Listen to our latest Investing Matters Podcast episode 'Uncovering opportunities with investment trusts' with The AIC's Richard Stone here.

Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE

Pin to quick picksBKIR.L Share News (BKIR)

  • There is currently no data for BKIR

Watchlists are a member only feature

Login to your account

Alerts are a premium feature

Login to your account

London close: Shares slump as eurozone saga continues

Mon, 29th Nov 2010 16:45

The leading share index closed with triple-digit losses Monday as jitters over the eurozone debt situation continued to plague the markets.Financial markets are still betting either Portugal, Spain, or both, will need a rescue deal similar to the €85bn Irish bail-out, rubber-stamped over the weekend.The ongoing eurozone saga overshadowed any optimism engendered by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) upgrading its growth estimates for the current year to 1.8% from 1.2%.Royal Bank of Scotland, which has the largest exposure of the UK banks to Ireland, is clinging on to gains while HSBC is the best performing leading stock.Bank of Ireland has vowed to raise the €2.2bn demanded under the terms of the Irish bail-out through its own efforts and without the help of the Irish state. The Irish bank has to raise the additional capital by the end of next February or else get the cash from the Irish state, which would amount to effective nationalisation.Irish Life & Permanent Group Holdings, meanwhile, said the new 12% capital requirement for its Permanent TSB banking arm will have little impact on the group, and will be met from its own resources.Insurer Aviva has been lifted by JPMorgan Chase slapping an "overweight" recommendation on the stock with a 524p price target, but the US investment house is less enamoured of Resolution, where it has an "underweight" rating for the stock, as it sees better opportunities elsewhere in the sector.Travel firm TUI Travel saw early gains after disclosing it is to sell its Thomson Al Fresco business to Homair Vacances, but later gave these up. At 30 September 2009 the net book value of the assets being sold was £10.3m. Miner African Barrick Gold has accelerated its drilling programme at the Nyanzaga Project in Tanzania after more good in-fill results. The miner, which recently suspended 40% of the mining department at its Buzwagi mine in Tanzania following a fuel theft, said its drilling made further successful intersections on the southern extensions with several broad, higher-grade zones of gold mineralization. BP has sold its stake in Argentina-based oil and gas company Pan American Energy (PAE) to Bridas Corporation for $7.06bn (£4.52bn) in cash. BP's 60% will give Bridas, which already owns 40% of the business, full control when the deal completes in 2011. It also puts BP firmly on course to hit its $30bn target of asset sales, announced in July, by the end of next year. Today's deal pushes the total so far to $21bn.UK smartphone users won't rack up such huge bills when travelling in Europe after Vodafone today cut the price of sending emails and surfing the net while abroad. Occasional travellers will be able to take a domestic data plan overseas for €2 (£1.70) per day, 60% less than the company's existing plans. It also includes an increase to the data allowance.Week-end reports that a major restructuring is on the cards has lifted indebted pubs group Punch Taverns. Ian Dyson, the new chief executive, may hand the tenanted estate to the group's bondholders, leaving the group to concentrate on the 800 pubs that Punch directly manages.Oil and gas explorer Salamander has made a 'highly encouraging' gas discovery at its Angklung-1 exploration well in the Bontang PSC, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Salmander, which is the operator with a 100% interest, says Angklung-1 well flowed gas at a commercial rate and also found a new Upper Miocene oil play, highlighting the potential value in the North Kutei basin. Qantas on Sunday began flying its Airbus 380s for the first time since a mid-air explosion of a Rolls-Royce engine forced one of the Australian airline's jets to make an emergency landing earlier in November. Luxury interior furnishings group Walker Greenbank said full year pre-tax profits are expected to be materially ahead of market forecasts after a robust autumn period. The group, whose brands include Sanderson, Morris & Co., Harlequin and Zoffany, said, "During the past few weeks, the company's brands have achieved their highest-ever level of sales of wallpapers and fabrics."Student accommodation business Unite Group has completed the sale of assets to the Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund for £143.9m in cash.Shares in Avanti Communications headed skyward after the satellite operator's announcement that it successfully launched its HYLAS 1 satellite from the Kourou space centre in French Guiana on Friday.FTSE 100 - RisersBarclays (BARC) 262.95p +1.21%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 651.40p +0.05%TUI Travel (TT.) 214.40p -0.14%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 719.00p -0.21%Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 400.10p -0.22%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 38.52p -0.44%ICAP (IAP) 473.70p -0.46%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,749.50p -0.46%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,040.00p -0.49%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 120.30p -0.50%FTSE 100 - FallersPetrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,392.00p -5.75%Cairn Energy (CNE) 377.60p -4.41%Old Mutual (OML) 121.50p -4.33%Burberry Group (BRBY) 996.00p -4.23%British Airways (BAY) 261.20p -3.94%Vodafone Group (VOD) 159.30p -3.63%Inmarsat (ISAT) 653.00p -3.47%Wolseley (WOS) 1,720.00p -3.43%Man Group (EMG) 260.70p -3.34%Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,043.00p -3.25%FTSE 250 - RisersPunch Taverns (PUB) 62.30p +5.41%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 243.10p +4.29%Gartmore Group Ltd. (GRT) 105.30p +2.23%EnQuest (ENQ) 133.00p +2.23%Computacenter (CCC) 363.40p +1.91%Mitie Group (MTO) 211.20p +1.78%ITE Group (ITE) 186.00p +1.64%Polar Cap Technology Trust (PCT) 332.00p +1.62%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 345.20p +1.53%Mothercare (MTC) 577.50p +1.49%FTSE 250 - FallersDaily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) 520.00p -5.28%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 71.05p -4.50%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 509.00p -4.05%Persimmon (PSN) 345.10p -4.03%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 141.00p -4.02%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 539.00p -4.01%COLT Group SA (COLT) 122.00p -3.56%Centamin Egypt Ltd. (CEY) 179.30p -3.50%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 356.20p -3.49%Cookson Group (CKSN) 552.00p -3.24%
More News
17 Sep 2010 15:12

