Sector movers: Insurers impress
20th Jul 2009 15:09
Another strong day for equities got investors excited about Life Insurance. Global stock markets are rising for a sixth day, boosting the value of investments. Prudential and Legal & General are the best performers, but Friends Provident is also going well as the Resolution takeover situation rumbl
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Lloyds lifted by profit hopes
20th Jul 2009 11:45
Lloyds Banking is the best performer on a weekend report it could post an interim profit despite enormous bad-debt provisions. Some of its most toxic sub-prime investments have clawed back billions of pounds of value in recent months, the reports suggested. Royal Bank of Scotland is also one of th
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Lloyds Banking, Barclays, Thames Water
19th Jul 2009 09:38
Lloyds Banking could shock the market with its first-half results by announcing that accounting trickery has helped it scrape into the black. Despite enormous bad-debt provisions - estimated at £13bn - the bank is likely to post a modest headline profit for the first six months of the year. Some o
Read moreLondon close: Footsie continues winning week
16th Jul 2009 16:36
London made it four positive sessions in a row Thursday as some better banks and strength at Petrofac offset largely weaker miners and a big drop at Autonomy. There was little help from Wall Street though, which was trading flat when the City shut up shop. The FTSE 100 has made up about 260 points
Read moreLondon close: Bright finish for FTSE 100
13th Jul 2009 16:26
Footsie put a sluggish start behind it to finish with good gains, helped by a strong showing on Wall Street. Friends Provident was the best performer after Clive Cowdery's new vehicle, Resolution , said it has received "constructive feedback" from the board of Friends over its merger approach and i
Read moreLondon afternoon: Friends leads London higher
13th Jul 2009 14:32
Mergers and acquisition activity is keeping share prices bubbling as London makes a solid start to the week. Friends Provident is the best performer after Clive Cowdery's new vehicle, Resolution , said it has received "constructive feedback" from the board of Friends over its merger approach and i
Read moreLondon midday: M&A activity perks up shares
13th Jul 2009 11:56
The blue-chip index edged higher in the morning sessions despite the weakness of miners and banks, with increased merger and acquisition activity encouraging buyers back to the market. Friends Provident is the best performer after Clive Cowdery's new vehicle, Resolution , said it has received "con
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Friends up on higher bid hopes
13th Jul 2009 11:03
Friends Provident is the best performer after Clive Cowdery's new vehicle, Resolution , said it has received "constructive feedback" from the board of Friends over its merger approach and is mulling its next move, leading to speculation it will make a higher offer. Friends rejected the initial bid
Read moreUKFI makes £10.9bn loss
13th Jul 2009 10:34
UK Financial Instruments (UKFI), the body that controls stakes in nationalised banks, said it has made a paper loss of £10.9bn and added that it will be "challenging" to dispose its shares in the banks. UKFI, which holds a 70% stake in Royal Bank of Scotland and 43% holding in Lloyds Banking, said
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Lloyds, RBS, National Express
5th Jul 2009 10:38
The body that manages the taxpayer's stakes in British banks will warn this week against any expectations of a quick-fire disposal of the shareholdings, the Sunday Telegraph has learnt. UK Financial Investments (UKFI) will say in a strategy document that it will only begin selling its shares in Llo
Read moreLondon close: Stocks tread water
3rd Jul 2009 17:12
A late swoon saw Footsie relinquish virtually all of its gains, with losses on resource stocks counter-balancing gains made by banks. Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Lloyds Banking were the pick of the banking sector, despite chancellor Alistair Darling firing a warning about the re-eme
Read moreLondon open: Blue chips shrug off Wall St woes
3rd Jul 2009 08:49
London has shrugged off last night's collapse on Wall Street to trade higher in the absence of traders in the US, closed for Independence Day on Friday. The Dow Jones slumped more than 200 points Thursday as the market reacted badly to awful jobs data. Banks are a strong spot, despite chancellor A
Read moreHester defers part of RBS bonus
2nd Jul 2009 12:48
Stephen Hester, Royal Bank of Scotland's new chief executive, has deferred part of his pay package to appease criticism of the £9.6m deal. Hester will earn an annual salary of £1.2m, receive a projected £2m of annual non-cash bonus payments and up to a further £6.4m through share awards linked to p
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: National Express, StanChart, Vodafone
2nd Jul 2009 06:17
National Express is heading for a major legal battle with the Government over the future of its two remaining rail franchises after ministers said they were taking control of the East Coast main line. Lord Adonis, the Transport Minister, triggered a furious row with the company by warning that the
Read moreLondon close: Footsie adds 2%
1st Jul 2009 16:34
Miners were rampant Wednesday on stronger commodity prices, leaving the sector heavyweights dominating the blue chip index. There was healthy demand for gold on the metal markets, while copper also improved. The red metal headed higher following strong Chinese manufacturing data, while decreasing s
Read more