The banks tumbled lower late Thursday morning - despite rising earlier on - on the back of reports that Fitch could cut ratings across sector. Barclays was the heaviest faller, losing over 4% as of 11:48, while HSBC and Lloyds were also under the cosh. "The credit ratings agency Fitch is poised to
Read moreLondon's leading share index closed in the blue as worries over the Slovak parliament's rejection of the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) gave way to optimism that it will be passed. SLOVAK SEE-SAW Late Tuesday night, just 55 of the 150 MPs in Slovakia's parliament voted in favour of expan
Read moreLondon's leading share index has staged an impressive rally with worries following the Slovakian parliament's rejection of the euro bailout fund giving way to hopes that the small central European state will soon ratify the deal. SLOVAK HEADACHE, GERMAN REASSURANCE Late Tuesday night, just 55 of t
Read moreJust eight of the 100 stocks on the Footsie were making gains on Wednesday morning, following the news that the Slovakia failed to agree on the extension of the Eurozone rescue fund. SLOVAKIAN HEADACHE Late Tuesday night, just 55 of the 150 MPs in Slovakia's parliament voted in favour of expanding
Read moreUK stocks reacted positively to better than expected US jobs data, with the Footsie recovering from a negative position to a positive one, but as the day drew to a close, traders quietly banked profits ahead of the week-end. Though the Footsie ended the day with only a modest rise, it capped a stro
Read moreRoyal Bank of Scotland (RBS) plunged lower after the announcment of Moody's decision to downgrade the bank's credit rating by two notches, which poured more fuel on rumours that the firm could need an extra injection of capital from the government. RBS issued a statement on Friday morning highlight
Read moreLosses are reasonably modest considering that some heavyweights from the banking sector are in the doldrums following a downgrade of 12 financial institutions by ratings agency Moody's. Stocks seem to be treading water ahead of a key employment report due out in the US before the opening bell in N
Read moreEquities took a knock in early trading after Moody's dampened sentiment with the downgrade of 12 UK financial institutions. Stocks were expected to extend gains made over the last two days on the back of hopes for the struggling Eurozone. BANKS LEAD THE FALLERS The banks were the worst performers
Read moreUK bank stocks have been hit following a downgrade to 12 financial institutions by the credit ratings agency Moody's. Lloyds TSB, Santander UK and the Co-Operative Bank were downgraded one notch, while Nationwide and RBS went down two levels. Smaller institutions, including Clydesdale Bank were al
Read moreThough share prices recovered a tad after some reassuring noises from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, London still finished the day deep on the red, with the Footsie well below the psychologically important 5,000 level. Federal Reserve president Ben Bernanke told the Joint Economic Committe
Read moreA decent performance from the retail sector was not enough to pull the market higher by lunchtime, as investors bailed out of banking, engineering and mining stocks on concerns over the global economy. Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of the Eurogroup finance minister committee, has said that there wi
Read moreThe Footsie plummeted in early trading on Monday, dropping below the 5,000 level, as euro worries continue to dampen sentiment. Despite Greece's tough austerity measures, the debt-stricken country revealed on Sunday that it will miss its deficit target for 2011, as it unveiled plans for job cuts ac
Read moreThe Treasury and Financial Services Authority are heading for a clash over a proposal to allow bidders for Northern Rock's "good" bank to take about £500 million out of the lender. The Treasury is keen to achieve a price of £1 billion and is exploring the idea of allowing the successful bidder to li
Read moreRicardo has never been busier turning out the sort of supercars that would seem to be out of the price range of anyone barring investment bankers and Russian oligarchs. The company's performance products division, which is the part of Ricardo that actually makes things as opposed to advising how to,
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