UK banks may face $10bn US tax bill, reports
15th Jan 2010 13:16
Three of the UK's biggest banks could face a $10bn (£6bn) tax bill from the US government as part of the Obama Administration's effort to recoup the losses on the $700bn cash advanced under the TARP rescue scheme, according to press reports. Part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland may have to hand
Read moreFriday paper round-up: RBS, Barclays, BT
15th Jan 2010 06:34
Three British banks may have to pay more than $10bn (£6bn) to the US Government as part of its crackdown on financial institutions bailed out by taxpayers. Royal Bank of Scotland, which is 84% owned by the Government, may be on the hook for almost $1bn to the US over the next decade under a stringe
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: HMV, Cadbury, Tesco
14th Jan 2010 06:12
HMV, the music and book retailer, is in advanced talks with Luminar over a partnership deal that analysts believe could lead ultimately to a takeover of the embattled nightclub operator. The Times understands that the two companies are discussing the possibility of setting up a small number of pilot
Read moreHester defends RBS bonus plan
12th Jan 2010 12:16
Stephen Hester, chief executive of taxpayer-owned bank Royal Bank of Scotland, today defended the bank's heavily criticised bonus structure to a group of MPs. Hester, who also added that the bank's recovery from near collapse was making good progress, told the Treasury Select Committee that the "ab
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Cadbury, Royal Bank of Scotland, Tesco
11th Jan 2010 06:37
Cadbury will fight for its independence on Monday with a defence document that includes only headline trading figures and no audited management forecast for 2010. The confectionery company, behind Dairy Milk and Trident gum, will fight Kraft's £10.5bn hostile cash and share offer by unveiling a mea
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: British Gas, British Airways, Bonuses
10th Jan 2010 11:21
Energy companies have been accused of profiteering by failing to pass on steep falls in world gas prices to consumers at a time when bitterly cold weather means soaring bills for tens of millions of customers. Consumer watchdog Consumer Focus is calling for a Competition Commission investigation to
Read moreLondon afternoon: US jobs sour sentiment
8th Jan 2010 13:54
Footsie has turned down after a worse than expected US monthly jobs number. Job losses were 85,000 in December against the more optimistic forecasts of a large positive number. In the UK, Kazakhi companies Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) and Kazakhmys are on the up while Randgold Resources and B
Read moreLondon midday: Waiting for US jobs data
8th Jan 2010 11:58
The market remains in wait-and-see mode ahead of the release of the change in US non-farm payrolls at 1:30pm. The December figure could be significant in that some economists are expecting it to show the trend for job losses evident since December 2007 has finally ended. Back in the UK leading sha
Read moreLondon open: Bright start for blue chips
8th Jan 2010 08:46
London's blue chips are on the rise again, with banks going well and restaurant and pubs groups boosted by Mitchells and Butlers and the Restaurant Group. Pub group Mitchells said trading in the new financial year has remained strong, thanks to sales growth across the main brands, but cautioned tha
Read moreLondon pre-open: Early gains expected
8th Jan 2010 07:34
London's blue chips look set to rise in early dealings Friday morning, with traders expecting the Footsie to add around 23 points. Pub group Mitchells and Butlers said trading in the new financial year has remained strong, thanks to sales growth across the main brands, but cautioned that it is stil
Read moreAberdeen Asset new business triples
8th Jan 2010 07:15
Aberdeen Asset Management had a 'successful' last three months of 2009, with gross new business wins more than 3½ times the figure for the fourth quarter of 2008. Wins for the period of £9.6bn compared with £2.6bn a year earlier, with a further £3.1bn of new mandates awarded but not funded at the e
Read moreRBS sells fund management assets
8th Jan 2010 07:03
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has agreed to sell certain fund management assets and contracts of RBS Asset Management to Aberdeen Asset Management for £84.7m. The government-owned lender expects to complete the sale of the Investment Strategies (funds of funds) division of RBS Asset Management durin
Read moreRBS Sempra attracts three potential bidders
7th Jan 2010 17:06
Royal Bank of Scotland and Sempra Energy have received bids worth about $4bn for their commodities joint venture RBS Sempra from a trio of banks. Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase and Australian bank Macquarie made an offer by the Wednesday lunchtime deadline, according to reports today. RBS has been
Read moreLondon close: Footsie flatlines
7th Jan 2010 16:46
A late afternoon rally fizzled out to leave London's blue chip index little changed on the day. Banks emerged from a sticky start as the day's best performers led by Barclays and Lloyds Bank, which both received decent write-ups in an otherwise cautious broker note from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. It
Read moreLondon close: More gains for FTSE 100
6th Jan 2010 16:34
It was another day of gains for the FTSE 100 after the leading share index hauled itself into the blue in afternoon trading. Marks & Spencer was among the stocks dragging Footsie lower and finished firmly in the red. It was not the numbers from the fashion and food retailer that upset the market s
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