Stockmarket News Headlines - Yahoo! News UK

State-backed banks gain approval for capital plans

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:09:24 +0100

By Matt Scuffham and Steve Slater LONDON (Reuters) - State-backed British lenders Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland have agreed plans to shore up their capital with the financial regulator, removing a barrier to the government offloading its shares. The regulator said on Wednesday it had finalised capital requirements for the two banks and the lenders had submitted their plans. Both banks said they did not need to issue new equity and could raise the necessary capital by selling assets and through their restructurings, which are already under way. ...

FTSE sets new 13 year high on Bernanke testimony

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:07:46 +0100

By Alistair Smout LONDON (Reuters) - Growth sensitive sectors drove FTSE 100 to fresh 13 year highs, receiving a boost after the top U.S. central banker reaffirmed his commitment to continued stimulus. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said that central bank needs to see further signs of traction before taking its foot off the gas, helping to spike the FTSE 100 to an intraday high of 6,875.62, its highest level since January 2000. ...

Lloyds to sell further 15 percent St. James's Place stake

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:00:44 +0100

LONDON (Reuters) - State-backed Lloyds Banking Group said it intends to sell 15 percent more of wealth manager St. James's Place to boost its capital by about 500 million pounds under incoming capital rules. After placing a 20 percent stake in St James's Place in March, Lloyds had agreed not to sell any more shares in the wealth manager for a year, but said that lock-up had been waived and it would sell a further 77 million shares. That would still leave it with a 21 percent stake in St. James's, whose shares closed on Wednesday at 640 pence, valuing the placing at around 493 million pounds. ...

Manipulation probe draws attention to oil firms' trading desks

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:08:19 +0100

By Dmitry Zhdannikov and Claire Milhench LONDON (Reuters) - Europe's energy price manipulation probe has turned regulatory attention to secretive trading units at oil companies with huge turnover and millionaire staff with risk appetite higher than at Wall Street's biggest banks. Regulators have scrutinised banks, trading houses and commodities markets more closely following the Libor benchmark rigging scandal but trading desks at oil majors have largely escaped attention. ...

Clearwire recommends approval of sweetened Sprint bid

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:37:52 +0100

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Clearwire Corp said its special committee and its board of directors approved Sprint Nextel Corp's sweetened offer to take over the company and advised shareholders to vote for the deal. Wireless service provider Clearwire announced its decision on Wednesday, one day after Sprint raised its offer for the almost 50 percent of the company it does not already own to $3.40 (2.26 pounds) per share from $2.97. After the Clearwire statement, its shares fell 1 percent in morning trade on Nasdaq to $3.355, below the offer price. ...

Wm Morrison falls after UBS confirms placing

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:15:12 +0100

LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in Britain's No.4 supermarket Wm Morrison fell 2.4 percent on Wedensday after UBS confirmed it had placed around 100 million shares in the firm at 280 pence for an institutional seller. The sale represents 4.4 percent stake in Morrison and eight days worth of volume. The shares, which closed at 289.30 pence on Tuesday, traded at 282.40 pence at 10:49 a.m. British time. (Reporting by David Brett and Toni Vorobyova)

UK utility SSE posts 5.8 percent profit rise, hikes dividend

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:29:21 +0100

PARIS (Reuters) - British utility SSE said on Wednesday full-year after-tax profit rose 5.8 percent to 1.19 billion euros (1 billion pounds) and increased its full-year dividend by 5.1 percent to 84.2 pence. Estimates compiled by Thomson Reuters IBES had forecast a mean net income of 1.04 billion pounds. The company, the UK's third-largest utility by market cap, said that average UK household gas consumption was up 21 percent and electricity consumption up five percent. (Reporting by Geert De Clercq; editing by Patrick Graham)

Asian stocks supported by Fed reassurance; BOJ stands pat

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:23:49 +0100

By Masayuki Kitano and Vidya Ranganathan SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Some Asian stock markets rose on Wednesday following a positive lead from Wall Street, with Japan's Nikkei reaching a 5-1/2 year high and staying firm as the Bank of Japan stood pat after unleashing massive stimulus last month. European stocks are expected to inch lower with markets taking a breather from a month-long rally before U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony to Congress. Financial spreadbetters expect Britain's FTSE 100 to open down 0.16 percent, Germany's DAX to open 0. ...

