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Pin to quick picksBarclays Share News (BARC)

Share Price Information for Barclays (BARC)

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Share Price: 213.95
Bid: 213.85
Ask: 213.95
Change: -3.60 (-1.65%)
Spread: 0.10 (0.047%)
Open: 217.10
High: 217.60
Low: 213.45
Prev. Close: 217.55
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Budget preview: Leaving on a jet plane ... or not

Tue, 22nd Mar 2011 19:14

For his second Budget speech Chancellor George Osborne has promised a finance bill that is "unashamedly pro-growth, pro-enterprise and pro-aspiration," as he seeks to move the UK economy from rescue mode to reform mode.Mindful of headline writers preparing to accuse him of pandering to "fat cats" he may introduce some measures aimed at curbing some of the greater excesses of the jet set while doing what he can to reduce the tax burden for those companies that have yet to fly off to countries with gentler, simpler tax regimes. Fat cats and high fliersWell-heeled fliers will need deeper pockets if Chancellor George Osborne slaps a new tax on private jets in tomorrow's Budget, Lee Wild reports.The widely reported move - nicknamed the Learjet levy - is likely to try and replicate Air Passenger Duty (APD), which private jet passengers currently do not have to pay.APD is currently levied at eight rates of between £22 and £85 on commercial trips, depending on the class of travel and distance travelled. Osborne's move will form part of a bigger crackdown on tax avoidance, which he reckons could boost Treasury coffers by an extra £1bn a year. Oriel Securities, however, says airlines and operators may try and pass any additional taxes onto ordinary passengers, already hammered by a mix of flight taxes and fuel surcharges."Given that chartering even a small private jet can cost approximately £10,000 per hour the level of APD imposed by the chancellor would have to be quite high for demand to be negatively affected, in our view," the broker believes.Banks threaten to migrateEven though the oil price rise has put more money in the government's coffers than it was expecting, there is little prospect of the chancellor cutting income tax rates, even though he is probably itching to do so. However, an acceleration of his previously announced plan to cut a penny per pound off corporation tax each year is possible, though a bit of a long shot, writes John Harrington.Banking giant Barclays may have put the wind up the coalition government with its thinly veiled threat to move its headquarters (HQ) to New York, and this may prompt the chancellor to act faster on cutting corporation tax. Quite why Barclays would want to move to the financial capital of the nation that passed the Sarbanes-Oxley act, a law that has seen a flood of US companies choosing to list in the UK to escape the excessive rigours of that act, is another matter.Perhaps new chief executive officer Bob Diamond is worried that the threatened Learjet levy will make it dearer for him to fly over to see his beloved Boston Red Sox baseball team. HSBC has also been dropping dark hints about moving its HQ to Hong Kong, so perhaps this is a threat that the government should take seriously. Osborne may have some wiggle room because the Office for Budget Responsibility, the "arms length" government body appointed to make independent forecasts for the chancellor, may be about to revise down the public sector borrowing requirement for the current financial year from £148.5bn to somewhere around £140.2bn, according to the Ernst & young ITEM club, a forecasting agency that uses the Treasury's model of the UK economy.On the other hand, Osborne has been very keen to remind everyone that he is still wearing the hair shirt - figuratively speaking, of course, as the man is a millionaire and the heir apparent to a Baronetcy, after all - so he will probably take the view that a borrowing requirement of around £140bn is still an eye-wateringly large IOU, even for a member of the British aristocracy, and that this is no time for frivolous generosity.How well a cut in corporation tax will play with the voters at a time when libraries and Surestart centres are being shut down across the nation is a political decision rather than an economic one for the chancellor. A recent poll suggested that 36% of the British public is satisfied with Osborne's performance as chancellor, with 45% dissatisfied. Cynics say that if a chancellor has a positive approval rating at a time when the public finances are in the sort of mess he inherited then he probably is not doing his job properly.It is, however, in the Conservative party's DNA to put its faith in business to lead the company to prosperity, and there are certain to be initiatives designed to present this as a "budget for business".The creation of ten new enterprise zones in the Midlands and the North is widely expected, in an attempt to revitalise depressed areas of the country. Business rates may also be cut, with local authorities given greater leeway to decide how and where money raised from business rates should be spent.
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1 Mar 2024 15:06

London close: Stocks start the month with positive close

(Sharecast News) - London's financial markets finished in positive territory on Friday, with investor sentiment buoyed by the recent easing of inflation in the United States, as market participants mulled the latest manufacturing data from the UK.

