FTSE flat after Slovak vote blow October 12, 2011 The FTSE 100 was flat this morning after Slovak lawmakers rejected a plan to expand the Eurozone rescue fund and the US earnings season kicked off with disappointing results. Slovakia’s decision rattled world markets as the plan — which would see Greece saved from economic abyss through new loans — is central to hopes that [...]
Banks: little stability gain from Vickers too big to fail October 11, 2011 THE VICKERS Commission was completely unnecessary in solving the “too big to fail” problem, RBS chief Stephen Hester told a committee of Lords yesterday. “I believe that goal would have been accomplished without Vickers due to the international reforms that are in place,” Hester said. Barclays’ Bob Diamond agreed: “It’s not a question of with [...]
Gulliford sells PR firm to Lord Bell’s Chime October 11, 2011 SIMON Gulliford has sold his consulting firm to Lord Bell’s Chime Communications in a deal that could net the marketing boss up to £5m. Chime will buy Gulliford Consulting for an initial £2.5m, with a further £2.25m performance related payment deferred. The deal for the entire company is mostly comprised of cash, with a small amount [...]
FTSE breaks winning streak on worries over Euro bailout October 11, 2011 THE FTSE 100 share index snapped a four-day winning streak yesterday, as worries over Europe’s debt problems and the impact on the global economic recovery prompted investors to bank some of the recent gains made in commodity and financial stocks. The index closed down 3.3 points, or 0.1 per cent at 5,395.70, but recovered from [...]
Miners peg back FTSE as investors eye Slovak vote October 11, 2011 European shares slid this morning as investors eyed a key vote in Slovakia on whether it will back the Eurozone rescue package. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.6 per cent while London’s blue chip index also edged down as miners opened weakly. Analysts said traders were cautious ahead of the [...]
CREDIT SUISSE PREDICTS GOLDMAN LOSSES October 10, 2011 Goldman Sachs is expected to reveal its second ever quarterly loss when it reports next week, according to Credit Suisse analysts. They forecast the Wall Street giant will report a loss of $392m (£250m) for the three months to the end of September. Barclays predicts losses in the region of £180m. A quarterly loss for [...]
Surprise output gain in biggest Euro states October 10, 2011 Industrial output in France and Italy was surprisingly strong in August, boosting prospects for third-quarter growth in the eurozone’s second- and third-biggest economies, new data shows. French output posted a 0.5 per cent monthly increase compared with forecasts of a one per cent decline, while output in Italy leapt 4.3 per cent compared with expectations [...]
FTSE solid as Eurozone pledge boosts confidence October 10, 2011 The FTSE 100 opened steadily this morning as investors eyed the news that Franco-Belgian bank Dexia has been rescued while Germany and France pledged to unveil a Eurozone debt crisis plan by the end of the month. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after talks in Berlin on Sunday that their [...]
Stress tests failed to test banks October 9, 2011 THE downgrade of a dozen UK banks and eight Portuguese banks on Friday morning ended another tumultuous week in the European banking sector. The Greek farce has dragged on so long that it has fallen from the headlines, despite its potential to bring Europe crashing down around our ears. Instead, focus has shifted to the [...]
Jobs data boosts FTSE but US markets falter October 7, 2011 London stocks have closed slightly higher after better-than-expected US jobs figures prompted an afternoon rally, but US markets remain down after fresh downgrades of Spain and Italy. The FTSE 100 index spiked sharply when US figures showed 103,000 new jobs created, and while it gave up most of the gains it still closed up 0.2 [...]