Blacks on the brink of breach September 22, 2009 Blacks Leisure shares fell 18 per cent to 42p yesterday after the outdoor clothing retailer warned it was about to breach the terms of a £35m loan. The group has been given a two-month deadline by Lloyds Banking Group to fix its loss making boardwear division.
Kroes repeats need for Lloyds to sell divisions September 29, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group will need to dispose of assets in areas where it is currently dominant as a condition of EU approval of state aid, the European Commission’s top competition watchdog warned yesterday. Competition commissioner Neelie Kroes, who has repeatedly warned that part-nationalised banks Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland will be forced to shrink, [...]
Kroes repeats need for Lloyds to sell divisions September 29, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group will need to dispose of assets in areas where it is currently dominant as a condition of EU approval of state aid, the European Commission’s top competition watchdog warned yesterday. Competition commissioner Neelie Kroes, who has repeatedly warned that part-nationalised banks Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland will be forced to shrink, [...]
THE LONDON REPORT November 23, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index ended sharply higher yesterday, snapping a four-day losing streak, with commodity and banking stocks rallying after comments by a senior US Federal Reserve official. The FTSE 100 index finished up 104.09 points, or 2 per cent, at 5,355.50 and recorded its biggest one-day percentage rise in more than six weeks. The [...]
THE LONDON REPORT November 9, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index hit its highest closing level in more than two weeks yesterday as the G20’s pledge to keep stimulus in place bolstered investors’ risk appetite, with miners and oil stocks leading the charge. The FTSE 100 closed up 92.46 points, or 1.8 per cent, at 5,235.18, the highest close since 23 October, [...]
Chancellor slashes stamp duty for first-time buyers March 24, 2010 ALISTAIR Darling has said stamp duty will be scrapped on house purchases up to £250,000 for first-time buyers – to be funded by a five per cent levy on those buying homes over £1m. The chancellor unveiled the measures in his budget in which he said the economy was at a “crossroads”. Meanwhile he said [...]
Lloyds plans a 12.5bn share issue October 7, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group will turn to traditional investors rather than a sovereign wealth fund to help it raise up to £25bn to exit the government’s Asset Protection Scheme (APS), City A.M. can reveal. Sources familiar with the bank’s plans said last night that it had submitted a proposal to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) that [...]
Blacks fights for survival as losses soar October 29, 2009 OUTDOOR retailer Blacks Leisure yesterday revealed it had submitted a rescue restructuring plan to its bankers, after reporting its losses had more than doubled in the first six months of the year. Blacks Leisure posted a pre-tax loss of £18.1m in six months to 29 August, compared to the £6.7m loss it reported a year [...]
THE LONDON REPORT November 30, 2009 BRITAIN’S leading share index shed 1.1 per cent yesterday, ending at session lows, dragged back by weakness in oil majors and banks on lingering anxiety over the impact of Dubai’s debt problems. By the close, the FTSE 100 was down 55.05 points at 5,190.68, its lowest closing level for three weeks. The blue chip index [...]
British Airways and Iberia merger sends FTSE soaring November 12, 2009 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 hit its highest close in three weeks yesterday as British Airways soared with investors cheered as a merger with Iberia looked imminent, while gains were also powered by strength in banks. But the rise was limited by falls in commodity prices hitting miners and energy stocks, which together constitute a third of [...]