Strong results nudge FTSE up in spite of US debt stalemate July 26, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares managed modest gains yesterday as solid results from blue-chips including drugmaking group GlaxoSmithKline and energy firm BG Group more than offset an earnings miss from heavyweight BP. Volume on the FTSE 100 was thin, however, as investors waited for clarity from US debt ceiling talks. The UK benchmark index ended up 4.47 [...]
FTSE up but GDP data casts shadow July 26, 2011 Investors were apparently gaining in confidence that the US would break its deadlock over a debt deal as the FTSE 100 opened on the front foot today. The US is under pressure to rescue its Triple A credit rating by upping its debt ceiling – a controversial move which has driven a wedge between Republicans [...]
Fear returns to markets July 25, 2011 CONFIDENCE in politicians’ ability to solve the debt crises of the developed world collapsed yesterday, sending bank shares into a tailspin and ramping up the cost of sovereign borrowing. As US politicians bickered over the debt ceiling and investors fled EU financial stocks, Italy was forced to cancel a bond auction set for August on [...]
Cable: end universal banking July 25, 2011 VINCE Cable, the business secretary, will today call on the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) to sound the death-knell for universal banking by backing a form of ring-fencing that is just as tough as a full-scale break up of Britain’s banks. His intervention will put pressure on the ICB to explain why it has decided [...]
Yorkshire Building Society buys Egg assets from Citi July 25, 2011 BRITISH mortgage lender Yorkshire Building Society is to buy the mortgage and savings business of Egg Banking from US bank Citigroup, as Citi continues to sell non-core assets after its bailout during the credit crisis. Yorkshire, owned by its customers, said the Egg businesses it was acquiring comprised of a £2.5bn savings book and a [...]
Banks report small appetite for borrowing July 25, 2011 LENDING to companies, consumers and house-buyers remained muted in June despite a pick-up in the number of mortgage approvals, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) announced yesterday. Net unsecured lending to consumers continued its steady decline, down by £100m in the month – matching the six month average and the fall recorded in May. Lending to [...]
Business morale dips in Belgium July 25, 2011 Business confidence in Belgium dropped for the fourth month in a row in July. The Belgian national bank index fell to minus 2.5 in July from minus 1.1 in June. Economists had expected the index to decline to around minus 2.1. “The services sector sub index actually rose from 10.4 to 13.9, while all other [...]
FTSE knocked by US default worry July 25, 2011 BRITAIN’S leading share index slipped back yesterday, weighed by weakness in financial issues on fears of a possible debt default by the United States, with investors’ attention switching to precious metal miners and defensively-perceived sectors. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was down 9.76 points, or 0.2 per cent at 5,925.26, snapping a four-session [...]
Markets hit by US debt wrangling July 25, 2011 Stocks suffered another difficult day as sovereign debt worries, this time from the US, weighed on markets. The FTSE 100 saw volatile trading with low volumes as investors anxiously watched for signs of a breakthrough between Democrats and Republicans over the US’ national debt ceiling. The parties are at loggerheads and have just days left [...]
Photobox and Moonpig in £120m merger July 25, 2011 Moonpig.com, the highly successful online greetings card company, has been snapped up by photograph printer Photobox for £120m in a deal described as a merger. Photobox will buy Moonpig using a mix of cash funded by loans and investors, and shares in the new group. The deal will combine Photobox’s 11m members and Moonpig’s 3m [...]