London midday: UK stocks back in the red ahead of Fed meeting
17th Dec 2014 12:18
UK stocks were back in the red on Wednesday after their first gain in seven days the previous session, with investors scaling back risk appetite ahead of a number of risk events. Along with a host of economic data due out during the session, markets were keeping an eye out for minutes for the latest
Read moreLondon midday: Bargain-hunting supports FTSE as stocks rebound from 18-month low
16th Dec 2014 12:17
Following a cautious start, UK stocks pushed into positive territory as investors went hunting for bargains. Shares had fallen to an 18-month low in the previous session. Markets erased earlier losses after UK inflation data showed the rate of increase in consumer prices hit a 12-year low in Novem
Read moreShoreCap expects Lloyds to resume dividends after stress tests, RBS will have to wait
16th Dec 2014 11:49
Shore Capital has said that the result of the Bank of England's (BoE) stress tests on UK banks was "a bit of a non-event" with all of the listed lenders passing as expected. Seven out of eight of the UK's largest banks and building societies passed the requirement that they hold a minimum common-equ
Read moreRBS, Lloyds narrowly pass BoE bank stress tests
16th Dec 2014 08:46
Part-nationalised lenders Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group only just passed the minimum requirements in the Bank of England's (BoE) assessments of banks' balance sheets in a hypothetical economic downturn. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) was testing banks against their resil
Read moreLondon open: UK stocks extend slide as Chinese data disappoints
16th Dec 2014 08:20
Yet more disappointing economic data from China pushed UK stocks lower for the seventh straight session on Tuesday, with markets extending losses despite plunging to an 18-month low the previous session. Not even the news that the Bank of England (BoE) has given a clean bill of health to seven out o
Read moreRoyal Bank of Scotland sells Irish loan portfolio for £1.1bn
16th Dec 2014 07:47
Royal Bank of Scotland is selling a portfolio of Irish real estate loans to a business controlled by private equity group Cerberus for £1.1bn. RBS expects to complete the deal in the first quarter of 2015 and plans to use the cash from the sale for general corporate purposes. The deal is part of RB
Read moreSeven out of eight UK banks pass BoE stress tests, Co-op Bank fails
16th Dec 2014 07:10
Seven out of eight of the UK's largest banks and building societies have passed the Bank of England's (BoE) latest round of stress tests, with the struggling Co-operative Bank being the only lender to have failed. BoE governor Mark Carney said that the results show that "the core of the banking syst
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: BT, RBS, Tesco
14th Dec 2014 19:45
BT is expected to announce as soon as December 15th whether it plans to buy EE or O2 to reenter the mobile phone market, The Sunday Times reported. The FTSE 100 telecoms company was working on a deal at the weekend with a statement due early in the coming week. BT is thought to favour O2 but could s
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks tumble as oil prices extend losses, data disappoints
12th Dec 2014 11:36
Weaker-than-expected data from across the globe and a continued plunge in oil prices meant that there was no let-up in the sell-off for UK equity markets on Friday. Stocks were falling for the fifth day straight, with shares in the oil and gas sector faring the worst. London's FTSE 100 was down a s
Read moreLondon open: Sell-off continues as UK resource stocks tank
12th Dec 2014 08:42
The dramatic sell-off on the FTSE 100 continued into its fifth straight day on Friday as a weak finish on Wall Street and disappointing data from China hammered already-fragile sentiment on the market. London's benchmark index was down a staggering 1.3% at 6,377 early on, dropping below the 6,400 le
Read moreSale of Coutts International proceeding apace
8th Dec 2014 21:14
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is seeking offers for the international arm of its private-wealth division, Coutts International, this week. Approximately a dozen lenders have inked privacy agreements with the still largely state-owned RBS, a person close to the matter told Bloomberg News on condition
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Mortgages, US dollar, Retail sales
8th Dec 2014 06:12
The vast majority of people with mortgages could withstand an increase in interest rates of up to two percentage points, the Bank of England's latest annual survey of household finances showed. That marks a significant shift in the central bank's thinking on what the impact of such a rise would be.
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: BP, Sainsbury, Premier Foods
7th Dec 2014 17:59
BP will shed middle managers and put projects on hold as it deals with the falling price of oil, the Sunday Times reported. Finance Director Brian Gilvary told the paper headcounts were falling across all operations and that it would cut the estimated price of oil it uses for budgeting. Gilvary said
Read moreBanks may be understating the level of fraud in the banking system, says Tyrie
7th Dec 2014 13:30
Andrew Tyrie, Chairman of the Treasury Committee, has written to some of the UK's major banks after the Committee heard evidence last month that the figures published by banks may be understating the level of fraud in the banking system. In the letter, thought to be addressed to Barclays, HSBC, Lloy
Read moreSector movers: UK banking stocks rebound after strong US jobs report
5th Dec 2014 14:37
UK banking stocks were on the rise on Friday, bouncing back after taking a hit earlier in the week following the Autumn Statement, with market sentiment helped by a much better-than-expected US jobs report. Global stock markets jumped after the US Labor Department revealed that monthly non-farm payr
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