Third day of red as miners and banks lose their appeal May 13, 2009 THE FTSE 100 dropped 2.1 per cent yesterday, succumbing to disappointing US retail sales figures, profit-taking in the banking sector and mining stocks weighed down by weak commodity prices. The index retreated for the third day in a row, closing at 4,331.37, or 94.17 points down. “Despite the change of tone, markets have more room [...]
EUROPEAN REPORT May 18, 2009 EUROPEAN equities closed higher yesterday as financial stocks climbed on hopes a recession in top global economies was abating, while energy shares tracked higher crude oil prices. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 2.4 per cent higher at 859.88 points after falling as low as 827.32. The index, which slumped 45 per [...]
EUROPEAN REPORT May 18, 2009 EUROPEAN equities closed higher yesterday as financial stocks climbed on hopes a recession in top global economies was abating, while energy shares tracked higher crude oil prices. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 2.4 per cent higher at 859.88 points after falling as low as 827.32. The index, which slumped 45 per [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 31, 2009 THE SUNDAYSTHE SUNDAY TIMES SKY SAYS NO TO SETANTASports organisations including the Scottish Premier League may be forced to stomach deeper-than-expected cuts to their TV income after shareholders in Setanta failed to stump up enough cash to keep the broadcaster alive. Setanta’s financial position was so parlous this weekend that it asked arch-rival BSkyB for [...]
FTSE 100 remains steady despite the political rout and a bit of profit taking June 8, 2009 THE FTSE 100 shed 1 per cent, or 33.34 points, to close at 4,405.22 yesterday, weighed down by weak energy and mining stocks, while banks fell as recent bullish sentiment soured. “Caution is creeping back into financial markets after what was largely a positive week for equities,” said David Evans, market analyst at BetOnMarkets.com. “There [...]
Blank’s exit won’t end Lloyds’ troubles May 17, 2009 IT was always Sir Victor Blank, one of the Labour Party’s favourite businessmen, who was most likely to be Lloyds Banking Group’s sacrificial lamb. It was he, after all, who was the main driver of Lloyds TSB’s ill-fated takeover of HBOS; he first discussed the idea of the deal with Gordon Brown over drinks in [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 28, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES TERRA FIRMA INJECTS MORE CASH INTO EMITerra Firma has been forced to inject more cash into EMI for the second time in six months, after the debt-laden UK music group behind the Beastie Boys and Depeche Mode missed targets imposed in its banking covenants. Guy Hands’ private equity group injected £28m into EMI [...]
Banks lead the FTSE higher and bulls reboot interest in sofware companies May 18, 2009 THE FTSE 100 sprung to life yesterday, driven by banks which were led higher by confirmation of Lloyds Banking Group’s rights issue and the announcement that Sir Victor Blank would step down as its chairman. The index erased almost half of last week’s losses, closing 2.3 per cent, or 98.34 points, higher at 4,446.45 points. [...]
HSBC profits hit as bad debt surges August 5, 2008 Europe’s largest bank announces a 28 per cent drop in earnings as crunch bites HSBC chairman Stephen Green insisted yesterday that his bank’s performance was “resilient”, despite a 28 per cent fall in profits and a surge in bad debt charges to more than $10bn (£5bn). Interim pre-tax profits at Europe’s largest bank fell from [...]
Mayor calls on business expertise December 8, 2008 London mayor Boris Johnson has recruited the help of 47 top-flight business leaders to offer him guidance and advice, it was announced yesterday. The International Business Advisory Council for London has been set up and will be chaired by Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of advertising group WPP. The council will advise the mayor on [...]