The UK’s four major high-street lenders posted results for the year to December which beat forecasts one way or another, and all flagged a return to dividends in line with regulatory guidance, but there was little to cheer regarding the longer term. After barring the banks from paying dividends last March in order to ensure they remained well capitalized, the Prudential Regulatory ...

Shares in high street lender NatWest Group (NWG) outpaced those of its rivals, reversing early losses to trade up 1.7% at 174p after the bank posted what it called ‘resilient’ results for last year and promised future capital returns, starting with a resumption of dividends this year. Despite recording a pre-tax loss of £753 million for the year to December as a result of lower consumer ...

The UK market got off to a slow start heading into the weekend with the FTSE 100 index drifting off 11 points to 6,606 following a weak session on Wall Street overnight and a drop in oil prices. Energy, financial and healthcare stocks were the main losers while mining and travel-related stocks were in favour. Brent crude futures fell 0.8% to $63 per barrel, sending shares in BP (BP.) and ...

UK markets got off to a strong start to the new trading week as the FTSE 100 advanced almost 70 points, around 1%, in early deals to 6,657.14, taking its cue from Asia, which enjoyed a buoyant opening session. Stimulus and vaccine roll-out optimism provided international markets with the early shot in the arm. Japan provided much of the fuel, with the Nikkei 225 broke through the 30,000 point ...

Despite a raft of positive earnings announcements, UK stocks drifted from their earlier highs on Thursday afternoon dragged down by banking and oil and gas shares. At 16:30 the FTSE 100 of leading shares was up just 0.1% at 6,528 points, hampered by losses in Barclays (BARC), Lloyds (LLOY), NatWest (NWG) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB). COMPANY NEWS Shares in packaging and bottling ...

UK stocks soared on Wednesday after the chancellor promised greater fiscal support for struggling businesses, spurring a major rally in bank shares. At the same time a decision Saudi Arabia to reduce output by more than expected sent Brent crude futures up 1% to $54 per barrel, their highest level since February 2020, sparking a rally in major oil stocks. By the close the FTSE 100 index of ...

UK stocks surged on Wednesday after the chancellor promised more help to struggling businesses and hopes were raised for greater US fiscal stimulus, spurring a major rally in bank shares. At the same time a decision Saudi Arabia to reduce output by more than expected sent Brent crude futures up 1% to $54 per barrel, their highest level since February 2020, sparking a rally in major oil ...

UK stocks and the pound lost ground on Monday after Brexit talks stumbled yet again and a new strain of the virus led to even more draconian rules on personal movement. New emergency Tier Four restrictions created chaos for people travelling ahead of Christmas while many European countries have suspended inbound travel from the UK. At the close the FTSE 100 was down 113 points or 1.7% to ...

Unusually, UK stocks tumbled together with the pound on Monday after Brexit talks stumbled yet again and a new strain of the virus led to even more draconian rules on personal movement. New emergency Tier Four restrictions created chaos for people travelling ahead of Christmas while many European countries have suspended inbound travel from the UK. By midday the FTSE 100 was down 154 points ...

Shares in challenger lender Metro Bank (MTRO) surged 15% to 132p at the open on Monday on news that the firm had sold part of its UK residential mortgage portfolio to rival lender NatWest Group (NWG) for more than £3 billion in order to take on more risky loans. As well as selling the portfolio for more than its gross book value - £3.128 billion against £3.045 billion – and generating a ...

UK shares and the pound started the week sharply lower after Brexit talks stumbled yet again and a new strain of the virus led to even more draconian rules on personal movement. New emergency Tier Four restrictions created chaos for people travelling ahead of Christmas while many European countries have suspended inbound travel from the UK. At 9am the FTSE 100 was 72 points or 1.1% lower at ...

It is unlikely that too many investors will make listening to more announcements from regulators one of their New Year’s resolutions, but no-one could accuse the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) of playing Scrooge, at least not this December. Granted, the PRA may have wounded a few income-seekers’ portfolios with its declaration in late March that the Big Five FTSE 100 banks should not ...

Shares in UK lenders dropped sharply on Friday after the Bank of England said it saw ‘scope for banks to recommence some distributions should their boards choose to do so’, but set out a more stringent regime than investors had anticipated. The Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) said that, while there remained ‘some headwinds’ to banks capital positions, having carried out two stress ...

Stocks eased on Friday as prime minister Johnson warned of a ‘strong possibility’ that the UK would eave the EU on 1 January without a trade deal. The two sides have set a deadline of Sunday to resolve their differences over fishing rights, a ‘level playing field’ and ongoing regulation. At 8.30am the FTSE 100 index was down 29 points or 0.4% at 6,571, pulled lower by telecoms, house ...

Companies buying other companies is very common and this is often referred to as pursuing a mergers and acquisitions strategy, or M&A for short. Acquiring businesses can bring numerous benefits for the purchaser, but this strategy is no slam dunk, for where there are opportunities there are also risks to the buyer and to its shareholders. In simple terms, companies mainly make acquisitions ...

The FTSE 100 marked its worst monthly performance since March as the index chalked up a fifth straight day of losses, down 4.48 points to 5,577.27. Investors have become increasingly concerned this week over fears that lockdowns to tackle surging coronavirus cases would disrupt a nascent economic recovery, with pressure mounting on the UK to follow Germany and France and impose a second ...

A stronger than expected recovery in the Eurozone economy was not enough to prevent a volatile FTSE 100 falling firmly back into the red by lunchtime, hit by concerns over a second lockdown and a rising pound. Economic activity for Eurozone countries as a whole between July and September was 12.7% higher than in the previous three months, beating expectations. But this failed to lift UK ...

Shares in high street lender NatWest (NWG) were top of the FTSE 100 leader board on Friday, rallying 5% to 123p after it reported an unexpected return to profit in the third quarter helped by lower bad loan provisions. The bank posted pre-tax operating profits of £355 million for the three months to September against forecasts of a loss of £75 million and losses of £1.29 billion in the ...

UK stocks fell again in opening trade on Friday, with the FTSE 100 set for its worst monthly loss since March, on fears that lockdowns to tackle surging coronavirus cases would disrupt a nascent economic recovery. The benchmark FTSE 100 was showing a relatively modest 0.15% decline to 5573.40 at 9am, having initially plunged 0.8% in opening deals. Blue chips were dragged lower by ...

According to a report in The Times newspaper, the Bank of England's Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA), which regulates UK banks, building societies and insurers, is considering allowing the banks to re-start dividend payments next year. In March, the PRA asked the banks to suspend dividends and buybacks until the end of the year and said it expected them to withhold cash bonuses to senior ...