Sector movers: Balfour and Kier construct gains

On a mostly dull day for stocks, Balfour Beatty is giving the construction and materials sector a lift after a consortium including the contractor was named the preferred bidder for a £250m road scheme in Ireland. The road runs Gort and Tuam in the west of the Republic. Elsewhere in the sector, ho

Read more
11 Aug 2010 08:05

Life no easier for Bank of Ireland

Bank of Ireland posted sharply higher underlying losses as bad debts continue to hurt the embattled Irish bank. Underlying losses in the half year to June rose to €1.25bn, up from €668m. Operating profits fell to €553m from €811m as UK-derived profits almost halved to €122m. Total income was 17%

Read more
9 Jun 2010 07:32

Bank of Ireland get 94% take-up

Bank of Ireland has received a take-up of 94.6% for the rights issue required by the Irish government to boost its capital base. The bank received valid acceptances in respect of 2.97bn shares out of a total 3.14bn on offer, although the €1.72bn cash call is fully underwritten. It also has the bac

Read more
17 May 2010 07:43

Bank of Ireland prices rights at €0.55

Bank of Ireland has set the price of the rights issue to repair its balance sheet at €0.55 with the Irish taxpayer likely to end up with a 36% stake once it completes. Terms of the issue are 3 new shares for every 2, with the price a 64% discount to the last closing price. It will raise €1.72bn. Th

Read more
26 Apr 2010 07:26

Bank of Ireland to raise €3.4bn

Bank of Ireland could see the stake owned by the Irish State rise slightly to 36% after it unveiled a well-flagged €3.4bn capital raising. The proposals include an institutional placing to raise €0.5bn, a placing to the Irish government worth €1.04bn and a rights issue of up to €1.89bn. The fund

Read more
22 Apr 2010 15:41

Bank of Ireland starts capital raising talks

Bank of Ireland has started discussions with a number of potential institutional investors with a view to assessing interest in a capital raise. "Any such transaction may be effected through a combination of a rights issue, a firm placing to institutional investors, a conversion of part of the St

Read more
7 Apr 2010 17:14

Bank of Ireland pension proposals

Bank of Ireland says that it has come up with proposals to reduce the deficit on its defined benefits pension schemes. The bank says that the proposals have the support of its trade unions. Changes relating to future pension increases and how future salary increases qualify for pension will halve

Read more
31 Mar 2010 07:49

Bank of Ireland agrees to €2.7bn capital raise

Bank of Ireland says the additional €2.7bn of capital the government has told it to raise will see it through the current recessionary crisis in Ireland as it revealed huge losses for the last nine months of 2009. "The bank believes raising this level of capital would result in its Equity Tier 1 an

Read more
30 Nov 2009 16:32

London close: Shares drop again in late trading

London's blue chips recovered most of their losses in late afternoon trading and looked like they could be set for a positive finish before turning down again just before the close. Banks such as Lloyds Banking, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered remained nervous about the debt situation

Read more
30 Nov 2009 14:36

London afternoon: Banks pare losses

Leading share prices are still holding steady at lower levels as investors await further developments from Dubai. Banks such as Lloyds Banking, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered remain nervous about the debt situation in emirate, though the morning's losses have been pared. HSBC defie

Read more
30 Nov 2009 12:09

London midday: Share prices steady down

UK share prices are stabilising at lower levels after hopes of a continued rebound from the Dubai-inspired shake-out on Thursday were quashed by disappointing UK consumer confidence figures. Figures from market research firm Gfk NOP showed consumer sentiment fell to -17 from -13 in October. Middle

Read more
30 Nov 2009 08:32

Bank of Ireland to join NAMA scheme

Bank of Ireland is to join the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) asset acquisition programme. The bank’s announcement follows hot on the heels of a similar announcement on Monday by its fellow Irish bank, Allied Irish Banks (AIB). As with AIB, the size of Bank of Ireland’s participation in t

Read more
4 Nov 2009 08:18

Update: Bad debts haunt Bank of Ireland

A surge in bad debts sent Bank of Ireland deeper into the red in the first half of its current financial year. The bank, which is in the process of negotiation a deal to shunt €16bn of toxic loans into NAMA, the Irish government insurance scheme, posted losses of €979m in the six months to Septembe

Read more
20 Oct 2009 12:32

Broker tips: Xstrata, Autonomy, Irish banks

The third quarter production update from Swiss miner Xstrata contained ‘some solid numbers’ but FinnCap thinks investors will be better off switching to one-time Xstrata merger target Anglo American. FinnCap reckons that Anglo American has a higher quality asset portfolio and should be able to outp

Read more
20 Oct 2009 11:01

Broker snap: Nomura warms to Irish banks

Nomura Securities is prepared to take a chance on the battered Irish banking sector on the assumption that the government’s proposals for its bail-out vehicle, the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), do not undergo significant changes before implementation. The Japanese broker has upgraded Ban

Read more

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Quickpicks are a member only feature

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.