Thursday newspaper round-up: Stephen Hester, Ofgem, Centrica...
13th Jun 2013 06:37
The Independent says that the news of Stephen Hester's departure from RBS "perplexed" many in the City last night after his work that nursed the bank back to health, with several describing his treatment as "shabby". The bank said that it was looking for a new leader ahead of its re-privatisation.
Read moreRBS boss Stephen Hester to step down ahead of re-privatisation
12th Jun 2013 17:32
Stephen Hester, the head of part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland, is to leave later this year as the government prepares to sell off its 81 per cent stake in the bank. In an announcement after the close of trade on Wednesday, RBS announced that it has started its search for a new Chief E
Read moreBroker tips: Lloyds/RBS, BT, Sainsbury
12th Jun 2013 11:39
Barclays Capital (BarCap) has raised both its ratings for part-nationalised lenders Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) as the government begins to come up with a plan to re-privatise the banks following their bailout in 2008. BarCap has upgraded Lloyds from 'underweight' to 'equa
Read moreBoE's Fisher sees scope for more QE after rise in Gilt yields
12th Jun 2013 11:09
In remarks to The Times the Bank of England's Executive Director for Markets, Paul Fisher, attributed the spike seen in Gilt yields over the last few weeks solely to events on the international scene, rather than UK-specific factors. Importantly, Mr. Fisher, who is a voting member of the Monetary P
Read moreBroker snap: Barclays upgrades Lloyds and RBS as re-privatisation talk ramp up
12th Jun 2013 11:03
Barclays Capital (BarCap) has raised both its ratings for part-nationalised lenders Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) as the government begins to come up with a plan to re-privatise the banks following their bailout in 2008. BarCap said that the key investment consideration when
Read moreWednesday broker round-up UPDATE
12th Jun 2013 07:55
Aberdeen Asset Management: Canaccord Genuity cuts target price from 460p to 440p, while leaving its buy recommendation unchanged. ASOS: Canaccord Genuity downgrades to hold with a target price of 3400p. BT Group: Credit Suisse increases target price from 300p to 350p and maintains an outperform ra
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 down one per cent as volatility continues
11th Jun 2013 16:41
Rising government bond yields, falling commodity prices and an underwhelming statement from the Bank of Japan (BoJ) saw some heavy falls on equity markets on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 closed down 60 points at 6,340, but finished well off its intraday low of 6,283 as US bond yields pared earlier gains.
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Aberdeen drops as market volatility continues
11th Jun 2013 14:25
Financial and mining stocks bore the brunt of the sell-off on equity indices on Tuesday with Aberdeen Asset Management leading the way lower as it continued to be hit by the wider market volatility, particularly due to the company's large exposure to the emerging markets. Matt Basi, the Head of UK
Read moreLondon midday: Financials, miners pull FTSE 100 to seven-week low
11th Jun 2013 11:23
Falling commodity prices and rising government bond yields resulted in a sell-off on Tuesday morning, as the recent volatility on equity markets continued, sending the FTSE 100 to a seven-week low. The FTSE 100 was trading around the 6,300 markby midday, the first time it has fallen to this level s
Read moreLondon open: Stocks fall as ECB gets ready to defend bond-buying plan
11th Jun 2013 08:36
Markets opened firmly in the red on Tuesday morning as traders awaited a courtroom battle in which the European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to defend its bond-buying programme. The two-day hearing into the legality of the ECB's Outright Monetary Transactions programme begins today in the German
Read morePolicy Exchange proposes plan to re-privatise Lloyds and RBS
10th Jun 2013 11:07
Think-tank Policy exchange on Monday unveiled a proposal by which the Treasury could eliminate its stakes in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds by the time of the next elections in what would amount, it claims, to the largest privatisation ever in the United Kingdom. Under their plan each adul
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Severn Trent, Japanese growth, BAE...
10th Jun 2013 06:29
The international consortium bidding for Severn Trent could walk away from the deal following a number of rejections by the utility group over recent weeks, The Times says, citing sources close to the matter. "If the Severn Trent board does not engage, no further proposals will be made," sources tol
Read moreLondon close: Markets surge as US data eases 'tapering' fears
7th Jun 2013 17:23
An in-line increase in US non-farm payrolls sparked an impressive surge on equity markets worldwide on Friday afternoon, as worries about the Federal Reserve scaling back its stimulus measures eased, for now at least. London's FTSE 100 finished up 76 points on the day (+1.2%) at 6,412. Nevertheless
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Severn Trent jumps after LongRiver ups offer
7th Jun 2013 15:33
Severn Trent surged this afternoon after the LongRiver consortium upped its cash offer for the water provider following the rejection of an earlier proposal by the group earlier this week. The consortium has offered 2,200p per Severn Trent share, including the 45.51p dividend announced in May, whi
Read moreSector movers: Barclays leads banks lower as risk appetite sours
6th Jun 2013 15:01
Ongoing market volatility and policy decisions from central banks saw risk appetite diminish on Thursday, with the banking sector in London the worst affected. Policy announcements from the Bank of England and European Central Bank - as well as ongoing uncertainty regarding the Federal Reserve's po
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