Sector movers: Banks and miners bear the brunt
26th Nov 2009 12:16
With no sectors in the blue today amid heavy falls in equity prices, banks and miners are among the worst performers. Banks are under the cosh on concerns over Dubai's debt situation. The government owned Dubai World, which has debts of $59bn, has asked creditors if it can delay debt repayments due
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Walker Review, Lloyds/HBOS, Vodafone
26th Nov 2009 06:30
Big banks will have to disclose how many of their UK employees are paid more than £1m under recommendations to be published today by City banker Sir David Walker, the FT writes. Sir David will say that half the bonuses paid to employees should be deferred for three to five years. He will also propo
Read moreDarling defends secret loans to RBS and HBOS
25th Nov 2009 14:11
Chancellor Alistair Darling today defended the decision to keep secret £61.6bn of loans to Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS during the height of the credit crunch in 2008, claiming their disclosure would have "seriously jeopardised" the UK financial system. News of the loans only came out yesterday,
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking, BBC
25th Nov 2009 06:27
Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS were given a secret £61.6bn in bridging loans last year on top of the £500bn of support that the banking sector received from the taxpayer, the Governor of the Bank of England disclosed yesterday. MPs expressed astonishment when Mervyn King told them about the emerg
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 closes 32 points lower
24th Nov 2009 16:48
London ended the day in the red as the FTSE 100 lost its earlier gains after Wall Street opened sharply lower. London did not sustain a short-lived rally in the late afternoon. The market seemed to initially ignore Bank of England governor Mervyn King's cautious comments to the House of Commons Tr
Read moreRBS boss Hester sells shares
24th Nov 2009 16:16
Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Stephen Hester has sold £94,000 of shares in order to finance the income tax and National Insurance payable on the release of 610,688 restricted shares. He retains 359,802 of those released shares. Hester had previously raised £102,000 and £53,566 from share
Read moreLondon afternoon: Shares still drifting
24th Nov 2009 14:31
London continues to lack direction, with Bank of England governor Mervyn King's comments to the House of Commons Treasury select committee on the state of the economy having more of an effect on sterling than on share prices. With sterling dipping after King's comments, package holiday firms Thomas
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Marks boosted by broker optimism
24th Nov 2009 12:36
Japanese broker Nomura has been casting an eye over the general retail sector where it reckons almost all data indicators point to an improvement. Marks & Spencer is one of those it likes. The group is set to 'benefit from weaker comparative figures, market share gains, reduced sales at markdown l
Read moreLondon midday: Leading shares mixed
24th Nov 2009 12:10
Footsie has fought its way into positive territory after a dull opening, helped by a recovery by some mining stocks. Anglo American, ENRC and Lonmin are the brightest features of a mining sector that initially opened lower on softer copper prices. Lloyds Banking Group is firmer after it priced i
Read moreSecret £62bn bank loans revealed
24th Nov 2009 11:17
The Bank of England provided emergency funding of £61.6bn to Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS as the financial system faced meltdown, it was revealed today. Policymakers finally owned up to the huge loans at a parliamentary hearing, having kept the move secret for fear of sparking further panic in e
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners power forward
23rd Nov 2009 15:16
Miners have soared on a combination of dollar weakness and rumours of a 74.4 tonnes of gold sitting at the $1,200 strike. If the market starts to approach this level, and hits it then the gold price will spike as those contracts would have to be covered, traders say. Other metals have also soare
Read moreExperian directors sell after positive figures
19th Nov 2009 16:51
Don Robert, the chief executive of credit checking firm Experian, has raised more than £4m from a share sale the day after the company reported higher interim profits despite tough market conditions. US division boss Chris Callero made a £164,000 profit on 120,150 options he took up on 18 November
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: Bank bonuses, Regal Petroleum, Lloyds Banking
17th Nov 2009 06:32
Bankers who are not prepared to forgo controversial contracts that flout new rules on bonuses should get out of the mainstream industry, Lord Myners has declared. The City Minister fired a warning shot ahead of the Queen's Speech tomorrow, which will outline plans to forbid guaranteed bonuses and o
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners power FTSE 100 forward
16th Nov 2009 10:17
Miners account for ten of the top ten risers today led by Lonmin, Xstrata, Randgold and Rio Tinto. Gold prices have once again hit record levels, while other precious metals are up as investors seek refuge from continuing falls in the dollar. The fall in the greenback came amid better-than-expe
Read moreLondon open: Winning start to week
16th Nov 2009 08:42
Mining heavyweights head the pack Monday, notching up strong gains on record gold prices and demand for other metals. Randgold is top of the pile after gold hit a new record high. Rio Tinto, Xstrata and Kazakhmys are also riding high. Even Lonmin is better despite reporting a full-year loss. The S
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