U.S. prosecutors consider using racketeering law against SAC - source

Wed, 22 May 2013 05:14:09 +0100

By Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors are considering charging Steven A. Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors as a criminal enterprise engaged in a long pattern of insider trading in stocks, according to a person familiar with the matter. Prosecutors may use the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, most commonly associated with prosecutions against the mafia, to move against Cohen's $15 billion (9.9 billion pounds) hedge fund company, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity. ...

Merck signs $5 billion share buyback agreement with Goldman Sachs

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:33:17 +0100

(Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc said it has entered into a $5 billion (3 billion pounds) share repurchase agreement with Goldman Sachs Group Inc, as the drug giant looks to prop up shareholder value in face of stiff competition from makers of less-costly generics. Under the accelerated share repurchase agreement (ASR), Merck has agreed to repurchase about 99.5 million shares from Goldman Sachs based on current market prices. ...

Global shares end higher as eyes turn to Fed

Tue, 21 May 2013 21:20:41 +0100

By Ryan Vlastelica NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock markets around the world edged higher on Tuesday amid signs of improving growth, even though questions about monetary policy limited gains. The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 ended at all-time highs, while the dollar rose and gold fell. The euro was slightly higher, though a slowdown in British inflation sent sterling to a 7-week low on the view it could give the Bank of England more leeway to support the economy. The yen lost ground after a Japanese minister rowed back on remarks suggesting the currency had weakened enough. ...

Sony to assess spin-off proposal for entertainment business - Nikkei

Tue, 21 May 2013 21:10:04 +0100

(Reuters) - Sony Corp is considering evaluating a proposal from top shareholder Third Point LLC to spin off part of its movie and music business, Japanese daily Nikkei reported. Sony's U.S. listed shares rose 9 percent on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. Billionaire hedge fund investor Daniel Loeb last week called on the company to spin off its lucrative entertainment arm, setting the stage for a clash between his activist Wall Street fund and management at the Japanese electronics maker. Sony declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. ...

Buckley Shortlisted For Top Smiths Job

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:25:48 +0100

Sir George Buckley, one of Britain's most seasoned industrialists, has been shortlisted for the top boardroom job at Smiths Group, the FTSE-100 engineering and technology group.

FTSE 100 edges closer to all-time high

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:32:32 +0100

By David Brett LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE top share index closed within sight of its all-time high on Tuesday, lifted by mining stocks and positive corporate news from luxury retailer Burberry among others. The FTSE 100 index ended up 48.24 points, or 0.7 percent, at 6,803.87, its highest finish since its record close of 6,950.60 in late 1999. "There is nothing to suggest that we can't keep going higher. We have broken through previous highs and it can be sustained if we see economic recovery and earnings upgrades come through," Neil Shah, director at Edison Investment, said. ...

Royal Mail Float Looms After £440m Profits

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:52:46 +0100

Royal Mail unveiled a big jump in profits to £440m as it took another step towards a possible stock market flotation later this year.

Royal Mail profit soars before privatisation

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:25:30 +0100

By Neil Maidment LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Mail more than doubled annual profit on the back of an online shopping boom, providing a timely boost as it plans for a stock market listing this year. In a marked turnaround for a business that has been fighting to adapt to a more competitive market and falling letter volumes, Royal Mail reported adjusted operating profit of 403 million pounds in the year to March 31, against 152 million pounds a year earlier. ...

