfolio of about £3.8bn project finance assets to The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. A non-binding Memorandum of Understanding has already been signed for the portfolio that includes global power, global oil & gas and infrastructure assets in the UK, EM
Read moreLondon close: Footsie rallies to narrow losses
12th Nov 2010 16:47
Footsie recovered from an early slump to close just a few points lower as well-received company updates nearly cancelled out losses in the mining sector. Miners were big fallers on disappointment with the outcome at the G20 meeting and the possibility of a currency free-for-all. Talk that China is
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