Oils and miners bring FTSE higher, while banks also rise August 20, 2009 BRITAIN’S leading share index gained 1.4 per cent as stocks enjoyed a broad-based recovery yesterday, with heavyweight oils and miners in demand as raw material prices rose while financials also rallied. By the close, the FTSE 100 was 66.91 points higher at 4,756.58, having reversed earlier losses to close slightly higher on Wednesday. The UK [...]
Tightening spreads and QE make corporate bonds more attractive August 19, 2009 CORPORATE bond issuance so far this year smashed through the $1 trillion mark, the first time that this amount has been raised by non-financial corporates in a single year, figures from data provider Dealogic showed earlier this week. And while the European corporate bond market has typically been less developed than the American market, European [...]
Retail banking is struggling to get off the canvas August 19, 2009 AS Britain’s retail banking sector fractures and polarises, it is beginning to resemble a boxing match: two heavyweight contenders are preparing to slug it out in the main event with the prize nothing less than commercial success. In the red corner are the grizzled veterans – the traditional banking groups HSBC, RBS, Lloyds and Barclays. [...]
Eurasian leads the miners higher while Lloyds shines August 19, 2009 THE FTSE 100 share index inched higher yesterday, helped by oil producers, which gained on firmer crude prices as US demand recovered, but banks fell after HSBC traded ex-dividend. The index closed up by 3.89 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 4,689.67, after trading as low as 4,625.44 earlier in the day. Volumes on the [...]
Goldman Sachs backs banks and helps to lift the markets August 18, 2009 THE FTSE 100 closed 0.9 per cent higher yesterday, led by gains in banks and miners which recovered from losses in the previous session, while data showed inflation held steady in July. The large-cap index closed 40.77 points higher at 4,685.78, recovering from a 1.4 per cent drop on Monday, its biggest one-day percentage loss [...]
FSA TO PROBE KEY BARCAP BONUS DEALS August 17, 2009 &9632; FSA will demand to see the contracts of five traders&9632; JP Morgan and Barclays Capital in row over poached staff&9632; Think tank calls for Commission to report on high earners CITY watchdog the Financial Services Authority (FSA) last night said it will demand to see the contracts of five traders being hired by Barclays [...]
Diamond bags a golden boy August 17, 2009 BARCLAYS Capital boss Bob Diamond might well be justified in offering £30m for star metals trader Todd Edgar and his team – the trader is known for his nerves of steel and Midas touch when it comes to market calls. The 35-year old, who has ditched JP Morgan to join Diamond, is well regarded in [...]
Take a punt on the weather with grains and orange juice August 17, 2009 THE summer months might be a quiet time for most traders, but not all. For those who make their money watching the prices of assets such as wheat, corn and orange juice, this is when the market is at its peak. In many cases, the outlook for the harvest is becoming clearer, and industry analysts [...]
Fears over pace of economic recovery see FTSE stumble August 17, 2009 THE FTSE 100 fell 1.5 per cent by the close yesterday with mining, oil and banking stocks leading the losers, as global markets retracted amid concerns over the pace of global recovery. The index closed 68.96 points lower at 4,645.01, extending losses from Friday when it shed 0.9 per cent and marking its biggest one [...]
DARLING THREATENS LAW TO CURB CITY BONUSES August 16, 2009 CITY bankers are on a collision course with politicians over multi-million pound bonuses after chancellor Alistair Darling yesterday pledged to intervene to curb excessive pay and risk-taking in the Square Mile. The Treasury is ready to consider legal action on bonuses if they pose a “systemic risk” to the banking system, which Darling and many [...]