EUROPEAN REPORT June 8, 2009 EUROPEAN shares closed lower yesterday as banks gave back some of their recent gains, though a late rally in commodities prices helped to limit the losses of mining and energy shares. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 0.8 per cent to 865.11 points, rising off the day’s low of 857.39. The index had risen for [...]
THE LONDON REPORT June 25, 2009 THE FTSE 100 dropped 0.6 per cent yesterday, led by banks after a trading update from Standard Chartered failed to excite investors while commodity stocks were also under pressure. The index closed down 27.41 points at 4,252.57, after gaining 1.2 pe rcent in the previous session. Banks shaved most points off the index after Asia-focused [...]
THE LONDON REPORT June 24, 2009 MINERS and banks were buoyed by better US durable goods data yesterday, offsetting weaker food retailers and producers and driving the FTSE 100 up by 1.2 per cent, or 49.96 points, to close at 4,279.98. The index has gained more than 23 per cent since hitting a six-year low in March, but is still down [...]
GOLDMAN: OUR STAFF DESERVE EVERY PENNY November 10, 2009 THE boss of Goldman Sachs yesterday defended the bank’s pay policies, insisting his staff were paid more because they were “among the most productive in the world”. Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman’s chair and chief executive, also rejected calls to break up the bank and said the firm was easier to manage than its larger rivals. “I [...]
Lloyds seeks Insight bids June 1, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group is understood to be seeking bidders for Insight, the asset management group it acquired as part of the takeover of HBOS, as it continues efforts to rid itself of troublesome assets. Deutsche Bank, which advises HBOS, has been sounding out fund managers about the possibility of buying the unit, sources said yesterday, [...]
Lloyds seeks Insight bids June 1, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group is understood to be seeking bidders for Insight, the asset management group it acquired as part of the takeover of HBOS, as it continues efforts to rid itself of troublesome assets. Deutsche Bank, which advises HBOS, has been sounding out fund managers about the possibility of buying the unit, sources said yesterday, [...]
London markets sag in the heat but Diageo refreshes July 2, 2009 THE FTSE 100 closed 2.5 per cent lower yesterday, with market sentiment hit by data showing US employers cut more jobs than expected in June and unemployment in Europe hit a 10-year high. The index ended down 106.44 points at 4,234.27 after closing 2.2 per cent higher on Wednesday, the first day of the new [...]
Lloyds stalls on dividend June 8, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group will not resume dividend payments to shareholders this year, despite freeing itself of £480m a year in interest payments by redeeming £4bn in government-held preference shares. The bank confirmed yesterday that it had sold 87 per cent of a £4bn share placing to existing shareholders at 38.43p, with a 13 per cent [...]
Shrinking economy shakes market but Wolseley grows June 30, 2009 WEAKER than expected consumer confidence figures in the US drove some shares lower yesterday, with banks, miners and food retailers leading the fallers. The FTSE 100 shed one per cent, or 44.82 points, to close at 4,249.21. But the index is up 8.2 per cent on the quarter, the best such performance since the final [...]
CITY A.M. TOASTS A NEW ERA IN ALLIANCE WITH INTERACTIVE INVESTOR December 14, 2009 IT WAS off to the iconic Gherkin building last night for one of the most exciting developments in the history of City A.M. – our newly-announced alliance with online financial services provider Interactive Investor. Guests at the party sipped champagne as they admired the view over the City, chatting about the partnership, under which we [...]