G4S chief quits after series of embarrassments

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:16:57 +0100

By Christine Murray and Neil Maidment LONDON (Reuters) - G4S, the world's largest security group, is replacing its chief executive after a series of failures including a staffing fiasco at the 2012 London Olympics culminated in a recent profit warning. Nick Buckles, 52, who has led the company for eight years, will be succeeded at the end of the month by Chief Financial Officer Ashley Almanza, a former executive of oil and gas firm BG Group who joined in March. ...

G4S Chief Nick Buckles Quits After Setbacks

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:01:36 +0100

British outsourcing group G4S says its chief executive will step down after a string of high-profile setbacks and a profit warning that damaged investor confidence.

Marine Harvest may raise $1.7 billion Cermaq bid

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:38:34 +0100

OSLO (Reuters) - Marine Harvest , the world's biggest fish farmer, may raise its $1.7 billion bid for rival Cermaq if the target company's shareholders drop plans to take over Peruvian fish feed maker Copeinca , it said on Tuesday. Marine Harvest has tentatively offered 105 crowns in cash and shares for each Cermaq share and has said it would only go ahead with a formal bid if Cermaq drops the Copeinca deal. "We could be prepared to improve both the price and composition of our offer in order to find an amicable solution acceptable to all parties," Marine Harvest said. ...

Goldman exits China's ICBC, seven years and billions later

Tue, 21 May 2013 05:13:58 +0100

By Fiona Lau and Elzio Barreto HONG KONG (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc raised $1.1 billion (721.1 million pounds) by selling its remaining shares in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, ending a seven-year old investment and handing the Wall Street firm a return of nearly four times its original stake. Goldman's relationship with ICBC was similar to that of other big global financial institutions that purchased stakes in Chinese banks and insurers. ...

Global shares grind higher, yen rebounds on minister's remarks

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:44:14 +0100

By Herbert Lash NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global equity markets mostly rose on Monday, driven higher by a flurry of merger and acquisition activity, while a recent tumble in the yen against the dollar halted after Japan's economy minister suggested the currency might have weakened enough. Major American and European stock indices are up double digits - the U.S. benchmark S&P 500 index is almost 17 percent higher so far this year - and investors still see better returns ahead in equities, even as Wall Street closed slightly lower. Deals such as Yahoo's $1. ...

FirstGroup Shares Plunge By More Than 30%

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:54:42 +0100

Shares in the transport company FirstGroup have plunged dramatically after it announced a £615m fund-raising rights issue in a bid to reduce its heavy debt burden.

Chesapeake Energy hires Anadarko executive as CEO

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:52:33 +0100

By Anna Driver (Reuters) - Chesapeake Energy Corp on Monday named a top executive at rival Anadarko Petroleum Corp to head the No. 2 U.S. natural gas producer, which has suffered a governance crisis and liquidity crunch over the last year. Chesapeake hired Robert Douglas Lawler, senior vice president of international and deepwater operations at Anadarko, to fill the post vacated by co-founder Aubrey McClendon in April. Shares of Chesapeake were up 4 percent as Lawler's appointment ends a three-month search for McClendon's replacement. ...

Banks lead FTSE to highest close since late 2000

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:35:36 +0100

By Sudip Kar-Gupta LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's benchmark equity index rose on Monday to its best closing level since late 2000, helped by rising bank stocks, and analysts said there was little holding it back from its all-time highs. Interest rate cuts and injections of liquidity by central banks have hit returns on bonds, driving investors to seek the better returns on offer from equities, spurring a global stock market rally over the last year. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up by 0.5 percent, or 32.57 points, at 6,755.63 points - its highest closing level since September 2000. ...

Goldman exits China's ICBC, 7 years and billions later

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:00:00 +0100

By Fiona Lau and Elzio Barreto HONG KONG (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc launched the sale of about $1.1 billion (722.6 million pounds) worth of Hong Kong-traded shares in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China on Monday, offering its entire remaining stake in the world's biggest bank by market value. The sale would be the final chapter in Goldman's investment alongside clients and employees in China's ICBC. Prior to its 2006 initial public offering, ICBC was a technically insolvent state institution, reeling from the bad loans that had saddled China's financial industry. ...

