RBS posts £2bn loss as restructuring and litigation costs balloon
26th Feb 2016 07:29
(ShareCast News) - RBS has confirmed it made a £1.98bn loss for 2015, down from a £3.47bn loss the previous year The FTSE 100 bank, which warned investors in January it would make a loss, said litigation and conduct costs increased 62% to £3.57bn. That included £2.1bn of additional provisions for m
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Lloyds leads index back over 6,000
25th Feb 2016 14:15
(ShareCast News) - The FTSE 100 was back over 6,000 on Thursday, erasing losses from the previous two days. The blue-chip index was up 146.76 points (2.50%) to 6,013.94 by mid-afternoon. Lloyds Banking Group was the big riser, after it saw underlying profit increase 5% to £8.1bn during the year, wi
Read moreWednesday newspaper share tips: BHP Billiton's welcome dividend policy
24th Feb 2016 11:10
(ShareCast News) - BHP Billiton's new dividend policy is a welcome return of humility to the mining sector, The Times' Tempus said on Wednesday. The mining company adopted a new more cautious payout policy as it hunkered down for what it believes will be a prolonged period of low and volatile commod
Read moreLloyds tops PPI complaints list at financial ombudsman
23rd Feb 2016 08:50
(ShareCast News) - Complaints about payment protection insurance continue to be made against major high street banks, data from the financial ombudsman showed, with Lloyds Banking Group a serial offender. Of the total new cases referred to the ombudsman in the six months to 31 December, 56% were
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: GSK, Sainsbury's, BT, Imagination Technologies
21st Feb 2016 17:23
(ShareCast News) - Financial institutions in the City of London are fairly pleased with David Cameron's agreement with the European Union ahead of June's referendum as it looks to have secured the Square Mile from excessive further Brussels red tape. A potentially painful sticking point has been avo
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Metro Bank, RBS, Mike Ashley
17th Feb 2016 07:16
(ShareCast News) - Metro Bank is slashing the size of its initial public offering by almost a fifth following the recent sell-off across the banking sector, investors in the UK challenger bank were told on Tuesday night. Metro said that it had cut the price of its offering from £24 per share to £20,
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Bank funding, North Sea oil tax, HSBC, Anglo
14th Feb 2016 17:39
(ShareCast News) - The European Central Bank and its London counterpart have held talks after the Bank of England raised the alarm over the potential threat of a funding crisis in the banking sector. Three senior London bankers have told the Sunday Times that their normal efforts to raise money from
Read moreThursday newspaper share tips: Steer clear of banking sector
11th Feb 2016 11:35
(ShareCast News) - The Telegraph's Questor wasn't so hot on the UK banking sector as it published an in-depth look into it on Thursday The column noted that shares in the sector have fallen over 20% so far this year, due to fears about how it would cope in another downturn. It said there is an elem
Read moreThursday broker round-up
4th Feb 2016 16:07
(ShareCast News) - Coca-Cola HBC: Barclays downgrades to underweight with a target of 1325p. TalkTalk: Goldman Sachs downgrades to neutral with a target of 271p. Paragon Group: JP Morgan downgrades to neutral and sets a 380p target. Antofagasta: Investec reiterates sell with a target of 305p. Ang
Read moreBroker tips: Barclays, Lloyds, RBS, Beazley
4th Feb 2016 15:46
(ShareCast News) - The exposure of UK banks to China and oil should not be a material concern and the prospects for dividends have improved but the likelihood of later rate hikes in the UK means their shares are now worth less, HSBC analysts said. To back-up their claim as regards China and crude oi
Read moreHSBC cuts price targets for Barclays, Lloyds and RBS
4th Feb 2016 12:28
(ShareCast News) - The exposure of UK banks to China and oil should not be a material concern and the prospects for dividends have improved but the likelihood of later rate hikes in the UK means their shares are now worth less, HSBC analysts said. To back-up their claim as regards China and crude oi
Read moreUBS issues reality check to global banks but likes Lloyds, RBS
3rd Feb 2016 14:48
(ShareCast News) - UBS had a reality check for global banks in 2016, warning that another year of fundamental headwinds such as oil and central bank policy will likely weigh on earnings expectations. Strategist Philip Finch said sentiment towards the banking sector had become more balanced, although
Read moreBarclays wary of regulatory 'bumps' for RBS, hikes Lloyds PPI forecasts
1st Feb 2016 16:44
(ShareCast News) - Barclays analysts have increased their estimates for Lloyds Banking Group' PPI mis-selling provisions but said Royal Bank of Scotland was "still a few years away" from being an attractive investment. Lloyds's forecast fourth-quarter provisions for PPI were upped to £2bn from £0.8b
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Another Prudential management change leads market down
1st Feb 2016 14:24
(ShareCast News) - The FTSE 100 has started the month on a sour note, with the blue-chip market down 66.82 points (1.10%) to 6,016.97 by mid-afternoon on Monday. Prudential was one of the biggest fallers after the company announced another high-profile departure. Michael McLintock has decided to ret
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Sainsbury-Home Retail, RBS, IHG, Ladbrokes
31st Jan 2016 16:24
(ShareCast News) - As Tuesday's takeover deadline approaches, Sainsbury's has made a bid of 150p per share for Argos owner Home Retail Group, which is shy of the 170p apparently being demanded. The Sunday Telegraph cited sources that suggested a middle-ground 160p bid would be enough to announce the
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