London open: Bright start as Dubai fears ease
14th Dec 2009 08:49
London's top stocks have opened more than 50 points higher with sentiment buoyed by the decision of Abu Dhabi to bail-out Dubai, its financially embarrassed neighbour. LSE, Standard Chartered and Royal Bank of Scotland are up on the Dubai news, which should lift the cloud of possible huge bad debts
Read moreLondon close: Financials lead advance
10th Dec 2009 16:31
UK shares closed not far off their best levels of the day as a strong start on Wall Street built on substantial support for UK-listed financial plays. Investors welcomed Alistair Darling's decision yesterday not to slap a windfall tax on banks and speculation that British lenders had agreed to resc
Read moreLondon afternoon: RBS rises on asset sale hopes
10th Dec 2009 14:19
Rises outnumber falls by around three to one among Footsie constituents, as the blue- chip index consolidates the morning's gains. Banks and insurers remains the flavour of the day, while properties and miners are out of favour. Royal Bank of Scotland leads the market rally on press reports that i
Read moreLondon midday: Banks lead rally
10th Dec 2009 12:34
Financial stocks are driving the market higher, with banks and insurers featuring prominently among the best performers. In the banking sector RBS, Lloyds and Barclays rack up the best gains while among insurers Standard Life, Legal & General and RSA are to the fore. Property stocks, however, are
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Lloyds leads bank revival
10th Dec 2009 11:05
London's blue chips have reacted calmly to yesterday's pre-Budget news, with banks the best performers despite the imposition of a bonus tax on their highest paid staff. Lloyds, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland are three of the top four performers, possibly on relief that the bonus tax was not a
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Citigroup, HSBC, RBS
10th Dec 2009 06:10
Citigroup is in advanced talks with regulators over plans to raise more than $15bn in an equity offering, in an effort to repay $20bn in bail-out funds as early as Thursday. People close to the situation said that Citi was also planning to raise around $2bn of mandatory convertible securities - a ne
Read moreLondon close: Afternoon rally fizzles out
9th Dec 2009 17:13
The Chancellor's pre-Budget Report speech had little effect on UK equities, with much of its content widely expected while others subscribed to the view espoused by the Shadow Chancellor that it was more of a 'pre-election report' than a pre-Budget report. As expected, banks that pay excessive bonu
Read moreLondon afternoon: Cautious response to Pre-Budget
9th Dec 2009 14:27
London's blue chips have reacted cautiously to the chancellor's pre-Budget speech even though the big numbers were better than feared. The government's borrowing forecast for this year came in ahead of market predictions with a slight upward revison to £178bn, while Alistair Darling stuck to his fo
Read moreLondon midday: Shares hold steady
9th Dec 2009 12:06
With less than half an hour to go before the Chancellor's pre-Budget Report speech, leading equities are back to square one, as investors wait to see what the Chancellor has in store. Speculation is he'll announce the biggest squeeze in public spending for a generation, with only schools, hospital
Read moreSector movers: Standard Chartered lifts banks
9th Dec 2009 11:05
Asia-focused Standard Chartered gives the banking sector a lift after saying it remains on course for a record year with a strong performance in wholesale banking offsetting lower income in consumer banking, while its exposure to Dubai is not 'material'. "With regard to recent developments in the U
Read moreLondon open: Better than expected
9th Dec 2009 08:52
London has opened stronger than expected despite three-figure losses in the US overnight and a trickle of bad news on Greece and Dubai. UK investors also have Chancellor Alistair Darling's pre-Budget speech to look forward to at lunchtime. Speculation is he'll announce the biggest squeeze in publi
Read moreLondon pre-open: Early dip is forecast
9th Dec 2009 07:37
Futures prices are indicating a 14-point deficit early Wednesday as traders react to three-figure losses in the US overnight and await further news on Greece and Dubai. UK investors also have Chancellor Alistair Darling's pre-Budget speech to look forward to at lunchtime. Speculation is he'll anno
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Alistair Darling/PBR, Royal Bank of Scotland, Tesco
9th Dec 2009 06:31
Britain faces a "fiscal crisis" and is no longer "resistant" to the prospect of a humiliating and damaging debt downgrade, Moody's has warned. In an acutely embarrassing blow for Alistair Darling only hours before today's pre-Budget report, the ratings agency said that Britain faces the threat of a
Read moreLondon close: Glum faces as stocks slide
8th Dec 2009 16:40
A weak start on Wall Street and serious concerns about Greece's public finances and Dubai's debt restructuring ensured London ended deep in the red Tuesday. Fears over the solvency of Greece reached new levels after Fitch downgraded its outlook on the country by one rating to 'negative'. Fellow rat
Read moreLondon afternoon: US slump adds to Footsie woes
8th Dec 2009 15:04
Footsie's losses have widened further after a poor start on Wall Street. The leading share index had already fallen sharply, with Royal Bank of Scotland in focus. Trading in the state-controlled bank briefly stopped trading and it went into 'auction' as the price tumbled below 30p, though it has s
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