Ryanair's extra charges help lift profit to all-time high

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:08:25 +0100

By Conor Humphries DUBLIN (Reuters) - A sharp rise in earnings from add-on charges for items such as baggage and pre-assigned seating helped boost Ryanair's earnings above expectations in the past year, lifting its shares to a record high. Ryanair, which helped pioneer a business model in which low ticket prices are supplemented with charges for extras like printing boarding passes and carrying luggage, flew 5 percent more passengers last year, but earned 20 percent more on extras. ...

Dell says cannot disclose more information to Icahn yet

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:50:48 +0100

(Reuters) - Dell Inc said in a letter to suitors Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management that the company would not provide more information about itself unless the board determined that their proposal was "superior" to founder Michael Dell's. Earlier this month, Icahn and Southeastern offered $12 in cash per share or additional shares to existing investors as an alternative to Michael Dell's $24.4 billion bid to take the company private. ...

Bison Eyes London Float Amid US Fracking Boom

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:16:47 +0100

UK stock market investors are poised to gain their first exposure to the fracking boom sweeping the US energy market through the flotation of Bison Energy Services.

Goldman Sachs to exit ICBC with $1.1 billion stake selldown - IFR

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:51:30 +0100

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs launched on Monday a sale of about $1.1 billion worth of Hong Kong-traded shares in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China , offering to sell its entire remaining stake in the world's biggest bank. Goldman offered the shares in ICBC in a range of HK$5.47 to HK$5.50, equivalent to a discount of up to 3 percent to Monday's close of HK$5.64, IFR reported, citing a term sheet of the deal. The Monday sale will mark the end of an era for the U.S. bank, which has held a stake in ICBC since 2006, said a source with direct knowledge of the selldown. ...

Elan strikes more deals to repel Royalty bid

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:24:50 +0100

By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - Elan announced its second major drug deal inside a week on Monday and said it would buy back more shares as it continues to bat against a $5.7 billion (3.7 billion pounds) takeover bid from U.S. investor Royalty Pharma. Having rejected the Royalty bid, the Irish drug firm has been trying to convince shareholders to do the same by returning cash and going on a spending spree that began with a $1 billion drug royalties deal of its own just a week ago. ...

European shares set new five-year high, cyclicals up

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:38:34 +0100

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares extended gains to set a new five-year high for a fourth straight session on Monday, with investors flocking to buy riskier assets such as equities on fresh signs of a recovery in the global economy. At 8:07 a.m. British time, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was 0.2 percent firmer at 1,250.68 points, the highest since the middle of 2008. The index is up more than 10 percent so far this year. "We have started to see a series of positive readings coming out of the United States. ...

Chesapeake Energy hires Anadarko executive as CEO - WSJ

Mon, 20 May 2013 06:29:18 +0100

(Reuters) - Chesapeake Energy Corp has hired Robert Douglas Lawler of rival Anadarko Petroleum Corp as chief executive, filling the post vacated by co-founder Aubrey McClendon, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Chesapeake and Anadarko could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters outside of regular U.S. business hours. McClendon's departure on April 1 came after a tumultuous year in which a series of Reuters investigations led to civil and criminal probes of the second-largest U.S. natural gas producer. ...

Analysis - Little sign Abe can shake up Japan's inbound FDI

Sun, 19 May 2013 22:25:59 +0100

By Stanley White TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan risks missing, yet again, an opportunity to use foreign investment to help fuel sustained economic growth that has eluded it for the last two decades. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to make Japan "the world's easiest country for companies to do business in" as part of his economic revival plan, which so far has been largely met with approval. The stock market has rallied 45 percent this year and Abe's approval ratings are around 70 percent. ...