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1 Mar 2024 10:08

IN BRIEF: AB Foods appoints Barclays to run GBP250 million buyback

Associated British Foods PLC - London-based food and ingredient company and owner of fast-fashion retailer Primark - Enters agreement with Barclays Capital Securities Ltd to run the second tranche of AB Food's GBP500 million share buyback programme. The second tranche will be for up to GBP250 million and commence following the completion of the first tranche of the programme, expected before May 1. The first tranche, conducted by UBS Group AG, commenced on November 14. All shares repurchased will be cancelled.

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29 Feb 2024 16:05

London close: Stocks finish positive as US inflation moderates

(Sharecast News) - London's stock markets finished with moderate gains on Thursday, buoyed by a combination of factors including a slowdown in US inflation, robust UK earnings reports, and encouraging mortgage approvals figures.

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27 Feb 2024 16:08

Barclays to sell $1.1bn of card debt to Blackstone - report

(Sharecast News) - Barclays has agreed to sell around $1.1bn of credit-card receivables in the US to Blackstone as it looks to reduce its risk-weighted assets and create additional lending capacity.

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27 Feb 2024 11:33

IN BRIEF: Faruqui of Barclays named new Takeover Panel head

Barclays PLC - London-based bank - Omar Faruqui, "one of Barclays' most experienced advisory practitioners," is named as next director general of the UK's Takeover Panel, effective from May 1. Faruqui is Barclays' co-head of Europe, Middle East & Africa Mergers & Acquisitions; co-head of UK Advisory; and on the management team of EMEA Investment Banking. After taking up the director general post, he will be on a two-year secondment from Barclays.

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27 Feb 2024 09:23

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: Barclays raises Flutter to 'overweight'

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Tuesday morning and Monday:

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26 Feb 2024 09:07

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: Jefferies raises ITM Power to 'buy'

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Monday morning and Friday:

