UK bank reforms negative for bondholders, Moody's says
13th Oct 2014 10:31
Recent proposed structural reforms released by the UK's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) are negative for all large bank bondholders, Moody's warned in a note published on Monday. "The proposed hanges are credit negative for all bondholders of large UK banks because they remove some key obstacl
Read moreThursday tips round-up: TSB, Virgin,Marston's
9th Oct 2014 07:21
The long list of challenger banks, both those who have recently floated as well as those which are waiting in the wings to do so, enjoy some important advantages over their big four rivals (HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, RBS). Namely, they lack the legacy problems which are dogging their competitors and th
Read moreLondon midday: UK stocks rise despite weak economic data
6th Oct 2014 11:37
Weak economic data from Germany and the wider Eurozone failed to deter bullish investors on Monday as UK stocks continued to bounce off a 10-month low reached last week. London's FTSE 100, spurred by gains in the banking, airline and supermarket sectors, was trading nearly 0.4% higher at 6,550 by mi
Read moreMonday broker round-up
6th Oct 2014 10:05
Asos: UBS ups target price from 4000p to 4050p and stays with its buy recommendation. Cranswick: Numis cuts target price from 1326p to 1296p and keeps a hold recommendation. Dunelm Group: Citi reduces target price from 930p to 870p downgrading to neutral. easyJet: Citi ups target price from 1600p
Read moreLondon open: Banks, supermarkets give FTSE 100 a lift
6th Oct 2014 08:37
Decent gains from banking and supermarket stocks gave the FTSE 100 a boost on Monday morning as the UK's benchmark index continues to recover after hitting a 10-month low last week. The Footsie was trading 0.4% higher at 6,554 early on, rising for the second straight day after falling to 6,446.39 la
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: RBS, Icap
1st Oct 2014 19:09
The speech delivered by the RBS boss at this year's Merrill Lynch banking conference, in London, was far more upbeat than the one delivered by his predecessor Fred Goodwin, in 2008, during the start of the last financial crisis. At the end of that day, six years ago now, the share price dropped by t
Read moreWednesday broker round-up UPDATE
1st Oct 2014 09:56
African Minerals: Canaccord Genuity reduces target price from 150p to 20p downgrading to hold. Avingtrans: FinnCap upgrades from hold to buy with a target price of 155p. Balfour Beatty: JP Morgan lowers target price from 220p to 200p, while upgrading to neutral. Blinkx: Numis places its buy recomm
Read moreLondon close: Stocks end lower after data-heavy day, retailers drag
30th Sep 2014 16:39
London's blue chips ended Tuesday on a weaker note, as investors responded to a data-heavy session against a backdrop of the on-going protests in Hong Kong. With retailers dragging the way lower, the FTSE 100 closed 23.88 points lower at 6,622.72. Much of the day's focus was on the Eurozone, where
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Broker comment lifts Associated British Foods
30th Sep 2014 15:57
Associated British Foods climbed after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to 'outperform' with a target price of 3,000p. Product testing group Intertek was a strong riser after investors learned it has appointed André Lacroix as chief executive. Lacroix has spent close to a decade in charge of automot
Read moreTuesday broker round-up UPDATE
30th Sep 2014 09:50
Aberdeen: Goldman Sachs ups target price from 540p to 560pp retaining a buy recommendation. African Barrick Gold: Deutsche Bank moves target price from 270p to 280p and reiterates a hold recommendation. Investec lowers target price from 260p to 258p, while upgrading to buy. African Minerals: Invest
Read moreLondon open: Stocks start the day slightly lower, but RBS jumps
30th Sep 2014 09:18
Stocks started the Tuesday session slightly lower, weighed down by weakness overnight in Asian markets, although Wall Street did manage to finish off its intra-session lows. That comes as investors keep a close bead on US interest rate expectations and the strength of the US dollar. No less importan
Read moreLondon pre-open: FTSE awaits direction ahead of data-heavy day
30th Sep 2014 07:47
Little change is expected at Tuesday's opening bell as investors await direction from the numerous pieces of economic data due out both at home and across the Channel. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around three points higher than Monday's close of 6,646.60. Asian markets were knocked
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Tesco, RBS, IAG
28th Sep 2014 21:05
The whistleblower who alerted Tesco to its accounting problem tried to do so before but was ignored, the Sunday Times reported. The accountant, reporting to Tesco's UK Finance Director, Carl Rogberg, raised concerns with superiors during ex-chief executive Philip Clarke's time in charge but "failed
Read moreSantander UK hires RBS executive as managing director
26th Sep 2014 16:00
Santander UK has poached Susan Allen from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to become managing director. Allen, who has more than 25 years of experience, led the asset finance, invoice finance and transaction services businesses for corporate clients at RBS. She has held a number of senior management pos
Read moreThursday tips round-up: RBS, Inmarsat
25th Sep 2014 08:50
With Wednesday's initial public offering of its Citizens' Financial unit RBS has passed another milestone on the road to cleansing its balance sheet. Although the reception afforded by investors to the new shares was tepid, once complete the disposal of that American unit will see the lender's commo
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