FTSE 100 movers: ENRC leads fallers
24th May 2013 15:42
Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) was leading the way lower. The company announced Thursday that it has suffered two potential losses of company data. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)'s mobile banking application was down Friday morning in another IT failure following a major glitch last y
Read moreSector movers: Defensives thrive as investors scale back risk
24th May 2013 15:27
With market sentiment still fragile following the heavy sell-off of the past two days, defensive sectors were thriving on Friday as investors refrained from taking risk ahead of the long weekend. Concerns about a scaling back of stimulus in the US and a slowdown in China saw the FTSE 100 drop 2.1%
Read moreRBS hit by mobile banking app glitch
24th May 2013 13:43
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)'s mobile banking application was down Friday morning in another IT failure following a major glitch last year. Around two million customers at the 81% state-owned lender, who use the app on their smartphones and tablet computers, were unable to access their accounts, t
Read moreLondon midday: Markets fall as caution sets in
24th May 2013 11:41
Mining and banking stocks were weighing on the FTSE 100 on Friday morning as the index extended losses following yesterday's dramatic sell-off. Worries about the Federal Reserve scaling back its asset purchase programme prematurely and a negative reading of factory activity in China saw markets acr
Read moreLondon close: Markets tumble as stimulus hopes fade
23rd May 2013 16:20
The recent bullish mood on equity markets quickly faded on Thursday as mixed messages from the Federal Reserve and a slowdown in China sparked a heavy sell-off on the FTSE 100, which lost more than two per cent of its value. Answering questions in Congress last night was Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke w
Read moreSector movers: Miners and banks fall as risk appetite wanes
23rd May 2013 15:12
Growth concerns hammered markets across the globe on Thursday, with banking and mining stocks bearing the brunt of the sell-off in London as the impressive year-to-date rally ran out of steam. As such, there were no sectors in the UK in positive territory by the afternoon, with every category eithe
Read moreLondon midday: Rally runs out of steam after Bernanke comments
23rd May 2013 11:32
Markets tumbled by around two per cent on Thursday morning as investors chose to take profits in the aftermath of comments from the head of the US Federal Reserve and a disappointing reading of manufacturing activity in China. The FTSE 100 had surged to a fresh 13-year high high of 6,840 the day be
Read moreLondon open: Fed concerns, poor Chinese data spark sell-off
23rd May 2013 08:31
Worries about the Federal Reserve 'tapering' quantitative easing (QE) prematurely spooked markets on Thursday morning, along with a disappointing reading of manufacturing activity in China. The FTSE 100 had surged to a fresh 13-year high high of 6,840 the day before, its second-highest close in his
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Ocado, UK Mail, Hibu...
23rd May 2013 06:54
The Telegraph says that Waitrose head Mark Price is refusing to meet with Ocado chief Tim Steiner after the online grocery group agreed to help rival Morrison develop an online shopping website. According to The Times, British parcel delivery group UK Mail is close to signing a deal with the Depart
Read moreLondon close: Bernanke's dovish tone sparks surge late on
22nd May 2013 17:12
After a relatively subdued start on the FTSE 100, stocks surged in afternoon trade as comments from the Chairman of the Federal Reserve pushed the index to fresh 13-year highs. The benchmark index extended its impressive year-to-date rise to nearly 16% today after Ben Bernanke initiated a dovish to
Read moreSector movers: Stocks gain as banks play down worries over capital targets
22nd May 2013 15:08
Banking stocks were in demand on Wednesday after playing down concerns about capital requirements and as speculation ramps up regarding the potential reprivatisations of both RBS and Lloyds. Both part-nationalised lenders released statements this morning, reassuring the markets that they would be a
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Morrison shares hit by placing news
22nd May 2013 14:58
Shares in Morrison were falling sharply after UBS confirmed that it had placed around 100m shares in the supermarket stock on behalf of an institutional seller at 280p each, well below yesterday's closing price of 289.30p. Chip designer ARM Holdings was also under pressure today following its inve
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks pull back as UK retail sales drop
22nd May 2013 12:02
Disappointing retail sales in the UK saw markets pull back from a 13-year highs on Wednesday morning while traders kept a close eye on central banks around the world. UK retail sales volumes fell sharply in April, by 1.3% month-on-month as the poor weather continued to lead shoppers to forego purch
Read moreRBS boasts 'plentiful' funds to meet capital requirements
22nd May 2013 11:38
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group said newly enforced capital requirements could be met by its current business plans, with 'plentiful surplus funding' available. The bank, in which the state owns an 81% stake, was today informed by the Bank of England's Prudential Regulatory Authority of its new
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Japan, BP, RBS and Lloyds...
22nd May 2013 06:51
The Bank of Japan has held off on new monetary easing, according to the Financial Times, "judging that the huge stimulus unveiled in April will be enough to spur price gains in the world's third-largest economy". The central bank said that Japan has "started picked up". Financial Times says that Br
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