London midday: Miners do the damage
24th Sep 2010 12:05
It's been a rollercoaster morning for London's blue chips, although pretty much all the volatility has happened in negative territory as miners struggle. HSBC, little changed at lunchtime, has hogged the headlines. Reports suggest that current chief executive Mike Geohegan will leave at the end of
Read moreLondon open: Heavyweights drag Footsie lower
24th Sep 2010 08:57
Footsie has opened lower with the heavyweight sectors of banks and miners both heading south. Speculation over the power struggle at the top of global banking giant HSBC has dominated early proceedings in London. Reports suggest that current chief executive Mike Geohegan will leave at the end of th
Read moreBanking Commission will consider bank splits
24th Sep 2010 08:00
A new body set up to examine how to improve stability and competiveness in the banking industry will ask 'hard questions' about how Britain's banks operate, its chairman said today in its first issue paper. The Independent Commission on Banking (ICB), which is chaired by economist Sir John Vickers,
Read moreSector movers: Irish banks under the cosh
23rd Sep 2010 12:58
Irish banks are sharply lower today as economic worries continue to plague the former Celtic tiger. New figures today show the debt-stricken country's economy shrank by between 1% and 2% between April and June. Allied Irish Banks is down 8% and Bank of Ireland is 6% lower. British banks are also u
Read moreLondon open: Footsie makes small gains
21st Sep 2010 08:54
Footsie has opened higher encouraged by yesterday's 145-point surge on Wall Street and some bullish company news. Online betting exchange Betfair must think the recent rally is sustainable. It is to take a punt on the market's appetite for new issues and float in London. No pricing details accompan
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: HSBC, Lloyds, Cotton...
21st Sep 2010 06:32
HSBC is considering a controversial plan to base its next chairman in Hong Kong in a move that could mark a turning point in the international bank's relationship with Britain. HSBC is looking at whether it can hand the chairman's role to Michael Geoghegan, its chief executive, who relocated to Ho
Read moreSector movers: Balfour and Kier construct gains
17th Sep 2010 15:12
On a mostly dull day for stocks, Balfour Beatty is giving the construction and materials sector a lift after a consortium including the contractor was named the preferred bidder for a £250m road scheme in Ireland. The road runs Gort and Tuam in the west of the Republic. Elsewhere in the sector, ho
Read moreRBS returns to mortgage-backed securities market
14th Sep 2010 15:21
'Mortgage backed securities' is a term that conjures up unpleasant memories of the recent banking crisis so shareholders in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) may regard the news that the state-owned bank is dipping its toe back into the business of moving back into the asset-backed market. The bank is l
Read moreLondon midday: Busy going nowhere
14th Sep 2010 12:02
Footsie has been unable to make early gains stick and despite the strength of resource stocks is hovering close to its starting point for the day. Inflation data did little to boost sentiment, with the annual inflation rate remaining unchanged at 3.1% in August against expectations of a slight eas
Read moreLondon open: More gains for Footsie
14th Sep 2010 08:50
Footsie has defied predictions of a fall early on and has pushed on again. The index has been rising steadily now for nearly two weeks. Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland are two of the best performers as banks go well again in the wake of the new Basel III guidelines announced yesterday. Rio Tint
Read moreLondon close: Strong run continues
13th Sep 2010 16:42
Shares continued rising Monday as they reacted positively to new banking regulations and Chinese economic data. London is up for the fourth session in a row and trading higher for the eleventh day out of twelve, up at a new four-month high. Stocks haven't been this high since 30 April. Banks were
Read moreLondon open: Banks spur strong start
13th Sep 2010 08:38
Blue chips have moved higher first thing, extending last week's three-day winning streak to a fourth session following Basle III and bullish data out of China. Markets in the Far East surged following news that Chinese industrial production jumped a better than expected 13.9% year on year in August
Read moreLondon afternoon: Main index little moved
10th Sep 2010 14:39
We're little changed from last night's close as Wall Street opens, with a largely bright financials sector offset by mostly weaker commodity plays. Most banks have done well - Barclays excluded - on hopes that new banking rules announced this weekend will be favourable. Regulators are meeting this
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie flat as mining retreat offsets banks' advance
10th Sep 2010 12:01
On a quiet day on the company news front Footsie is flat, with banks advancing on hopes that new banking rules announced this weekend will be favourable, but miners falling back. Regulators are meeting this weekend to thrash out rules on banks' capital. Royal Bank of Scotland leads the sector on ho
Read moreLondon open: Flat start for Footsie
10th Sep 2010 08:51
London has opened flat with little sign of that changing after a lacklustre first hour. US shares tailed off towards the end of day on Wall Street and that has had some impact. Banks are still going well ahead of the new capital rules to be unveiled by BIS on Monday. Royal Bank of Scotland leads th
Read more