London midday: Miners keep Footsie ahead
22nd May 2009 12:05
Footsie has made progress helped by a Goldman Sachs upgrade of mining stocks though buyers in other areas are thin on the ground ahead of the bank holiday weekend. Goldman Sachs foresees capacity restraints affecting iron ore and copper production by 2011. 'In contrast, nickel and aluminium do not
Read moreLondon open: Footsie trades sideways as BA stalls
22nd May 2009 08:34
London's top stocks have opened flat, as expected, with good gains from the miners undermined by a grim trading update from British Airways. The airline said it will focus on cutting capacity and keeping a lid on costs after weak economic conditions and high fuel costs sent the airline tumbling in
Read moreLondon pre-open: Flat start ahead
22nd May 2009 07:37
London's top stocks are expected to open largely flat ahead of GDP data due later today with traders predicting a small 2 point gain in early dealings. British Airways said it will focus on cutting capacity and keeping a lid on costs after weak economic conditions and high fuel costs sent the airli
Read moreSandy Crombie joins RBS board
22nd May 2009 07:10
Royal Bank of Scotland has appointed Standard Life chief executive Sir Sandy Crombie as its Senior Independent Director on the board. Sir Sandy, who joins in June, is one of three non-executives RBS agreed to appoint over the next three months as part of its bail-out by the UK government. His role
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Royal Bank of Scotland, Rio Tinto, AIG
22nd May 2009 06:18
Sir Sandy Crombie, the chief executive of Standard Life and the architect of its demutualisation, is to join the board of Royal Bank of Scotland, The Daily Telegraph has learnt. The appointment of Sir Sandy, 60, who is expected to join RBS in July, will be confirmed on Friday morning. He will beco
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Lloyds Banking, RBS, Clinton Cards
21st May 2009 06:12
The British taxpayer would make a £17.6bn loss if the Government sold out of Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland at today's prices. The figures, compiled by analysts at Exane BNP Paribas, make even a partial sale of the Government's stake in either bank before a general election next sp
Read moreLondon midday: Financials drag Footsie down
20th May 2009 12:01
Leading shares remain mixed with the Footsie in negative territory thanks, in part, to weak performance by financial stocks. The share price of Lloyds Banking Group has been adjusted to take into account the fact that the shares no longer carry the right to participate in the group's compensatory o
Read moreLondon open: Footsie up despite M&S disappointment
19th May 2009 08:48
Footsie has built on yesterday's gains as traders wade through the continuing stream of company results. Marks & Spencer has fallen sharply after it revealed a final dividend cut of a third after the clothes and food retailer saw a sharp drop in pre-tax profits to £706.2m from £1.13bn. M&S said it
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: Bank of England, Barclays, Lloyds
19th May 2009 06:17
The Bank of England revealed yesterday that it had racked up record profits of almost £1bn in the year to February as its fee-earning activities burgeoned amid the global financial and economic turmoil, reports the Times. Lehman Brothers Holdings wants to investigate whether the sale of its US brok
Read moreSunday's newspaper round-up: Lloyds, RBS, cash-calls
17th May 2009 13:31
Sir Victor Blank is believed to be close to stepping down as chairman of Lloyds Banking Group following pressure from investors furious about the bank's rescue of HBOS, says the Independent on Sunday. The City regulator has fired the opening shot in its inquiry into the crisis that engulfed Britain
Read moreBroker tips: Banks, M&S, Morgan Crucible
15th May 2009 12:36
Barclays, already fielding bids for its iShares business, was buoyed Friday morning by rumours of a sale of the whole of its asset management arm. US group Blackrock is rumoured to be interested in buying the unit and may be prepared to pay up to $10bn. Little wonder, then, that Keefe, Bruyette
Read moreLondon midday: Rally stalls
15th May 2009 12:15
Weak properties and oils have pitched the Footsie into the red, despite the continued strength of banks and miners. Shocking figures from property giant Land Securities on Wednesday are still casting a shadow over the real estate investment trusts (REITs). LandSecs leads the sector lower but Hammer
Read moreBarclays up on $10bn BGI sale talk
15th May 2009 09:32
Shares in Barclays jumped on reports that the banking giant is considering offers worth around $10bn (£6.5bn) for its asset management arm Barclays Global Investors. Potential bidders for the BGI division include US money manager BlackRock and Bank of New York Mellon, according to press reports.
Read moreBroker snap: Barclays and HSBC get the nod from KBW
15th May 2009 09:14
Barclays, already fielding bids for its iShares business, was buoyed Friday morning by rumours of a sale of the whole of its asset management arm. US group Blackrock is rumoured to be interested in buying the unit and may be prepared to pay up to $10bn. Little wonder, then, that Keefe, Bruyette &
Read moreLondon open: Banks give Footsie a boost
15th May 2009 08:48
Banks have helped Footsie make a bright start with reports that Barclays is considering new offers for its iShares arm boosting the whole sector. Barclays may backtrack on a deal to sell its iShares unit to CVC, the private equity group, and instead offload its entire asset management division for
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