Davies report to shy away from quotas December 12, 2010 THE DEPARTMENT for Business, Innovation and Skills insisted yesterday that its review into women on company boards will only push for a mandatory quota system as a last resort. Lord Davies’ review into boardroom diversity could instead recommend an internship scheme to encourage a wider range of people to take up directorships, a spokesperson said [...]
Banks propel FTSE upwards after interest rates decision December 9, 2010 BANKS helped Britain’s top shares rise yesterday after the Bank of England kept interest rates and quantitative easing measures unchanged, while US jobs figures raised hopes that a recovery was under way. The FTSE 100 was up 13.43 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 5,807.96, eradicating Wednesday’s losses, though gains were muted, with some traders [...]
Everyone wants piece of Asia December 9, 2010 In many ways, Standard Chartered is the perfect bank. It has unique exposure to emerging markets, is well-capitalised with high levels of liquidity, and is reassuringly disciplined when it comes to costs. But yesterday’s update suggests its prudence is less steadfast than previously thought. Peter Sands can make a good case for growing costs more [...]
FTSE closes up but US uncertainty weighs on Wall Street December 9, 2010 LONDON’S FTSE 100 closed above 5,800 today for only the second time in almost a month, pushed up by financial services firms. Barclays, RBS and the Prudential were among the biggest gainers, while energy firm BG also rose more than three per cent and services firms Serco and BT also made the top ten. HSBC [...]
StanChart to hit record profit as bad loans fall December 9, 2010 Standard Chartered that it expects to post record income and profit for this year, helped by falling loan impairments and growth in consumer banking. Income in the second half of 2010 was expected to clock in at levels similar to the first six months, the bank said in an update posted on the Hong Kong [...]
StanChart to hit record profit as bad loans fall December 9, 2010 Standard Chartered that it expects to post record income and profit for this year, helped by falling loan impairments and growth in consumer banking. Income in the second half of 2010 was expected to clock in at levels similar to the first six months, the bank said in an update posted on the Hong Kong [...]
Fall in mining shares takes its toll as FTSE 100 closes lower December 8, 2010 WEAKNESS in heavyweight miners dragged the leading share index lower yesterday, although firmer banks, energy issues and some takeover speculation helped limit the falls. At the close, the FTSE 100 was down 13.92 points or 0.2 per cent at 5,794.53, having hit a three-week high on Tuesday. “It has been a choppy trading session today [...]
FTSE 100 surges on gains by commodities and financials December 2, 2010 BANKS and commodity stocks powered strong gains for Britain’s top share index by close yesterday, on increasing optimism about the global economy and investor confidence that the Eurozone debt crisis would be contained. The FTSE 100 index ended up 125.06 points, or 2.2 per cent, at 5,767.56, a second straight session of strong gains. It [...]
UK banks sign up to tax code November 30, 2010 IN A last minute scramble the UK’s 15 largest banks have signed up to a government code of practice aimed at reducing tax avoidance, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said yesterday. The code, which had a deadline of 30 November, but until October had only been supported by four of the 15, requires the banks [...]
There’s more pain and selling to come for banking stocks November 28, 2010 EACH time that European banks have taken a step towards recovery since autumn 2008, it seemed that they suffered another a setback. Whether it was revelations of bad debts, government bailouts, exposure to indebted sovereigns or tighter regulation, it has been hard for their share prices to make sustained headway. The second bout of the [...]