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22 Feb 2024 14:23

UK dividends calendar - next 7 days

Friday 23 February 
abrdn Asian Income Fund Ltddividend payment date
abrdn Property Income Trust Ltddividend payment date
Capital Gearing Trust PLCspecial dividend payment date
CQS Natural Resources Growth & Income PLCdividend payment date
Edinburgh Investment Trust PLCdividend payment date
Ferrexpo PLCdividend payment date
Foresight Solar Fund Ltddividend payment date
Games Workshop Group PLCdividend payment date
Gooch & Housego PLCdividend payment date
Henderson Far East Income Ltddividend payment date
Hollywood Bowl Group PLCspecial dividend payment date
Impact Healthcare REIT PLCdividend payment date
Impellam Group PLCspecial dividend payment date
JPMorgan Global Core Real Assets Ltddividend payment date
M&G Credit Income Investment Trust PLCdividend payment date
Marwyn Value Investors Ltddividend payment date
Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust PLCdividend payment date
Primary Health Propertiesdividend payment date
RWS Holdings PLCdividend payment date
Starwood European Real Estate Finance Ltddividend payment date
Target Healthcare REIT PLCdividend payment date
Victrex PLCdividend payment date
Monday 26 February 
Dewhurst Group PLCdividend payment date
JPMorgan Mid Cap Investment Trust PLCdividend payment date
Tuesday 27 February 
JPMorgan UK Smaller Cos Investment Trust PLCdividend payment date
Wednesday 28 February 
Canadian General Investments Ltdex-dividend payment date
CQS New City High Yield Fund Ltddividend payment date
PetroTal Corpex-dividend payment date
Thursday 29 February 
abrdn Equity Income Trust PLCex-dividend payment date
Alliance Trust PLCex-dividend payment date
Ashmore Group PLCex-dividend payment date
Balanced Commercial Property Trust Ltddividend payment date
Bankers Investment Trust PLCdividend payment date
Barclays PLCex-dividend payment date
Brunner Investment Trust PLCex-dividend payment date
City of London Investment Group PLCex-dividend payment date
City of London Investment Trust PLCdividend payment date
Compass Group PLCdividend payment date
Custodian Property Income REIT PLCdividend payment date
Diageo PLCex-dividend payment date
Diverse Income Trust PLCdividend payment date
Diversified Energy Co PLCex-dividend payment date
Downing Renewables & Infrastructure Trust PLCex-dividend payment date
Driver Group PLCex-dividend payment date
Dunedin Income Growth Investment Trust PLCdividend payment date
Ecofin Global Utilities & Infrastructure Trust PLCdividend payment date
EJF Investments Ltddividend payment date
Fair Oaks Income Ltdex-dividend payment date
Fair Oaks Income Ltd Realisation ex-dividend payment date
Gabelli Merger Plus+ Trust PLCex-dividend payment date
Genus PLCex-dividend payment date
Greencoat UK Wind PLCdividend payment date
Hargreaves Lansdown PLCex-dividend payment date
Hays PLCex-dividend payment date
Henderson International Income Trust PLCdividend payment date
HICL Infrastructure PLCex-dividend payment date
JLEN Environmental Assets Group Ltdex-dividend payment date
LondonMetric Property PLCex-dividend payment date
MJ Gleeson PLCex-dividend payment date
Mobeus Income & Growth 2 VCT PLCex-dividend payment date
NB Private Equity Partners Ltddividend payment date
North Atlantic Smaller Cos Investment Trust PLCex-dividend payment date
Picton Property Income Ltddividend payment date
Plus500 Ltdex-dividend payment date
Polar Capital Global Financials Trust PLCdividend payment date
Polar Capital Global Healthcare Trust PLCdividend payment date
Regional REIT Ltdex-dividend payment date
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Scottish American Investment Co PLCex-dividend payment date
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SSP Group PLCdividend payment date
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Tharisa PLCex-dividend payment date
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21 Feb 2024 11:17

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: Unilever and Aviva both raised to 'buy'

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Wednesday morning and Tuesday:

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21 Feb 2024 09:36

Berenberg raises target price on Barclays

(Sharecast News) - Analysts at Berenberg raised their target price on banking giant Barclays from 240.0p to 270.0p on Wednesday, stating the stock's current level of returns remains "chronically undervalued".

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21 Feb 2024 08:59

IN BRIEF: Barclays begins GBP1.00 billion share buyback programme

Barclays PLC - London-based banking group - Commences share buyback programme for up to GBP1.00 billion. The buyback will run until November 20, and is intended to reduce the share capital of the company, Barclays says. The maximum number of ordinary shares that may be repurchased under the programme is 1.09 billion.

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20 Feb 2024 16:52

LONDON MARKET CLOSE: Pound boosted after BoE's Bailey talks rate cuts

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London closed lower on Tuesday, whilst the pound bounced back, after the Bank of England's Andrew Bailey talked interest rate cuts.

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20 Feb 2024 15:29

London close: Stocks finish lower on fresh China concerns

(Sharecast News) - London's stock markets closed in negative territory on Tuesday, with concerns over China's economic prospects exerting pressure on mining shares.

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20 Feb 2024 11:57

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Banking stocks drag FTSE 100 into green

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were mixed at midday Tuesday, after a busy morning of corporate updates and earnings.

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20 Feb 2024 11:20

London midday: Stocks mixed after China makes bigger rate cut

(Sharecast News) - London's stocks were in a mixed state at midday on Tuesday, as concerns around China's economic outlook continued to weigh on mining stocks.

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