Yahoo's board approves Tumblr acquisition -WSJ

Sun, 19 May 2013 21:35:42 +0100

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc's board has approved a deal to buy blogging and social networking site Tumblr for $1.1 billion (724 million pounds) in cash, the Wall Street Journal cited people familiar with the matter as saying on Sunday. Such an acquisition would be Marissa Mayer's largest deal since taking the helm of the once-iconic Internet company in July 2012. Yahoo is keen on fast-growing Tumblr because its younger user base would bolster the older website's "cool factor," the technology blog AllThingsD cited the sources as saying. ...

ENRC details founders' $2.3 billion cash-and-share bid plan

Sun, 19 May 2013 16:47:53 +0100

LONDON (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's government and the trio of founders behind miner ENRC , seeking to take the company private, have offered shares in rival Kazakhmys as well as cash in an indicative proposal valuing the group at just under $5 billion (£3.3 billion). ENRC's billionaire co-founders, Alexander Machkevitch, Alijan Ibragimov and Pathokh Chodiev, said last month they were weighing up a buyout of the miner's minority investors and had the support of the government, which is also a top shareholder. ...

MPs consider probe into transparency of mining firms

Sun, 19 May 2013 16:38:24 +0100

By Clara Ferreira-Marques LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's parliament will this week consider whether to probe the transparency of oil and mining firms listed in London, an issue highlighted by corruption probes at emerging market miners which MPs fear have dented the stock market's reputation. The chairman of parliament's Committee for Business, Innovation and Skills said on Sunday he would this week propose an inquiry into issues including governance and anticorruption protection at mining and oil companies. The probe could start before the end of the parliamentary session in July. ...

French probe finds LVMH built up Hermes stake in secret-paper

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:26:42 +0100

PARIS (Reuters) - The French stock market authority has found LVMH secretly bought shares in rival Hermes to build a stake, and not merely make a financial investment as the luxury group has claimed, a newspaper reported. LVMH said it would fight the findings of the watchdog's probe before its sanctions committee when it meets on May 31 to hear the company's defence. Hermes was not immediately available for comment. LVMH, which owns 22. ...

Morrison seals $306 million Ocado deal in online catch-up

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:21:02 +0100

By James Davey LONDON (Reuters) - British supermarket chain Wm Morrison is investing more than 200 million pounds in a 25-year deal with online grocer Ocado, seeking to catch up with rivals in home delivery and sending Ocado shares to a record high. Morrison, which trails Tesco, Wal-Mart's Asda and J Sainsbury in annual sales, has suffered falling profits and market share, partly due to its late entry into online grocery which is growing about 16 percent a year. Morrison and Ocado said their deal would not affect Ocado's arrangement with upmarket grocer Waitrose, due to run to 2020. ...

Shares in Lloyds hit government break-even price

Fri, 17 May 2013 22:37:58 +0100

By Matt Scuffham LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in state-backed Lloyds Banking Group rose above the level which the government sees as its break-even price after its 20.5 billion pound rescue of the bank, raising hopes of a sale this year. Lloyds shares, the top performer in the FTSE-100 last year, rose 2.5 percent to reach 62.5 pence at 13:00 p.m. on Friday, their highest for over two years and passing the 61.2 pence break-even price. ...

Transocean chairman voted out

Fri, 17 May 2013 22:16:00 +0100

By Alice Baghdjian ZUG, Switzerland (Reuters) - Transocean Ltd shareholders voted out Chairman Michael Talbert at the annual meeting on Friday and backed a nominee of activist investor Carl Icahn to replace him on the board of the world's largest offshore drilling contractor. But shareholders rejected Icahn's proposed $4-per-share dividend and opted instead for the board-supported payout of $2.24 per share, the Switzerland-based company said. Transocean shares closed down 1.3 percent to $54.03 on the New York Stock Exchange. The Swiss shares closed 1.4 percent higher. ...