London close: Stocks near session high
12th Aug 2009 16:14
Footsie closed near a session high on Wednesday as London's top stocks continued to add to gains in afternoon trade, with banks among the best performers. Lloyds Banking finished up more than 6%, closely followed by fellow part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland . The FSA unveiled a new co
Read moreLondon afternoon: Gains trimmed
12th Aug 2009 14:10
London is clinging onto positive territory as Wall Street gears up for a slow start ahead of tonight's Federal Reserve policy statement. Banks continue to do well. Royal Bank of Scotland agreed to sell its Pakistan unit to MCB Bank for $87m (£53m). The UK lender, 70%-owned by the British governmen
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie rallies despite BoE caution
12th Aug 2009 12:16
Footsie has rallied despite a mixed morning for UK economic news with unemployment hitting a new 14-year high and low key comments about UK recovery from the Bank of England. In the central bank's quarterly inflation report, Bank governor Mervyn King said the sustainability and strength of any reco
Read moreLondon open: Dull start for Footsie
12th Aug 2009 08:45
London's leading share index is in reverse gear again as the banks drift lower with miners also weak after BHP Billiton's figures and four Rio executives being charged with bribery by China. Full-year profits have halved at miner BHP Billiton as the recession slashed volumes and sent prices tumbli
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Bank bonuses, Rio Tinto, Dividends
12th Aug 2009 06:20
The City watchdog may come under fire today for softening its proposals on bankers' bonuses. The Financial Services Authority will say it has abandoned some of the more draconian proposals it suggested in its March consultation paper, on the grounds that it could hurt the City's competitiveness. Pu
Read moreLondon close: Struggling Footsie finishes lower
10th Aug 2009 16:41
Footsie fought to lift itself into the blue all day but remained in the red as banks and miners weigh on the index. Lloyds Banking, which is apparently mulling a £15bn fundraising to keep down the cost of insuring toxic debt with the Government, fell. Reports in the weekend press suggest the Treasu
Read moreSector movers: Miners retreat
10th Aug 2009 15:20
Mining stocks fall back, including Rio Tinto, which was accused by China of overcharging the country's iron mills by over $100bn over the past six years. The allegations were published by the National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets, which claimed Rio Tinto had spied on Chinese s
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks still softer
10th Aug 2009 15:01
The Footsie continues to trade lower, but in a narrow range as weaker banks and miners easily offset gains among the insurers. Lloyds Banking is apparently mulling a £15bn fundraising to keep down the cost of insuring toxic debt with the Government. Reports in the weekend press suggest the Treasury
Read moreChina claims Rio overcharged by $102bn
10th Aug 2009 12:44
China ramped up its row with Rio Tinto's over alleged spying by its employees by another notch as it accused the miner of overcharging its iron mills by over $100bn over the past six years. The allegations were published by the National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets, which clai
Read moreLondon midday: Banks drift drags Footsie lower
10th Aug 2009 12:03
Banks are leading the Footsie lower amid talk that Lloyds is mulling a fund raising. Weekend reports said Lloyds Banking may raise up to £15bn from the stock market to keep down the cost of insuring toxic debt with the Government. The Treasury is understood to back the bank's tentative plans to ra
Read moreLondon open: Footsie heads lower
10th Aug 2009 08:50
London has opened lower with reports of Lloyds looking at a big cash call overshadowing bid talks restarting between Friends Provident and Resolution. Life insurer Friends Provident says it is now is close to agreeing a takeover by Resolution after the terms of the original offer were improved. In
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Rio Tinto, Lloyds Banking, Resolution
10th Aug 2009 06:10
China has accused Rio Tinto of spying on its steel industry for six years, costing the country Rmb700bn ($102bn) in excessive charges for iron ore. The remarks, contained in an editorial in the magazine of the National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets, indicate that Beijing's det
Read moreLondon close: Footsie ends week on a high
7th Aug 2009 16:16
Some better-than-expected jobs data hauled Footsie into the blue Friday afternoon, ensuring the leading share index continued its rally. The Labor Department said 247,000 jobs disappeared in July, far less than the 320,000 predicted by analysts and almost half the 467,000 reported in June. RBS rem
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie higher as US data lifts sentiment
7th Aug 2009 14:15
Wall Street has come to the rescue with better-than-expected unemployment report lifting sentiment in London as well. US futures are now expected to start up after the Labor Department revealed data that showed job losses slowing in July to 247,000 against expectations of a fall to 320,000 and agai
Read moreLondon midday: RBS ends banks good run
7th Aug 2009 12:26
Footsie is having a tough morning with banks running into profit taking after Royal Bank of Scotland issued what it describes as a 'poor' set of numbers. RBS made a £15m profit, but bad debts rocketed to £7.5bn and it warned results may not "substantially" improve until 2011. Losses attributable t
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